Shannon Montez Photography Blog » San Jose’s Family and Child Photographer, Shannon Montez, captures all aspects of family life: Families, newborns, children, babies, high school seniors, and weddings.

Yi-Lin and Lingzhi at Half Moon Bay Golf Links

September 10, 2008 – 2:24 pm

Yi-Lin and Lingzhi are so much fun. Genuinely happy people… it’s impossible not to smile when you’re with them. Both of them came to the US for college… they met here, fell in love, and are starting their lives together on American soil. So their wedding was a fusion of their old homes and cultures and their new home and cultures. I loved getting a chance to learn more about them!

We started at a sister’s house for the tea ceremony. Yi-Lin was already looking beautiful when I got there.

The guys met downstairs and chatted while drinking tea and a special soup. They even gave me some of the soup… for good luck. It was very interesting.

Both of them looked very happy that day.

They thanked her parents for raising her so well.

Her father covered her face with the veil.

I love the glowy warmth of this shot of her leaving…

I thought this next part was fun… As the limo drove off, Yi-Lin threw a fan out the window. This was to symbolize leaving her bad temper home, and taking only her good temper to her new home.

I hope the bad temper isn’t actually transferred with the fan…

Once they reached the destination, Half Moon Bay Golf Links, they waited in the car until someone brought oranges for them to touch. I think this was to bring good luck.

The venue was gorgeous, overlooking the ocean.

During the ceremony…

Just Married! Doesn’t Lingzhi look delighted?

We headed out for some picture time!

Sorry Lingzhi, I had to take a couple pics of Yi-Lin looking amazing in her dress in that scenery…

But all of the pictures were bridals. We got some fun ones of both of them too.

I was getting tired of the sun overhead and the harsh shadows, so I set up a white backdrop for this one. Just kidding.

And somehow, there was nobody on the beach on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Just kidding again. Thanks, photoshop.

On to the party! The reception was in Foster City at ABC Seafood Restaurant.

Instead of a first dance, Lingzhi and Yi-Lin opted for a first Karaoke. It was great.

For some reason, I really dig this shot of Yi-Lin’s dad during his speech. Everyone was really moved by his speech (I’m not sure what he said, but it must’ve been good… I could feel it)

They did dance, eventually. And Yi-Lin changed into a red dress during the reception. I loved it.

Last one… after the cake cutting. I thought this kiss was so sweet, his hand (with the new ring!) on her arm, his other hand in her hair…

Whew! Long post. And there is so much I left out. We had a great time. I loved meeting their friends and family and witnessing the joy of their day. Thanks, Yi-Lin and Lingzhi!

By shannon | Posted in photography, weddings | 6 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Jen and Ben at Eagle Ridge

August 29, 2008 – 8:12 pm

Funny story. While I was bringing my rig in to Eagle Ridge to shoot Tricia and Jason’s wedding in May, Ben approached me in the parking lot, asked me if I was a photographer and asked for my card. They had just booked their wedding there and were beginning the planning process. A funny coincidence that ended up working out for all of us!

I’ll get around to posting their fun engagement session at Gilroy Gardens sometime (sorry… I’ve been so busy!), but for now, I’m going to give them a sneak peek at the wedding pictures! This is a long entry, so get that scrolling finger ready…

Some pics of the beautiful dress:

And some shots of the cool venue… I loved the umbrellas!

One Dave caught of the venue (I love that he caught the sun in it), and for some reason I love this shot… the golden whiskey and the dress in the background…

The dress on, getting ready…

Jen is a twin… I loved this quiet moment between Jen, her sister, and her nieces. Meanwhile, Ben is killing time…

On to the ceremony… I wish someone would quit distracting the flowergirls… they’ve got a job to do…

And Jen’s men… Ben’s smile when he first sees her….

During the ceremony:

The kiss:

The happy first moment, and a stolen moment during the group shots:

I love the simplicity of this one… just grass and sky and the lovely couple:

Ben is a golfer. I just had to capture for future posterity the tension that golf is sure to bring…

a couple more portraits:

And on to the party…Dave caught this one just before they walked in. I love how he looks at her. First dance.

A little truce before the cake… and then the truce was quickly broken.

And one last image

We had so much fun that night! Jen, Ben, thanks for sharing your day with us.

