welcome
welcome
welcome
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 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 love boba, plants, off-roading in our Tacoma, trying yummy new foods, and pretty much all animals (even creepy crawly ones). I love making friends and building a relationship with all of my clients in order to capture the best photos of them ever!
I'm Rachel
Hey there!
My professional Photography Journey so far:
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
2021
2022
Decided to do this hobby photography thing "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! Also purchased my first full frame (pro) camera.
2019
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!
How I photograph you:
My goal when photographing you is to get you to relax and feel as comfortable as possible in front of the camera. I want you to be ok with laughing your face off but also snuggling up together as if I'm not even there. I do 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. I'll also pose and direct you based on where we are and what natural elements are around us. I think being able to incorporate little bits of our surroundings into a part of a photo is so special and fun. It really challenges me to use my surroundings to make your photos amazing!
< Back
Once we're comfy YOU'LL be distracted from the fact that I'm there staring at you with a camera in hand, because I know how scary that can be! I do 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!
What i love about weddings:
Obviously I can say that I think eloping is the best because I did it and it went amazingly well. BUT I have about a million reasons why I love elopements and intimate weddings. To me they are so freaking flexible! They allow you to have YOUR day. The day all about you and your future spouse, not about who is invited, who will sit next to who or how much money you spend on food (BUT IT CAN BE IF YOU WANT IT TO BE). Thats the best part. You can put your energy and money into things that matter to YOU. It provides so much flexibility and freedom compared to a traditional wedding day and you'll end your day so filled with happiness and love.
I love getting to photograph elopements and intimate weddings because they allow me so much creative freedom as a photographer and I LOVE being in beautiful places. I am obsessed with being outdoors and traveling to new places which is where my love of photography began so getting to be outside in a beautiful place watching you marry the love of your life is a dream come true for me!
I personally love getting to photograph elopements and intimate weddings because they allow me so much creative freedom as a photographer and I really just I LOVE being in beautiful places. I am obsessed with being outdoors and traveling to new places which is where my love of photography began so getting to be outside somewhere new watching you marry the love of your life is a dream come true for me!
I love weddings because they're just SO fun! When I started my photography journey I always said "Oh I'll NEVER shoot weddings". I had this misconception that they would be crazy, tiring and overwhelming days (especially for my introverted self) but I was so wrong! I've discovered I really love just hanging out, enjoying the moments alongside you and getting all the best shots. I'm very laid back and composed when shooting weddings and love to go with the flow while also helping to move things along with the timeline of the day.
WhY PhoToGRapHy?
I really was that kid/teenager with a camera in hand ALL THE TIME. I think I asked for a camera for every birthday (and ran off with the family camera) and then eventually saved up to buy a cute little digital camera for those MySpace mirror selfies and dog pics! I was gifted a film SLR film camera in 2009 and then purchased my first ever DSLR camera about a year later in 2010. After that I started taking photos of everyone and everything!
Fast forward to about 2018 my boyfriend (now husband) and I started off-roading in our Tacoma all over southern California and we would find the COOLEST places. I was always telling him I wished I could photograph people in these spots and that's when I started looking more and more into photography as a profession.
At the end of 2018 my husband proposed to me (you bet I had my camera on me) and we decided to elope in Maui shortly after. After how much fun we had with our wedding photographer and seeing all the beautiful photos I was hooked! I decided I wanted to capture other couples in love surrounded by nature and beautiful sceneries and that's when I decided to put all of my effort into pursuing photography as more than a hobby.
More recently photography has started to mean so much more to me than I could have ever imagined. My dad was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (brain cancer) in March 2020 and lost his battle in October 2021. Something I will always cherish are the photos of my dad at my elopement, getting to forever look back on the memories of that day with him by my side is something I am so grateful for.
My life experiences have given me a great understanding of what it means to be a photographer and a want to capture the little intimate moments from your special time in front of my camera. I strive to make sure I can get all the sweet moments with loved ones and the quiet moments with just you and your partner so you can keep reliving the day for years to come.
A newfound deeper meaning: