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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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Alex + Katie's Casually Elegant Forest Wedding // Union Hotel // Occidental, CA

March 14, 2016 Justin Souza
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We'll admit it: we love to shoot in photojournalist style, to capture a wedding day as it is. That is, ultimately, what wedding photography should be about - documenting a momentous day, all of the ins and outs and emotion and absurdity. Don't get us wrong, posed formals are great, too! It's just that it's these real moments - the unposed kisses, the surprise selfie at the altar, that time your great aunt rocked it to "Ice, Ice Baby" on the dancefloor - that tend to be the most meaningful in the longrun.

So we were understandably thrilled when Alex and Katie specifically requested this style: a minimum of posing, a maximum of candids. It gave us a chance to blend into the background and really focus on capturing moments. That request, plus the incredible redwood-forest-setting of the Union Hotel in Occidental, combined to create one of our favorite wedding photosets ever. Keep an eye out for gnomes, handmade illustrations by Katie, gently falling forest detritus, lush flowers by Aimee Lomeli Designs and an intimate, candle-and-lamplit reception at the Union Hotel's Bocce Ballroom. Thank you, Alex and Katie, for letting us be a part of your magical wedding day!

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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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