Valentine's Day Boudoir Portraits from Nancy Rothstein Photography

This Valentine's Day, give the look of love with images from your intimate portrait session. Schedule a session in the studio or in your own boudoir, and we will create something special for your true love.

We'll also be collaborating with our neighbors at Majestic Day Spa to offer a package complete with deluxe makeup and eyelash application and a 30 minute portrait sitting with one fully retouched 8x10 print. These special sessions will be available January 31st and February 1st starting at 8AM and you'll have your prints by February 14th!! Call to schedule: 877-881-7221 or email nancy@nancyrothstein.com

One of my favorites....

Quen & Kathryn

Quen & Kathryn had a perfectly beautiful day for their wedding. I loved being a part of their celebration. The day started sweetly with a special message from the groom to the bride...good job, Quen!!

Jennifer & Justin

I'm catching up on some overdue blogging, finally getting to share a few images from this wonderful wedding photographed by my associate, Kelvin. Jen & Justin are a really great couple with a great sense of humor. Congratulations again on your beautiful wedding!

Reunion

It was so nice to see my old friend Andrew who was in town from New York with his sweet partner Paul. We lived together in San Francisco way back when...he's now a seasoned PR dynamo with Strohl & Co. (www.strohlnco.com.)

Jen Laursen made us a lovely dinner of the world famous Lucca ravioli (www.lucaravioli.com), a San Francisco staple. She is a talented artist and designer of fabulous accessories. Check out the amazing earrings she's wearing, one of her very own creations...Her company, aptly named Preen, can be found on www.etsy.com (search for seller "preenyourself") where you'll find some of her great pieces for hair. She also does custom work for weddings! Thanks for a lovely evening...

Oh, and I couldn't resist capturing the Cher album cover in her collection. WAY over the top.

Heather and Shawn...

...had a beautiful wedding under all these gorgeous trees. What a perfect setting. The only things missing were their puppies, Trouble and Murphy, who had to stay home for the night.

Check out the April post "Bring your dogs to the engagement session" which has the whole family, puppies and all. Now we just have to do another session with Summit, the new addition to the family!

Calling Yelp Elite! You rock!

Last night I got to hang out and photograph a very special group of highly classified individuals and their closest +1...the Yelp Elite. I can't say much about them because its all very top level intelligence, but suffice it to say, they know how to have a good time. Ligaya of Yelp.com organized an awesome event to launch Yelp events in the East Bay and she did an amazing job. My good friends Shonna and Nathaniel of Majestic Day Spa (www.majesticdayspa.com) were there and I also made a lot of new friends. Check out a few of my favorites below. To see all of the images from the evening go to www.nancyrothstein.com and click on the client gallery link in the bottom right hand corner of the home page. Select the Yelp event from the drop down menu of recent events. Enjoy! See you on Yelp...which if you don't know, is the best place to give and get reviews of local businesses.

Shannon & Rachelle at Ralston Hall

I had so much fun photographing Shannon and Rachelle's wedding at the lovely Ralston Hall in Belmont. Not only are they great people, they're great dancers! The day was beautiful, and in addition to the perfect outdoor ceremony, there were actually deer grazing on the lawn... talk about communing with nature!

SFGate Baylist Best Nomination

I am really honored to be nominated for the Best Wedding Photographer on SFGate's Baylist. Here is a link to see the reviews and cast your vote, should you so desire:

http://baylist.sfgate.com/nancy-rothstein-photography/biz/116246

Thanks so much to all of you who have written such sweet things about me and my work. It is really my connection to all of you that makes me love what I do!

Check out our new logo!

I'm so excited to present my new logo, part of an ongoing face lift for the studio. I worked with Rachel Long, an amazing Bay Area graphic designer who's totally cool and amazingly creative. I'd love to hear what you think!

Back from Thailand!

I know the rules of blogging...first and foremost you actually have to do it! But, I know you'll forgive me...I've been in Thailand for the last six weeks (add two more to recover from the jet lag.) I was mostly on a yoga & meditation retreat, so there aren't a ton of photos, but I have plenty of weddings and portraits to catch you up on. All coming shortly, I promise!

The really exciting news is that I'm going to be spending a regular season in Thailand each year, focusing on international destination weddings. So, if you are planning a wedding abroad, definitely give me a call! I might already be at your dream destination!

Morgan Hill Wedding at Guglielmo Winery

I love photographing vineyard weddings. Something about the landscape (combined with the excellent wines) makes the atmosphere feel like the perfect summer day. I recommend taking a bit of time out to do portraits in the vines just before sunset when the light is lovely.

Pregnancy Portraits

What an honor to create images to record this special time. I really enjoy these pregnancy portrait sessions, and look forward to photographing the newborn when it arrives. Here are some images from one of my recent sessions, along with the mother-to-be Lisa's thoughts on working with me.

"Nancy authentically captured the essence of how I feel about my pregnancy--beautiful! I would never imagine anyone else taking these pictures at such a special, blessed time in my and my fiance's lives. We are so blessed to have Nancy as a part of our lives and soon to be our baby's life too--forever."

Another view of the Golden Gate Bridge...

