Posts tagged weddingsf
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.

Boris Polisskyphotography, weddingsf, engagement, barhopping, barengagement, sfengagement, sanfranciscophotographyComment
Audrey & Daniel

When you’re shooting at a beautiful place with lots of cool spots and backdrops it makes a photographer’s life easier. Locations like San Francisco City Hall with the Grand Stairwell, large balconies full of natural light and grandeur, look outstanding on the photos and allow us as photographers to get away with some imperfections of the moment. You have a couple walking down the stairwell, there’s no one else in the shot, it’s a clean look and the image looks outstanding. Well.. the backdrop is outstanding but many couples still need guidance as not everyone is a professional model or just appears naturally on camera.

This is where the photographers real abilities come in. You have an outstanding backdrop, now let’s bring out the emotions, make the couple feel comfortable and just be themselves in front of the camera. To me that can mean many things but I always think of movie director analogy. My couples are not professional actors but they are in love, and are enjoying their big day. So no acting is needed but they often times a simpler reminder to just enjoy it, have fun and don’t forget what this day really is, goes a long way. And it’s not about posing for cameras. It’s my job to capture the couples’ true relationship, their feelings and emotions as they go through the wedding day. I know I say emotions a lot in this post and others but to me it’s the key. Yes, light is very important. Yes, a nice location is definitely helpful. But without honest, true emotions it’s just nice light in a pretty place. It says nothing about the couple. And my goal is with the images to say just that. And if I have to be silly, a terrible comedian, bring out some moments from their past, make them talk, laugh or cry, I will do whatever I have to do to achieve that. During image post processing I want to look at these images and make sure I feel something. I often look at them and smile because it just feels right and I’m happy we were able to capture the joy and fun of the day the couple will remember for the rest of their lives.

With Audrey and Daniel I wanted to capture their feeling for each other, their care, tenderness but also goofiness and silliness which makes life fun. We started at Baker Beach on a cold, very foggy morning. Then we drove to San Francisco City Hall for the ceremony.

Boris Polisskysanfranciscowedding, sanfranscisco, bakerbeach, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphotoraphy, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhall, weddingsf, photography, sanfranciscophotographyComment
Lana & Tom Sutro Baths Wedding

I love when couples called me because I was recommended to them by their friends. To me that’s the biggest compliment one can get. So when Lana contacted me about a wedding they were planning in November I was excited. After talking with Lana and Tom over the phone i felt that this is my kind of couple. And it’s hard to explain exactly what that is but generally there’s a connection. And to me having that connection is extremely important. It allows for complete trust in each other. It also allows the couple to be a lot more relaxed with me. And from the start there was no tension. We didn’t need 5-10 minutes to get to know each other and overcome meeting new people sort of deal. As i said we just connected and as a result we were able to get some really cool images.

Lana and Tom contemplated a few locations for their ceremony till they settled down on the Sutro Baths in San Francisco and we agreed that “the golden hour” and sunset would be the best time for what we wanted. The ceremony was very intimate. Just them, an officiant and myself. They day was just perfect. The sky especially was gorgeous and my eyes were drawn to it. As a result i wanted to make sure we have the beautiful sky in the background on a lot of the shots.

sf weddingsBoris PolisskySF City Hall Photophotography, sutrobathsphotography, sutrobathswedding, sanfranciscowedding, sanfrancisco, weddingsf, sutrobathssf, goldengatebridgeComment
Tala & Jad

On March 17 for the first time since reopening in 1999, San Francisco City Hall closed down for all wedding ceremonies. As counties in San Francisco Bay Area became the first in the US to mandate “shelter to place” order, all wedding ceremonies got cancelled through April 17..

While coronavirus was taking hold on Europe and various parts of the world, it was still relatively on a low radar in the US. The toilet paper panic hasn’t started. Beans, pasta and rice were still available on the shelves at the stores. But couples started cancelling their wedding as they were concerned already. All that changed in a few days when more and more cases of COVID 19 were being reported in the US, particularly in SF Bay Area.

Tala & Jad didn’t want to cancel. They were determined to get married. They didn’t have a large party. It was just them, Tala’s brother with his wife and daughter. And they were lots of fun! You could tell from the start when they are just “good fun people”. They laughed, joked … and then even danced extremely well.

While this was one of my last sessions at the City Hall before the lockdown, I have no doubt life will go back to normal. Engaged couples will once again walk into the City Hall and leave it happily married… with great memories and photos.

city hall wedding, guide, sf weddingsBoris Polisskysfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallphotographer, cityhallsf, sfcityhallwedding, wedding, weddingguide, weddingsf, sanfrancisco, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, portraitphotography, photographersf, photographerComment