Sneak Peek: Krystal + Cliff Engagement

Cherry blossoms came out early in the season and we're so glad we got to shoot soon enough to see them. Krystal and Cliff were such troopers even though it was a little chilly. We loved how they willing and playful they were during this shoot. 

 Krystal and Cliff found us through a common acquaintance and we hit it off right away the first time we met them. We had no doubt in our minds that we'd have an awesome time shooting both of them. Their love and exuberance show in these photos

 We found a picturesque spot in High Park. Love the bridge and the fairyland-like look of this part of the park.

 Who knew that our crazy idea of shooting in the bushes/branches would look so romantic. Gotta give props to Krystal and Cliff for making this look effortless!

 This is probably one of my favourite shots in the batch. It shows just how much fun these two can be just playing around in front of the camera. 

 We got a little closer and were amazed at what we were able to capture. Intimate shots = LOVE!

 The view (and bugs!) were worth it, even if we had to swat our way to the end of the docks! Haha =)

 Love Cliff's expression and Krystal's classy demeanor.

 And lastly, shots at the beautiful Distillery District. You can never go wrong with brick walls and cobblestone pavements.

Thanks Krystal and Cliff for such a fun shoot!

Day 4: fun!

I'm doing this Photo-A-Day Challenge on Instagram and I'm having so much fun so far in doing some of the daily photo projects. For Day 4, I did some baking for a friends' daughter's 2nd birthday. Her party was pink lemonade themed. Here are some of our photos on Instagram. Love, love, love! Beautiful pink lemonade cake by The Caketress.

random stuff

Hello! I wanted to write a post about pinwheels, but this computer at work is ancient and would not let me save, let alone upload pictures on to the blog because of some browser incompatibility problems. Oh well. It just feels weird letting a few days pass without some sort of post or update, so here I am =)

We've been busy with our regular day jobs (yes, we are still working like normal people, in case some are wondering), and a few interesting shoots that we can't wait to share with you soon. We did some fun newborn shoot over the weekend, as well as a cute engagement shoot we just started editing. Hopefully, I'll be able to upload some teasers soon. The weekends are really starting to look busy with engagement appointments, so we're somehow trying to sneak in a few side trips here and there so here's a peek of our trip planning the next few months. We're hoping there'll be bride and grooms who may be interested in booking us while we're visiting the following cities, because we'd love to meet and chat with all of you =)

May 19-21: Tobermory, Ontario

May 31-June 3: Chicago, Illinois

June 4 - 8: Orlando, Florida

July 6-9: TBA

Anyway, are you guys following us on Instagram yet?? If not, please do so, we'd love to see your pictures as well. Our usernames: janapearls and adrianp81 respectively (How obvious is it that Mr. Pearls was born 1981?? haha). I love meeting interesting people from different places and it's such an amazing way to meet fellow photographers/photography enthusiasts as well. Also, it's a great avenue for promoting our business although, I'm a bit wary when it comes to file sharing that sometimes happen either accidentally or intentionally. Just recently one of our photos ended up on a Tumblr blog without any sort of watermark and/or credit info and it's upsetting because, just because we are not the type of photographers who bathe their photos in watermark labels doesn't mean we don't expect our work to be recognized or associated with us. So a simple advice to everyone. Be careful with what you're posting online. If it's not your picture, please give credit to the people who actually worked hard to take them. You never know what sort of copyright lawsuit you can run into if you're not careful. On a lighter note, warmer days are upon us and we can't wait to start wedding season the next few weeks =)

Happy Wednesday!

Lady Anne Maternity Session

Been meaning to post these for awhile. So many beautiful pictures from this set but here are some of our favourites =)

Congratulations, Lady Anne and Anthony! We can't wait to meet your little princess!

tips for great engagement sessions

 Engagement season is upon us! It's as if the beginning of spring signals the start of wedding festivities and engagement photo sessions. A lot of brides usually contact us during this time asking how they should prepare for their much awaited engagement session, so here are some suggestions based on our personal experience in photographing these momentous event. Of course, you don't have to follow all of these, but these are merely suggestions to ensure you look your best for one of the most celebrated events leading up to your big day. Here we go....

