Larisa & Alex

It’s a privilege when your good friends calls you and ask you to photograph a wedding of his best friends. The reason why it’s an honor is because they know you can do a good job. That also means they have very high expectations and I need to get all my creative juices going to get some amazing shots.

Luckily Larisa and Alex were fun and so easy going. I haven’t met them before but we kicked it off right away. We spent 2 hours in and around the City Hall taking variety of images. From group photos, to serious, to dancing to fun, to goofy at times. And then we ended up with some champagne shots outside of the City Hall.

I ran into them a month later after my friend’s party. Larisa came to me and gave me a big hug saying how much she loved the photos. To me that means everything. With the camera at hand, you’re allowed to enter people’s most important moments in their lives. It also allows you to be creative, photograph something that wasn’t done before but also to capture the magic of the day as is unfolds.

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Lillian & Bowen

Call it luck, call it experience, call it the 6th sense, but so far I’ve been able to work around the most difficult situations at the City Hall to get great shots. And we didn’t need hours to do this. Lillian & Bowen booked me for 1 hour on a Friday. The City Hall gets normally very packed, but in this case the Grand Stairwell area was getting blocked off as the crew was setting up for an upcoming event.

I always arrive earlier to the City Hall as I wait for my couples. And I’m watching the Grand Stairwell area slowly getting blocked off from all sides except from the center. I see Lillian and Bowen (as they arrived early too) and after a quick introduction, rush over to the Grand Stairwell, where i get stopped by the manager overseeing the setup. He goes “sorry this area is closed”. It just got blocked off fully and so I ask him for just a few minutes to take my couples’ photos. He was nice even to let us do it. There were a few more couples with photographers rushing to get a few shots, so I quickly set up my lights and got some great photos of my couple. 2 minutes later the Grand Stairwell was completely blocked off to the general public.

As we proceeded after the ceremony to the 4th floor, it was packed, but we were lucky to get a very cute shots then and then moved to the 2nd floor Mayor’s Balcony which happened to be empty. And since the stairwell was empty too, we got some great shots from the Mayor’s Balcony.

When couples reach out to me asking what kind of photos I usually take within a certain amount of time, I promise them to make the best use of that time.

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Sandra & Gavin

I had an interesting email conversation with one of the potential clients. She reached out to me asking about my packages. I provided all the details. She then responded asking what is the difference between my packages on my site and my packages at another website (their rates are lower than mine). That other website is another photostudio and the only thing we have in common is we have cityhall in our name and obviously shoot in San Francisco City Hall. I responded to her with that information and explained that while I understand the price definitely matters, she should look at the photo portfolio and at the reviews to make sure the photographer is what she’s looking for. It’s not always about if you pay more, you get something better. And if the photographer charges less, doesn’t mean they are bad.

The general rule is that photographers charge based on their experience, artistic vision, etc…The main point I’m trying to say is that the couple shouldn’t book someone just based on the price. They should at least look at their portfolio. And you can tell a lot by looking at the images - these are usually the best that the photographer wants to showcase. It represents well their style, their color palette, their communication with the couple. At the end it’s your story… you shouldn’t compromise but also keep your budget in mind.

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Mariel & Chloe and my take on booking a photographer

I had an interesting email conversation with one of the potential clients. She reached out to me asking about my packages. I provided all the details. She then responded asking what is the difference between my packages on my site and my packages at another website (their rates are lower than mine). That other website is another photostudio and the only thing we have in common is we have cityhall in our name and obviously shoot in San Francisco City Hall. I responded to her with that information and explained that while I understand the price definitely matters, she should look at the photo portfolio and at the reviews to make sure the photographer is what she’s looking for. It’s not always about if you pay more, you get something better. And if the photographer charges less, doesn’t mean they are bad.

The general rule is that photographers charge based on their experience, artistic vision, etc…The main point I’m trying to say is that the couple shouldn’t book someone just based on the price. They should at least look at their portfolio. And you can tell a lot by looking at the images - these are usually the best that the photographer wants to showcase. It represents well their style, their color palette, their communication with the couple. At the end it’s your story… you shouldn’t compromise but also keep your budget in mind.

Now back to this beautiful couple. My goal is always to capture candid, real moments and to also pose my couple in such a way that it’s real. We all love watching the movies and can identify bad acting pretty easy now. Same with these images… the emotions have to be real. Otherwise the image isn’t good enough for me. As a photographers its our duty to tell the story and tell it right

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Christine & Tim

It’s quite true - every photographer has their own style not just in how the see the final image, but how the communicate with people, how they get those reactions. I came to the City Hall a bit earlier (as I typically do) and I was observing others at work. I have to say I always do that because there’s something to learn from everyone. I remember reading a story about Jimi Hendrix who’d go to clubs and watch other guitarists play and would take notes. We as photographers have to do the same. There’s a lot to learn from each other.