Wait… one more thing…I know this post is already long enough, but I can’t help be throw in a couple of my favorite outtakes. I’m really not sure WHAT was going on during the money dance. And this one of Dave just cracks me up.

By shannon | Posted in photography, weddings | 4 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Another classic line…

August 27, 2008 – 10:24 pm

I’ll get back to the iPhone Wednesdays next week… but I felt like using a decent picture for this post. This picture was taken a few weeks ago during those crazy fires… the sky was totally orange and the light was really trippy.

Matthew. My no-nonsense kid. He means well, but sometimes his honesty is too much.

So, a couple weeks ago, he’s grabbing my upper arm. I thought he was just being nice, kind of a snuggly thing we do… but then he says,

“Mom? Is this your muscle? Isn’t it supposed to be hard? Yours is really soft.”

Dave overheard, and of course, busted up… It’s become another one of our inside jokes, a great way to dig each other about being wimpy. Thanks, bud. I feel pretty awesome now. Time to get back to the gym, I guess!

By shannon | Posted in Families, cool stuff, iphone wednesday, personal, portraits | 5 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

The Daily Grind of EB

August 23, 2008 – 10:18 pm

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you may remember seeing Michael before. Michael has a genetic condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa. It’s a condition where his body doesn’t produce collagen 7, and therefore lacks the strength and elasticity of normal skin. His skin is extremely fragile, and the simplest contacts can cause blistering and tears.

He has to wear bandages on his hands and feet, not just for protection, but also to prevent the skin from scarring together and causing his fingers and toes to become lost in the scars. She has to check his skin for blisters and pop them, otherwise fluid builds up and the blisters just keep growing and damaging his skin. And infection is always a risk, with all of these open sores.

The bandaging has improved the condition of hands and feet amazingly, but it is a lot of work. Michael’s mom, Heather, asked me to take pictures of their nightly bandage change so they could use the images to teach other people more about this condition. It was rough… Michael wasn’t happy. Heather said that while not all days were bad, this was a typical bad day.

I haven’t figured out how to embed the video straight into the blog like I have before, so there’s a link: A Nightly Bandage Change

Here are some of the images from the slideshow….

The pleading look in his eyes just breaks my heart.

The tears…

A sweet moment…

And it wasn’t all bad! He was so happy when it was done and got some play time with mom…

There is some promising research going on, things that may really improve or possibly even cure this condition. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Heather said she would be happy to have me put this session here, because awareness is what they need… they need people to care, they need people to help, they need research and they need a cure.

By shannon | Posted in news, personal | 21 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Happiness and Gratitude.

August 20, 2008 – 9:21 pm

iPhone Wednesday again! I think I’m already getting bored with it. But I’ll keep going for a bit…

This one is a very special one for me.

One day while eating lunch with Sophia and Franklin, I was overcome with happiness and gratitude for a really wonderful thing in my life, and I had to pause and snap a picture of it with my phone.

The best burrito in the world. A carne asada super burrito. A really lovely thing. I felt especially happy that day because the Burrito Factory had some new competition open up, right in the same shopping center.

The much-celebrated and widely popular Chipotle.

I’d tried Chipotle. It was good. But their chips come in a bag, not a basket, for one. And for two, it just doesn’t feel as authentic. And for three, the guy that runs the Burrito Factory seems really nice and smiles a lot and feels like the uncle you’d love to have in your family because you could have really great fiestas.

And on the day that I took this photo, despite the fact that there was a Chipotle just a hundred yards or so away… the line at the Burrito Factory went out the door. I love to cheer for the little guy, the small business, the underdog… and I love to eat the burritos. Que Bueno. Muy, muy bueno.

(btw… if you haven’t noticed, something funky is going on with my blog. I’m not sure why the word “description” is popping up above all my titles. It bugs. Sorry. I’m trying to figure that out, but I’m not the most tech-savvy person in the world! And also, I got my first root canal yesterday. That was not the best day of my life. Not the worst, either, but not my favorite. Not sure why I felt the need to add that part… but feel free to donate burritos to the “poor widdle Shannon” fund.)

By shannon | Posted in cool stuff, iphone wednesday, personal | 4 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

iPhone Wednesday #2

August 13, 2008 – 10:06 pm

Ok… time to share some more of my favorite bad photos!

I don’t know about BAD, per se, but definitely not portfolio-worthy. But I love them… Today’s edition of iPhone Wednesday features Matthew being Matthew. These demonstrate the essence of my boy. Total goofball, trying not to crack a smile.

What’s that on his face, you ask? I’m not quite sure. Some kind of goo… I think he got it in an easter egg or something… I’m not sure what happened to it, either. Scary thought. It’s probably stuck under the cushion of my couch. The couch that, remember back in the day, got eaten by the dog? Good times. We only have the one couch, it gets a lot of “love”.

Whoa… got off-topic there for a bit! Back to the matter at hand… the goo-faced Mr. Miyagi…

It got better as time went on. He kept improving his crazy facial decoration…

Good times.

By shannon | Posted in iphone wednesday, personal | 1 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Breaking the Tuesday slump!

August 12, 2008 – 10:20 pm

Something about Tuesdays this summer… I must be in a coma between the hours of 2pm and 7pm. Every single Tuesday for the past month, I’ve forgotten all about our busy Tuesday afternoon and stayed home all day. Which is nice, most days, except that Sophia has gymnastics at 3:15, and Matthew has karate at 5:30. I didn’t seem to even think of that fact until about 6:30 on Tuesday evening.

Well, I’m patting myself on the back right now, because I’ve broken my shameful streak. I remembered the activities! Hooray! Pathetic, I know, but I’m happy with myself anyway. Things are much better when school is in, schedule-wise. I so much more schedule-oriented during the school year. I love the lazy aimlessness of summer, but I think we’re all ready for a little more productivity.

Speaking of productivity, want to see my latest twin session? This one was a little different for me, I processed it with a little more vintage or moody feel. But it fit. I like it.

The binky, the hand, I’m not sure, but for some reason I love this one.

san jose twin photographer

Cheek to cheek. You KNOW those cheeks are soft and kissable…

san jose baby photographer

san jose twin photographer

This one cracks me up. With two babies, there is always plenty of crying going on! Their parents were pros, totally relaxed and taking everything in stride.

san jose newborn photographer

A sleepy smile!! They make me so happy…

san jose family photographer

A fun, relaxed family portrait… the first of many to come!

By shannon | Posted in babies, photography, portraits | 2 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

liberty park

August 7, 2008 – 9:27 pm

So, while I was in Utah, I did a family session at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.

It was a HOT day, and I wither quickly… but despite the heat, we got some really fun shots! I always LOVE going to a location I haven’t used before. Everything is fresh and fun.

child photography, san jose

san jose child photographer

san jose family photographer

By shannon | Posted in Families, portraits | 4 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

iPhone Wednesdays

August 6, 2008 – 11:22 pm

I was just looking through my pictures and noticed that some of my favorite pictures are ones that I’ve taken with my iPhone. Technically, they’re really not up to standard. I doubt I’ll ever even print one of them… they’re really not wall-worthy.

But blog-worthy? Totally!

Thing is, I don’t carry my great camera everywhere I go. In order to muster the strength to carry that thing around, I have to be pretty sure I’m going to get some great shots. But my phone is always with me. So something funny happens, I grab that phone and capture it, regardless of how artistic it may or may not turn out. I’ve got a bunch of treasures just gathering dust in my pictures folder. What a waste.

So for the next several weeks, maybe months… I’m dusting off those treasures and putting them here. So… for the inaugural edition of iPhone Wednesdays, a moment that has already become a family classic line:

“Do you like my big face?”

Backstory… enjoying a delicious meatball lunch at Ikea one day a couple months ago… Franklin stuck an entire meatball in his cheek and asked us several times (because we couldn’t understand him very well!) “Do you like my big face?” He knew he was funny, but barely cracked a smile. I love it when funny kids deadpan!

By shannon | Posted in iphone wednesday, personal | 1 comments Show Posts Comments | Add a Comment

Adorable Evan

July 28, 2008 – 6:09 pm

Ok… so rather than trying to catch up, I’m going to go ahead and skip my backlog and post a current session.

I love these guys… We had so much fun at the maternity session, and then again with the sweet little man! We shot at an amazing property that I’m afraid I didn’t fully take advantage of. When I shoot close-up so much of the time, the setting becomes almost irrelevant (a GOOD thing most of the time, especially if the backgrounds aren’t all that great). But either way, it was fun to have such great light and space to work in!

A collage from both sessions:

This one feels all dreamy to me… like those bleary-eyed but magical first few weeks…