1. Have your hair and make-up professionally done. This is a great time to do trial make up and hair, and visualize how you would look on your actual wedding day. We always tell our brides and grooms that the engagement session is a great opportunity to create memories that best reflect their personalities. With this in mind, having make up and hair done should not make you look unnatural, but should simply enhance natural beauty.  A good make-up artist will be able to create a look that makes you effortlessly beautiful and not overdone. While you're at it, pay close attention to your nails. Your most prized accessory will be photographed and it's a chance to show off those enviable and lovely hands =)

 2. Don't get caught up in location/props. In other words, keep it simple! While it's important to pick a location that is most memorable to you, or reflects your relationship the most, location is in fact, just a location. The engagement session is a great way to tell a story and the use of props should be meaningful as not to take away from telling your story. Staying in one location also allows us to have enough time to put your story together nicely and cohesively.

 3. What should I wear for my engagement shoot? Coordinating your outfits is key! You don't necessarily have to wear matching outfits to looks great in your engagement session. If she's wearing a plain dress, he can wear a printed shirt. Keep it simple with accessories as well. Don't go overboard. If hiring a stylist is in your budget, then by all means =)

 4. Final advice: Relax and have fun! This reminds me greatly of a FRIENDS episode when Monica and Chandler went to get their engagement session and Chandler couldn't get rid of his nervous smile. We try our best to make you as comfortable as possible and we hope you find this as much fun as we do. We want to be able to show your great personalities through your pictures so having a fun shoot matters to us. 

Thanks Michaella and Paulo for being such a fun couple =)

eggplant omelette (tortang talong)

Eggplant omelette or Tortang talong in Filipino is a popular Filipino dish. It's my first time making it so I had to google a recipe and found this really interesting food blog. Thanks tinybites.ca for the step-by-step and pictures =) Click here if you're interested! Eggplants are rich in folic acid and potassium and helps block free radicals. Delicious and healthy!

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
2 eggs
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Directions:
1. Using your oven, set it to broil on high. Put the eggplants in a rack and make sure to turn them to broil all sides.
2. After all sides are broiled, remove the skin.
3. Using a knife, cut the eggplant in strips, leaving the top part and opening the eggplant like a fan
4. Scramble the eggs and add salt and pepper. Dip the eggplant into the egg mixture.
5. Fry on medium heat and turn until both sides are cooked.
6. Enjoy!

hoisin beef with vegetables

Hoisin Beef with Vegetables

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe, so here's a quick recipe for you :)

Ingredients:

beef tenderloin cut into strips

1 cup of snowpeas

1/2 of yellow bell pepper cut into strips

2 carrots cut into strips

1 medium tomato cut into cubes

1 medium onion 

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce

1/4 cup of soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

cooking oil

Directions:

1. Marinate the strips of beef in half of the soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a medium pan, add some cooking oil. Set on medium heat, saute garlic and onions. Add the tomatoes. Add the beef and cook until it's brown on all sides. 

3. Add the vegetables and stir fry. 

4. Add the remaining soy sauce and the hoisin sauce

5. Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Sneak Peek: Maternity Shoot

Is this a maternity shoot or an engagement shoot? Don't worry, I'm confused too. These two look so happy and so good together, we couldn't help taking photos of them. Congratulations, Dre and Toya on your newest addition! We can't wait to meet him soon. xoxo

back from Chi-town!

I could have sworn I posted an entry before our Chicago trip but I guess I must have forgotten to publish. Hmmm. Strange and slightly annoying. I am now picture-less and post-less haha. Anyway, I had an awesome time! (Note: I said "I" had an awesome time. I can't speak for Mr. Pearls who was probably annoyed at my crazy fan-girl phase). Again, too bad I can't post pictures and I can't link it either because the web browser at work is so old. I can't even format this post properly. Oh well. I have a few days off in the next little while so hopefully all of these technological issues will get resolved.

As I was saying, I was in awe of Chicago! What a beautiful city. Love the old buildings and beautiful architecture. Love the picturesque parks and quite striking landmarks. Love the rows and rows of flowering trees, cherry blossom and semi-NYC but cleaner feel of the city. It's a shame we were only there for a little bit because I would have loved to stay and take more pictures. I think our rushed/distracted tour of the city did not quite do justice in capturing the beauty of this city. So needless to say, we'll definitely be back. Chicago future bride and grooms, please invite us soon! We would love to visit your beautiful city again!

At the end of it all, I made new friends. How often do you go away and get to meet amazing individuals who are just as dedicated (and slightly crazy haha) as you are? It was truly an amazing experience. I will tell you more about it shortly when I'm not as distracted. Although, for those individuals looking for some M&G pictures, they will be up shortly. Email me at adrianandjanaphotography@gmail.com and I will email you the details of how to access the gallery and the very secret gallery password. *wink*

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

**UPDATE** a SNEAK PEEK!

Chicago bound!