I can see some photographers spending a lot of time on the Grand Stairwell often time having the couple stand in the same pose for a few minutes. You can see the couple getting tired and not having as much fun when you have to freeze as a mannequin. There are photographers who laugh, joke with the couple and quickly move around the City Hall. I personally prefer that breezy approach. But I understand some photographers are looking for more magazine style photo. Like I said everyone has their own style and I’m in no way criticizing it. I just have my own preferences.

The session with Christine and Tim showcase it quite well. We started with the 1st look photos and then went from there. Their wedding was not just about the 2 of them, but about the family. And you could feel a connection between Tim, his son and his grandkids and how they all connected with Christine. Just focusing on Christine and Tim on the Grand Stairwell for 30 minutes would do complete misjustice to their story. The best part is I photograph couples at different ages, and it really doesn’t matter how young you are, the wedding day is special and my goal is always the same - bring out the real personalities, have fun, the couple have fun and enjoy themselves. And we did just that

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Emma & Jake

I’m not a big proponent of large weddings. I understand there are large families and it’s hard to invite only a few people. There are also lots of friends and if you invite one, someone else might get offended. So while I shoot larger weddings I enjoy smaller events at San Francisco City Hall even more now. Yes, they don’t last all the day. There are less people and it could feel less private just because it’s a City Hall. But to me these weddings are more personal, intimate with a closer connection between the couple, their guests and me. I heard one of my favorite photographers and people Fer Juaristi say once that he wants the couple to treat him as a friend with a fancy camera. It’s how I approach weddings. To get great photos there has to be an emotional connection. It’s impossible to put it to words because at the end it’s either there or it’s not. And I understand that not everyone is open to strangers and that’s ok as well. It’s not about how much we talk, but about how much we explore during our session: how much we explore our emotions, happiness, joy, our family. For that amount of time we create the images that weren’t there before and to me that’s exciting.

The moment I saw Emma’s dress I had a thought of some Shakespearian play. And it wasn’t just the dress. It was her personality, how softly she talked and how gentle she was that brought the person in me who loves history, historical fiction and anything that deals with time before I was born. So for some of the couple shots I wanted to create this sort of a dream atmosphere.

The result are some fun candid images, first look, couples’ photos and so much more. I picked a handful for this blog

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Rodrick & Jonathan

I do say it quite often but this is true. People come from all over the states and in some cases the world to get married in San Francisco City Hall. And why wouldn’t you! It’s a unique venue that allows people to have a simple civil ceremony at a very low cost.

Jonathan and Rodrick came with their family from the Philippines. They were such an amazing couple and just a real pleasure to work with. I really liked their matching socks and I wanted to have an image to showcase them without being too cliche.

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Ashley & Nick

Spring this year has been a busy wedding season. I was lucky to photograph many great couples. I know I’ve said it before but when I photograph I’m not interested in just posing for posing sake or to have a cool background. My goal is to bring out the couple’s personality, their dynamic and to show their relationship through the photographs. It’s not always an easy task because most of the time I get about an hour to do that and these are people I’ve never met before. Then to add to that the couple is being photograph and we all know how when camera is in front of us we tend to feel awkward. I know I do and I do photography every single day… but I’m just not in front of the camera

Ashley and Nick are such an outgoing, easy couple. I wanted to show their fun personality, not taking it seriously and being occasionally goofy with one another. At the same time there’s a lot of softness especially that they are expecting a baby soon.

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Hans & Luke

When taking photos I was talking to Luke and Hans that it’s interesting how just 45 years ago Harvey Milk got shot in San Francisco City Hall just for being gay. And look we’ve come a long way as an American society to officially accept people for who they are regardless of their sexual preference. And if you have a relationship with a person why deny them an option to get married? How does it really effect other people?!?

I’ve been raised in a very liberal family where my parents looked at the social and political structure from a higher point of view. They were educated in the best universities in Moscow (my dad was an architect and my mom - a speech therapist, my grandmother was a doctor). They have taught to be critical and not simply accept the ‘propaganda’ but to look deeper. 4 years of university majoring in History taught me that there’s no black and white. The truth is somewhere in the middle. It also taught me that while the whole point of history is to learn the lessons and not to repeat our mistakes, we keep making the same mistakes over and over, not learning as a society. But the reasons I often quite simple - self interest.

