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Photos Just So

Street Address
Modesto
5107081258
Wedding and Commercial Photographer Serving the Modesto, Sacramento and Bay Area California

Photos Just So

  • About Us
  • Pricing
  • Weddings
  • Portraits
  • Branding
  • Headshots
  • Blog
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Jon + Monica's Grand View Park Engagement // San Francisco, CA

May 8, 2015 Justin Souza
grand view park engagement

Justin and I have known Jon for just over ten years. We met back when we were all graduate students in Cornell’s MFA writing program – Justin and I in poetry, Jon in fiction. Together, we’ve seen each other’s highest highs and lowest lows, so trust us when we say there have been no better years than the ones Jon has spent with Monica. When they started dating, it was obvious that Monica’s wit and self-assuredness were a match for Jon’s (which is saying a lot). Add to that the fact that she’s brilliant AND beautiful and we were very clear from the beginning that he had to LOCK THAT DOWN.

And he did. And we were beyond excited, especially when they asked us to shoot their engagement session. Together, the four of us retraced their courtship in San Francisco – beginning at the Hidden Garden Steps, which are right next to their first apartment. From there, we walked up to the aptly named Grand View Park and looked out at all of the different spots in the city that they've spent time in. After sunset, we drove back to Jon and Monica's home and snapped a few final portraits in their SF living room.

It was a great day, a great shoot, and it made us all the more sad that we can't be the ones to shoot their wedding in August. It's my fault, really, for timing the birth of my second child within days of their wedding.

Congratulations on your engagement, Jon and Monica!

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In engagements Tags engagement, san francisco, grand view park, hidden garden steps
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Modesto Wedding Photographers

hello & welcome

Photos Just So is Justin and Dana, a married pair of award winning wedding photographers who capture colorful, unique, adventurous couples from California's Central Valley to the Bay Area, Yosemite, Sacramento and beyond.

We love love. And we think it shows.

Our blog is a showcase of some of the many love stories our clients have shared with us.

We can't wait to join you in yours.

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Olive + Jade's Whimsical Floral Wedding // Polestar Farm // Esparto, CA
Olive + Jade's Whimsical Floral Wedding // Polestar Farm // Esparto, CA

It’s been ten years since gay marriage was legalized in this country, which simultaneously feels like a long and frighteningly small amount of time. I would never define Olive and Jade by their genders or sexualities but it also feels important to say that non-binary and trans people will always be safe with us (I wouldn’t have mentioned gender at all if I hadn’t run it by these two first). Dana and I operate a very queer, very neurodiverse household so it’s probably no surprise that those are the clients and families we work with the most. Things can feel dark right now and maybe you need the pick-me-up of a colorful DIY wedding by an incredible floral artist and their cool as hell musician bride? It can’t hurt, anyway.

Ten years of shooting unabashed LGBTQ+ joy! What a privilege.

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Melissa + Andrew's Boho Yosemite Wedding // Rush Creek Lodge // Groveland, CA
Melissa + Andrew's Boho Yosemite Wedding // Rush Creek Lodge // Groveland, CA

THE BEST-LAID PLANS

About 25 miles from Yosemite Valley Chapel (where Andrew’s parents were married decades before), Rush Creek Lodge and Spa in Groveland would be a great jumping-off point for a Yosemite park wedding and a family-friendly hotel reception. Unfortunately, the roads into Yosemite sustained storm damage and at the last minute, Rush Creek Lodge became the location for Melissa and Andrew’s getting-ready, ceremony AND reception. It was impressive to see how both the lodge and the couple pivoted last-minute to put on a beautiful ceremony on the Rush Creek site itself, which was a short walk/golf cart ride up a trail into a secluded forest area. It may not have been the exact day they dreamed up, but you’d never know it was Plan B. I don’t want to get into too many details about the wedding day because that’s Melissa and Andrew’s private adventure, but I will say that I’m very thankful to have been able to document a small part of their love story.

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Michelle + David's Enchanted Forest Adventure Elopement // Purisima Creek Redwoods // Half Moon Bay, CA
Michelle + David's Enchanted Forest Adventure Elopement // Purisima Creek Redwoods // Half Moon Bay, CA

What is an adventure elopement?

Unlike a City Hall wedding, an adventure elopement is usually outdoors - getting to the location where you’ll say your vows is an integral part of the experience! It doesn’t always have to be a serious trek, though. David and Michelle opted to get married in the Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve and I would estimate we only hiked 10 or so minutes from the trailhead, though it took 20 or 30 minutes of driving straight into the forest from Half Moon Bay to get to the trailhead in the first place.

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justin @ photosjustso.com
Telephone (510) 708-1258

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