Hello! Still haven't resolved my picture-lessness haha. Attempting to mobile blog while road tripping to the Windy City -- Chicago! Been planning to visit for quite awhile but haven't had the chance until now that an opportunity presented itself. Hitting two birds with one stone :-))....and it's been difficult trying to contain my excitement. I'll give you more details in the coming days. Thank God for technological devices, or I don't think I will survive these long trips. Although, I am easily amused ☺

Next two weeks we'll be starting spring engagement sessions....signs that wedding season will soon be here! I can't wait to go out and shoot more specially cause we'll be seeing cherry blossoms soon! If not for spring allergies, this would have been my favorite season! Anyway,I tried attaching a link to my instagram as I've recently posted some of my favorite pictures from our recent maternity shoot. If you can't see the picture, visit my instagram page.

Happy Friday!

time, i've been passing time...

Hey there. Still stuck in my picture-less paradise! Too bad I can't share new pictures with you because our first maternity set is beautiful. I love how this particular set is turning out to be. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I'll be able to share new pictures with you again =)

Here's a sneak peek... This is the instagram version so the bokeh filter is not really a part of the final edit. I was just having fun with it =)

By the way, we're visiting the beautiful city of Chicago next week and I'm so excited. I can't tell you yet why we're going but what's guaranteed is we're gonna have a great time. I just know it. I hope it's not such a short trip because we would have loved to offer photo sessions to interested Chicago residents particularly, a couple who's interested in having their photos taken by two out-of-town wedding photographers. Love if we can combine the two things we love to do (photography and travel) and make a living out of that. Anyway, I will update you as the date gets closer. 

Happy Thursday! 

hello hello, would you like to go out with us???

Oh no! Blogger has locked me out of posting new pictures. I never knew there was a limit in storage capacity...oh well, no new pictures at least until I purchase more storage. Is this a sign I should consider moving my blog soon??? Hmmm...Seriously considering it, but I'm such an old soul, I'd probably stay for sentimental reasons.....we'll see!

How are you all doing?? The weather has been so amazing and luckily on my days off, hence the absence. I wish I could tell you I'm out there and taking more photos, but so far, I've only managed to instagram with my iPod. I do want to go out there and take more photos, so we're planning a photo walk this coming April. Anyone want to come with us??? I don't know the details yet as it is still in the planning phase. It could be a nature trip. Or better yet, it might very well be a styled shoot. Thinking of getting models, specifically a good looking couple looking to have their photos done by professional photographers and semi-professional photographers, or just photography loving peeps. We're aiming for April 8th for our first photo date. The date is of course, tentative, just in case things come up, but we'll give enough notice =) Send us a brief intro/note if you want to come with us at adrianandjanaphotography@gmail.com. 

See you all soon =)

wedding trends: chalkboards!

Love this chalkboard trend! Look at all the interesting ways you can use chalkboards at your wedding!

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how are you??

I wish blogging was as easy as instagramming. I'm a little (a lot) frustrated that mobile blogging won't let me add photos and some days, I don't really have much to say...just pictures to share :) Anyway, today was a running errands kind of day despite the fact that it's crazy -20C feeling outdoors today. Had an awesome time hanging out with my best friend's new baby and taking random outdoor shots with my iPod. If you want to see how my day went in pictures, follow me on Instagram. My handle: janapearls.

Follow at your own risk! I post 4-6 pictures a day which might be annoying haha (at least I recognize my Instagram addiction haha) especially on my days off. I love how it keeps me occupied and I get so amused wih new photo editing filters.

How's your Monday?

sneak peek: Melanie and Ian

We had so much fun covering Ian and Melanie's civil wedding. Here are some of our favourite shots!

recipe: easy pan-fried salmon and baby bokchoy

Need a quick and easy lunch recipe? Try this.

Ingredients:

baby bokchoy
garlic
kikkoman soy sauce
salmon
salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Directions:

Season the salmon with salt and pepper. A little bit of cayenne pepper could be added for flavour.
In a medium pan, add vegetable oil and set at medium heat. Add the salmon and cook until golden brown.

In a separate pan, cook the garlic in a little bit of oil. Add the baby bokchoy. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and serve with the salmon.

Enjoy!

wedding trends: white on white weddings

Whoever said white on white weddings are boring clearly are not as imaginative as these brides. Check out these inspiration boards! Love all the ideas and intrinsic details. White on white is so elegant and winter wedding appropriate :)

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How about white with a hint of lavender? Like this...

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