With that said… what is the self interest in having a people of the same sex get married?! None.. it’s their business. And i’m extremely lucky to have been there and capture the marriage of Hans and Luke with their families in attendance

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How much time should I book with you?
How much time should I book with you?

Quite often I get asked “What package is best for us?", “How long should our photo session at the City Hall should be?”

My answer is “It depends”. And here is what I suggest to consider:

  • Do you have a larger wedding party?

  • Have you booked the civil ceremony at the City Hall Rotunda or booked 4th floor or Mayor’s balcony?

  • Is it just the 2 of you?

  • Do you have specific images in mind that you must have?

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

  • 30 minutes is truly designed to cover the ceremony. If it’s just you or have a small group of guests will take group photos after the ceremony and will have 10 or so minutes for just the 2 of you.

  • 1 hour - If you have a wedding party and/or would like various photo combinations with them and a few couple portraits this is a great option for you. We can do a lot in an hour (samples below)

  • 2 hours - If you have a specific images you’d like, specific locations including outdoors and potentially have a larger wedding party (10 or more) I would suggest this package

  • 4 hours - couples that would like cover their reception after their City Hall session

I understand not everyone wants long sessions around the City Hall and couples are also cost conscious for very good reasons.

Keep in mind no session is alike. They are all unique because of the couples, their families and mostly because of space availability at the City Hall at the time.

My general recommendations when selecting the right package for you:

Here are examples of full session:

30 minute session - ceremony, family/guest photo (if present) and few portrait photos in 2-3 locations at the City Hall

1 hour session - more couple’s photos around the City Hall

1 hour session example 2 - more couple’s photos around the City Hall

2 hour session - for larger wedding party and more photos around the City Hall (especially if you have specific requests)

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Sarmaya & Ekin

Every time I enter the City Hall and meet my couple, I think ‘how lucky I am to be here! I get paid to be in one of the prettiest places in San Francisco, be part of a special day, spend time with happy people, be creative and capture the moments as they unfold.

Sarmaya and Ekin were such a couple. Their officiant allowed them to speak their vows (officiants don’t always allow because of time). The officiant only gave them 1 minute each but they wrote over 2 minutes of vows. So we continued them after the actual ceremony.

The Christmas Tree in the background perfectly dates the photos and adds some nice light to normally darker Rotunda area (especially in the afternoon).

I sometimes get asked if the photo session should start after the ceremony and not during it. And my response is always the same - I love the real emotions during the ceremony. While I can stage that later, it's just not the same unless you’re an experienced actor. Here is an examples of some real unstaged ceremony moments.

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Monica & Scott

Monica and Scott got married in San Jose City Hall. It was just the 2 of them formalizing their 7 year old relationship. But they wanted to take photos at San Francisco City Hall.

We started shooting a bit later at the City Hall so there wasn’t so many people. After that we continued to the area near Crissy Fields. Since they came just for the photoshoot it gave me more freedom to experiment and try something new. It’s not that I always shoot the same. I don’t. But remember there are no guests, there’s no ceremony… and that allows for more time to simply spend time with the couple, to get to know them and to play around with some new ideas. At the same time I knew they wanted to get the stairwell shots. At the end of the day the City Hall wasn’t crowded so we were able to get these nice wide shots of them walking down the stairwell.

At the end we got some classic, experimental and personal photos of 3 of them… oh yeah Olly joined us and was our only guests in those photos. She behaved very well

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Elena & Marco

It was June 10 2022 and it was THE hottest day in San Francisco this year. It was steaming 95 degrees outside at 11 AM when we did the outside shots.

I happened to know Elena through friends. As a matter of fact her friend recommended me as a photographer and when she reached out to me she didn’t realize she actually knows me. It’s been many years since we’ve seen each other so it’s quite understandable.

Their ceremony was scheduled for 9 am and I said if you’d like to get some nice clean shots of the Grand Stairwell let’s start a bit earlier. Well… as you know Hair and Makeup can take a while, so they ended up running a bit late, they also forgot their marriage license at home and basically we were behind.

But… here is a lesson to all the couples. It all worked out quite well at the end. They had a wonderful officiant - John, all their family and friends they invited made it on time to see the ceremony and they got married. They also weren’t stressing about all the issues they had. They were enjoying their day. Luckily I didn’t have another session till 11.30. So i could give them some extra time.