So here's another great session photographed by my associate photographer Kelvin. He's an awesome photographer and a lot of fun to work with. For this session they started out at Crissy field, which, like Baker Beach, has a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then they went on to roam the streets of North Beach. Once again I am pressed for time, (do I sound like a broken record, or what!?!) but here are a few of my favorites! Here's what Jennifer & Justin had to say about their session with Kelvin:

"We had such a good time during our session. Kelvin was very chill and fun to be around. He can be quiet but he sure knew what he was doing. As I got a sense of his style and the way he approached his shots, I just went along with whatever angle he wanted to take because I knew it would be great. For one shot, he pointed out these red stairs in front of this random house in the North Beach area. Frankly, the doorway looked ugly to me, but after taking a few steps away, I knew it'd be better to trust Kelvin's taste and the pictures turned out beautifully! The color was vibrant and acted as a wonderful backdrop. We were able to be ourselves and be silly with Kelvin,and his appreciation made it that much more fun. I laughed so much, all my laugh wrinkles came out! Good thing that Nancy will edit them all out...haha."

Bring your dogs to the Engagement Session!

Attention dog lovers! I want to show you what is possible when you bring your dogs to the Engagement session. Heather & Shawn brought their two pups to the Bernal Heights dog park for their session and we had a great time. I'm in between sessions so I can't post much now, but I had to share this image, which cracks me up. I can just see the little cartoon bubble above the dog's heads saying "They're at it again...gross!" That is, if dogs are really like children!

Palace of Fine Arts and Baker Beach Engagement Session

Wondering where to go for your Engagement Portraits? Two of the most requested locations in the San Francisco Bay Area are the Palace of Fine Arts and Baker Beach. Although the Palace's main dome is currently covered in scaffolding for renovations, there are plenty of great spots to take advantage of, as you will see below. To give you a little bit of history...the Palace was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition by architect Bernard R. Maybeck who chose a Roman ruin as his theme. For more information, visit www.exploratorium.edu/palace/index.html. Here are a few examples from my recent session with Kathryn and Quen, who are getting married this June. Congratulations Kathryn and Quen!!

Here's what they had to say about the session:
We loved our engagement photo session with Nancy. Although we went into it feeling a little awkward, we were just having a lot of fun by the end of it! We appreciate how she had very specific and creative ideas, but also incoporated what we wanted. During our beach session, we were done on the beach and were about to go to another spot when she all of a sudden came up with ideas for other shots. She stopped us to take a few more photos, which turned out to be some of our favorite of the session! We love how Nancy is so flexible, creative, professional, and skilled at what she does. It makes us feel really at ease working with her.











Even though it can be cold (and believe me, it was on Thursday) Baker Beach offers a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, lots of sand and surf to play in, and spectacular skies when the fog rolls back. Be ready to get wind blown!











While we're on the subject of Engagement Portraits, here are some other great San Francisco locations: The Legion of Honor, The de Young Museum, The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, North Beach near Washington Square Park, The Embarcadero near Market Street, the Piers near the Ferry Building, the dog park at Bernal Heights (especially for you dog lovers) and the list goes on. Try to choose locations that have personal significance for you, that will add another layer of meaning to your images. Even something as simple as your favorite ice cream shop or wine bar can make an amazing backdrop. The most important thing is that you relax, have fun, and find out that being photographed can be fun!

Check back soon for tips on what to wear for your Engagement Session...

Scheduling the First Dance...in my opinion...

I love the excitement and momentum of moving directly from the "grand entrance" to the first dance. This way all eyes are on you! Keep in mind that if you haven't fed and watered your guests during a cocktail hour they will be hungry, so you might not want to choose the extended remix of your favorite song!

A Day at the Beach...Ritz Style

Congratulations to Saira and George, who were graced with blue skies and sunshine for their winter wedding. There is nothing better than a perfect day in Half Moon Bay with the Ritz-Carlton as the backdrop. Sign me up! This is one of my favorite places to work, the service is impeccable. Also, check out the charming Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park...it was picture perfect, as were the bride and groom!

A Perfect Day at the Khol Mansion

What happened to the end of 2007? Well it whizzed by and was incredibly busy. Here I am playing catch-up on my blog! Here's one of my favorite weddings from August, at the lovely Kohl Mansion, a Bay Area favorite. I hope you are enjoying the New Year, keeping dry, and having lots of fun planning your wedding (or your fabulous Anniversary Bash!)

Congratulations Sacha & Tuan!

It was a perfect blue sky day and we enjoyed every moment. Here are some favorites from Sacha and Tuan's wedding...







Sacha and Tuan shared these kind words with me after their wedding:
"We only have positive things to say about Nancy and her photography. She made us feel comfortable the instant that we met her. During our meetings, she answered all of our questions and made many helpful suggestions. She promptly answered phone calls and emails. Both Nancy and her assistant were ready to go at all times. Nancy is willing to go the extra mile to get the perfect shot (including laying on the street in front of cars). We didn't notice her getting in the way of special moments or flashing away as people were making speeches. We were absolutely thrilled with the pictures that we received. Sacha's dad, a professional wedding photographer for over 20 years, raved about her work. We would gladly work with Nancy again on future celebrations in our lives."

Thanks you guys!