I met Erin at a bridal show late last year. I remember because she had her little munchkin with her and I tried to swap a wedding album for the munchkin. (It didn’t work but I did get a smile and a giggle from the baby, so I consider that a success!) Her little one is sooooo cute you just want to put her in your pocket and give her hugs all day long!!!

As luck would have it Erin won one of the free engagement sessions we were giving away that day…and no it wasn’t rigged because Logan puppy picked the winners — not me. I called Erin up and we started planning their engagement session. She wanted something colorful and bright like a rose garden for the backdrop for their engagement session. I knew just the place too, San Mateo Central Park. They have a really lush rose garden and a beautiful gazebo which is perfect for engagement photos! When we showed up to the rose garden there was only one small problem…the roses weren’t quite in bloom yet. (Obviously they didn’t get the memo that I had an engagement photography session that day.) So onto Plan B, the Japanese Tea Garden. The cherry blossoms bloomed early this year and were a perfect backdrop for Erin and Craig’s engagement session.

The Japanese Tea Garden has so many beautiful trees, bushes, and flowers that it is a gorgeous backdrop for an engagement photography session. Erin & Craig loved the surroundings and I think it fit them even better than the rose garden! Funny how things work out sometimes!

Erin & Craig were so much fun to photograph! Even though I could not quite fit the stroller into my camera bag with their little one, I did manage to get lots of cute photos with the three of them! Which are just so adorable you can’t help but smile! Next year I get the honor of photographing their wedding! I just know it is going to be amazing, filled with laughter & love, and yes a very cute little munchkin who will be a whole lot bigger! I can hardly wait for next year to get here and see the amazing wedding that Erin & Craig planned together!

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Rhonda Giedt Photography is not your average San Francisco engagement and wedding photographer and brings a fun, sassy style of photography to your wedding along with a touch of romance. Each wedding is customized to capture the details and care that you put into your wedding day that is not found with other San Francisco wedding photography studios.

So excited to be sponsoring the ISES NCC (Northern California Chapter) event on March 19th! If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I hope to see you there!

In photography everyone tells you to be different, find your own point of view, and be unique. Easier said than done. When faced with vast photography references such as Pinterest, wedding blogs, millions of wedding photographer sites, inspiration boards and more it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. It’s veryeasy to sit back and think, it’s all been done before. There is nothing new out there. Every client has already seen something like this. In truth, it probably all has been done before. But here’s the secret…it hasn’t been done by you. You’ve probably heard the saying, if ten photographers were photographing the exact same subject you would get ten completely different photos.

So how do you be different, find your own point of view, and break out from the crowd? Start with a few helpful tricks I’ve learned along the way or from other amazing photographers that I’ve met over the years.

1. Take Photos Everyday

Create an assignment each day and use creative ways to create photographs that show off styles that you like. After a while, a trend will start evolving which can become your own unique style.

2. Create a Pinterest Inspiration Board

Yes, the thing that I said that can discourage you can also actually help you a lot. Pinterest can be a blessing or a curse depending on how it is used. Consolidating images into on board can clearly showcase the types of photography that you are drawn to, styles that are similar, or even poses that can inspire you.

3. Shoot for Yourself

This can be a difficult concept to grasp when struggling with a creative block. Plus what does ‘shooting for yourself’ really mean? The great thing (and sometimes not so great thing) is that it can mean anything! Portrait photographers can photograph landscapes, models can be recruited to try different lighting concepts, a flower bouquet could inspire a themed shoot, the possibilities are endless. Just take one concept at a time and soon that search for your unique style will be found.

4. Be Yourself

It is easy to get self-conscious, to think that everyone else creates better pictures than you, has better equipment than you, etc. When this happens people tend to try to be like everyone else. It’s sometimes scary to step out on a ledge and scream ‘this is mean people’! But be yourself and things will happen. Each person is unique and has a unique perspective on life. When you embrace that, you start to find your own unique style in photography.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

It is difficult to put a photo that you created out in front of others. One that you have spent hours creating and love everything about it. What if people don’t like it? What will people think? When this happens think back to when you were a little kid. When you weren’t afraid of anything. And listen to that encouraging voice saying ‘you can’t worry about what others think’. Then grab your camera and take on the world!