Of course.. i’m not saying it’s ok to be late and forget your marriage license. Do come prepared and on time especially that your photographer might not have time beyond the scheduled time. But as we know life has full of surprises. Here is an example when the couple really enjoyed their big day and didn’t let any small obstacles mess up their day.

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Amanda & Nicholas

I love the first look. I don’t mind arranging it. I’d make sure the groom is positioned in the right place and not looking around too much. I’d arrange to meet the bride at the City Hall entrance and walk her to the right spot.

In case of Amanda and Nicholas, I wanted to hype it even more. I built up the anticipation with Nicholas and then took a few photos of him. I showed them to Amanda and told her he was very nervous (and he truly was).

Amanda looked beautiful and obviously Nicholas hadn’t see her yet. So I told her to take her time when she walks and build that anticipation for Nicholas even more.

And we got some awesome photos from that.

If you’re ever wondering why book the 4th floor for a private ceremony having an awesome harpist could be one of the reasons.

Here are some highlights from our 2 hours session

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Alisson and Peter

When i photograph my couples I often start conversations on how they met. I’m naturally curious of how people meet. Often times they come from different backgrounds, different cities, countries and chances of them meeting …. well are very slim. But somehow they meet, have a wonderful relationship and want to take it to the next level by getting married. I meet couples that have been together for many years, but their relationship feels fresh, full of energy and obvious love for each other. So it’s really not how long the couple has been together but it’s finding the right person.

Alisson and Peter met via online dating app. A common story for many couples I photograph now. And it’s quite normal because people have more opportunities to meet someone they wouldn’t meet otherwise.

After getting to know them for 5 minutes the chemistry and how they balance each other out was obvious. Alisson is hyper, with tons of ideas… she literally can’t stand in one place. I’m very much the same way at times. Peter is very calm, thoughtful and fun at the same time. They both love dancing and they put on a performance for me. Alisson was born in Columbia and speaks perfect English, but Peter wanted to learn Spanish anyway. You can see that they care for each other and show it in small ways every day.

The result was a large collection of photos at the City Hall and Fort Mason. Their friends put together a picnic for them. Together with their 2 cute dogs - Burrito and Rico Suave they had a wonderful wedding ceremony and reception. We have photos to prove that

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Anisley & Silvia

It’s been crazy 2 months with so many weddings that I’ll need several days just to write a blog for each one of them. And slowly i’ll get to it

I would like to start by sharing some photos from Anisley and Silvia wedding. They flew from Miami, Florida to have a private wedding ceremony. When we talked originally it was just going to be the 2 of them. But their family and few friends wouldn’t have any of it. So they flew with them to celebrate their big day.

We started with prep shots at the hotel. A small San Francisco at Pineapple hotel had a really nice character. We worked around the size of it and got some cute preparation images.

The ceremony was very emotional. Ani and Silvia had vows prepared and read them to each other during the ceremony.

As we took photos around the City Hall one of the workers asked if we’d like to take photos inside of the Mayor’s office. And of course we said yes. In all the years I’ve shot at the City Hall this was the first time I was shooting on Mayor’s outside balcony and inside the Mayor’s office. It definitely felt even more special to Ani and Silvia.

We spent a good amount of time in the City Hall and then headed over to Baker beach for some photos. And … it was cold and windy. To warm us up we did some running shots.

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Christina & Nathaniel

The most serious people can appear very much fun, goofy and going along with the mood of the day. And the mood of the day is marriage. And unless you’re forced in it, It’s about having a great time.

And that’s how it was with Christina and Nathaniel. When you see a man in the uniform you always think discipline, seriousness. While Nathaniel possessed that, he always had the most caring smile and his eyes sparkled when he looked at Christina. And he wasn’t hiding his feelings. There was no reason to do so. Besides, his bride looked gorgeous in her white dress, with her veil and he obviously couldn’t take his eyes off her. There were few specific shots where I wanted to have both of them looking at me, and you could see it was quite an effort for him to stop looking at Christina and look at me. And i can’t blame him :)

As my April and May have been extremely busy with weddings (i don’t even get enough time to do regular blogs), I’m realizing more and more while I like artistic shots, I’m learning more towards interesting shots where my couple’s character is coming out, where their personality shines. And I’m beginning to have larger number of those type of images versus cool silhouette shots with City Hall in the background. Don’t get me wrong. I like those, but lately I’m leaning more towards personality shots. And here are a few examples of that.

