I'm a wedding and elopement photographer currently living in Oceanside, CA just north of San Diego! I love living here with my husband, we're about an hour and a half away from the mountains, a little less than 2 hours to the desert and only 10 min from the beach! My husband and I love to be outside and explore new places often in our Tacoma that we take everywhere! Living somewhere so diverse allows me to spend hours weekly soaking up all the fresh air and sunshine while always scouting for new spots to shoot!

I'm a Disneyland annual passholder (yes, I refuse to call it a Magic Key IYKYK) and love heading to the parks to people watch and eat yummy food. I have dual citizenship with New Zealand (thanks mom!), I think aviation and spaceflight are both so interesting and I love watching rocket launches via livestream wherever I happen to be at the time!  I constantly crave boba, have plants, obsess over Taylor Swift, and I'm constantly trying yummy new foods, I love pretty much all animals (even the creepy crawly ones). 

I'm Rachel!

Once we're started and the ice is broken YOU'LL be distracted from the fact that I'm there staring at you with a camera in hand. I try to get a LOT of those more natural candid shots and we'll have a ton of fun getting them! I'll also get those posed smiling at the camera photos for mom and grandma because I KNOW they always like (and expect) those! 

>> Get you to relax and feel as comfortable as possible in front of the camera. I want you to be ok with sharing genuine laughter with me but also snuggling up together as if I'm not even there.

>> Give a mix of light prompting and subtle posing, you'll get tons of thoughtful direction like how to place your feet and where to put your hands so you look more natural and comfy.

>> Use our surroundings and natural elements around us to make those lasting memories. I think being able to incorporate little our surroundings into a part of a photo is so rewarding and fun. It really challenges me to get creative with my work!







How I want to serve you:

My Photo Journey:

We all know how this year went BUT I didn't give up and spent the slow times learning and perfecting my craft. I also shot my first wedding AND moved to Oceanside at the end of the year!

2020- The PANDEMIC

2021- Moving to oceanside

2022- LEt's do this!

Decided to start doing photography "for real" and really try to make something out of what I loved! This is when I made it IG official, so you know I meant business! I also purchased my first full frame (pro) camera.

2019- Rachel Laura photography was born!

Started over in a new town at the beginning of the year. Found all the best new spots (location scouting is the best) met amazing clients, and grew my business WAY faster than I had expected when we moved! 

Had a completely booked year! Shot TONs of couples (my dream), met so many amazing clients, and shot more weddings than I could have ever imagined! 2023 is stacking up to be the best year ever! 

I'm a HUGE animal lover and not really afraid of anything creepy or crawly. So if we see some kind of animal at your session...don't be surprised when i'm more excited than freaked out! Here we are freaking out about chickens at our elopement. 

Traveling and exploring new places! I know that sound so cliche because I mean who doesn't like to travel haha

My husband and I love heading to new places with no plans, exploring without a destination and just being present in a new place. 

I love elopements! As much as I love big weddings I absolutely love elopements. The intimacy of the day and the way it feels just brings me back to the day I eloped with my husband. 

Being outside is a HUGE mood booster for me. On weekends you can usually catch me doing something in the sun or out with our truck driving all over the place! 

We love adventuring anywhere and everywhere! 

Location scouting is a favorite way for me to combine two of my favorite things, photography and being outside. I love finding new and beautiful spots to take your photos! 


Favorite things

Keeping photography fun is so important for me. I want to enjoy this forever so I can always eagerly serve you! To keep it fun I continue to do what got me on this photography journey to begin with; landscapes, architecture, and nature photography! I also LOVE playing with film and film simulation. Photography is a HUGE passion of mine.

Just-for-fun Photography

Besides your spouse, your photographer is the person you'll spend the most time with on your wedding day so getting to know each other is important. I share about myself so you can feel like I'd be someone you would feel comfortable hanging out with ALL day on your wedding day!

And who KNOWS...maybe we'll be new BFFS!