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Barhopping with Tiffany & Greg

When Tiffany reached out to me saying that her and Greg are getting married in November but would love to get some pre-wedding photos done in their 3 favorite bars in the city, I said ..”tell me when. I’ll make it work!” Think about it! Most of engagement, pre-wedding photos are from parks, pretty locations, maybe with Golden Gate bridge behind the couple. And there absolutely nothing wrong with that. I enjoy those sessions and over the years have shot many of them.

Admit it.. bar hopping for engagement session is quite original. It’s even more special because Tiffany and Greg actually met at a bar in the Nob Hill area. They said that bar isn’t there anymore, but they really enjoy the idea of going out on the weekend and hitting some places walking distance from where they live. And I like the idea of not just imposing a photo session on a couple but using their real environment and build a session around that, not the other way around.

We met at the Peacekeeper and took it from there. Tiffany and Greg have so much of that natural chemistry and my goal was to ease them in front of the camera at first and then let the drinks do the rest :) In reality we just hit it off quickly chatting about life, people, places they like, their wedding plans, a bit about me and my family. It truly felt like old friends hanging out, having a few drinks and talking. I wanted to make sure I capture very candid, real photos but I also wanted to give them few artistic shots, include the mood, feel of the place and show my perspective on how I see them.

Each location was quite unique. The Peacekeeper has this modern, fresh look with a lot of natural light. Royale has a very cool 2nd floor. I love frames and it provided the perfect location for that. In few other shots I incorporated the location and general San Francisco vibe. Ace’s is where we spent the most time.

With around 200 photos, it was hard for me to select these photos as highlights.

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Bella & Joseph

I love January. Not just because it’s when my birthday is but because it often feels like a fresh start. Maybe it’s because of the vacation and holidays and maybe because in our minds new year is a sort of reset when we start anew.

First wedding of January after holiday and a long deserved vacation and I loved being back at the City Hall. The light at the City Hall in winter time is one of a kind. It’s low and it hits the windows on the north side, bouncing off the walls, creating this ethereal feel.

I love backlighting my couple, often times using another light on them as I like to have more light on the faces. Other times I’ll just ask my couple to be directly in the sunlight and pose them in such a way that it works. With Bella and Joseph I was able to experiment and try what I don’t usually do. And that’s the best part of what I do and makes me excited. It’s never the same and it’s not going to be the same for my couples. It’s not this pose with this spot - a template shot. No it will always vary and will be adjusted to the couple, to the feel, the mood, the light. So many little components go into the shoot and it’s not something we think about in order. All those things go through our head at once. Often times it’s not even a thought, it’s a feel.

You can compare it to a jam band. A great jam band just go for it. They aren’t thinking of the guitar solo.. they are in the moment enjoying what they do. I feel wedding photography is similar to that. While I can plan some shots, more often there’s just no time to do so within 1 hour session. And within that time I try to get to know the couple, observe their behavior with each other, get them relaxed, get them feel comfortable and to not think of me as a photographer but as a friend who’s going to take their photos.

And at the end I feel i had a good session when I have a good mix of images - from candid moments to real emotions to a few artsy shots that make sense and aren’t done for the sake of doing it.

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Favorite Fall wedding moments

What a fun, busy and crazy this Fall has been. I can have a separate post for every single wedding I shot because each one was unique, exciting and emotional in its own way. And once I have a bit more time I would like to go back and cover some of them. The light on the 4th Floor North side was something you can’t just pass by. I was draw to it and wanted to take advantage of it. There were these pocket of lights that make the City Hall even more mysterious and unique.

I was lucky to have some of the funniest couples that chose me. Maybe it’s not a coincidence they picked me. I always say that my goal is to not only have great photos that capture their day, but to make sure they don’t forget to have fun and to enjoy the process of taking photos. Without that the most beautiful place will look dull because they aren’t enjoying themselves and instead are posing for cameras. While I will always direct and come up with ideas and images I want to see, I love capturing these moments in between and strive to orchestra these moments.

And then there’s the actual ceremony where the couples and their guests are fully into that little moment that binds them together. I’m there to observe, watch and catch these little details that matter the most - like a tear shed by one of the guests.. or a bride, the way the groom looks at his bride.. the first kiss.. all that is important and the job of the photographer to capture it but to capture it from our point of view.

And while I love a lot of grand wide photos of the City Hall, my goal is always the couple. Make them laugh, smile, feel emotions, go back in time to their first day, or just talk to me about what matters to them. And it between all that I keep taking photos… i talk.. i encourage them to show their love for each other.. and keep taking photos.

Here are some of my favorite images and it was really hard to chose these because each wedding has a good number of images I really liked.

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