Sasha Photography is a San Francisco wedding photography studio, specializing in wine country weddings, hotel weddings, San Francisco City Hall weddings, and wedding photography in the San Francisco Bay Area and destinations beyond. We've documented nuptials at many of the premier wedding venues in San Francisco, including weddings at the Bently Reserve, San Francisco City Hall weddings, Ritz Carlton San Francisco weddings, City Club of San Francisco weddings, weddings at the Fairmont Hotel, Mark Hopkins Hotel Weddings, Julia Morgan Ballroom Weddings and more. We've also traveled for destination wedding shoots in places like Paris, London, Los Angeles, and The Outer Banks in North Carolina. Even a wedding on a cruise ship! Every year, we also spend a great deal of time in the wine country. Our clients invite us to some of the most gorgeous and desirable Napa, Sonoma and Calistoga wedding venues, including beautiful Hans Fahden Vineyards, this Private Healdsburg Estate, and this incredible estate in St. Helena. Sasha's work stands out from the rest because of the playful, daring approach he brings to his images. Surprising and unexpected, Sasha's work features bold colors, innovative lighting and poses, and emotional candids. At Sasha Photography, attention to detail, a comprehensive storytelling approach, and a focus on the experience of clients and their guests is paramount.
About two years ago I first documented Amelia and Jon’s engagement session at Amelia’s parents ranch in Sonoma. Then in August of 2011, I was back at the ranch for their lovely country wedding. Now, many months later, I met up with the couple at the Golden Gate Bridge on a gorgeous San Francisco day! It was a very creative reunion!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I celebrated the most romantic day of the year by attending the assembly of Marriage Equality USA supporters at San Francisco City Hall. MEUSA is an organization that has been fighting for marriage equality for many years, and today’s event brought together same-sex couples, influential speakers, organizers and media organizations. The marriage equality movement has been through many ups and downs over the last several years, but the cycles between steps forward and setbacks keep getting shorter, and the momentum keeps building. As a City Hall wedding photographer, I had the privilege of documenting many same sex weddings during the brief window five years ago when it looked like marriage equality was here to stay in California. I have documented the weddings of hundreds of couples since – but the fact is, it’s mostly opposite sex couples that get married at City Hall. That is, until marriage for all couples is finally legal in California.
Wedding season has been really intense! Long time, no post. I was able to catch a short break in the action and headed out to Burning Man, that annual pilgrimage to the light and endless creativity of the desert. The first Burning Man I attended was in 2004, and a couple of years later, in 2006, I met my wife. In 2004, I ran around photographing everything in sight. Today, I take far fewer photos. I bring my camera of course, but I try to focus on the experience, and only take the camera out at moments where I absolutely cannot refrain from creating an image.
Burning Man has been an important event in my life, and this year, I was honored to document the weddings of two couples who chose to make it a milestone in theirs by tying the knot(s) out on the playa. In the ‘real world’, it’s not easy to find such concentrated, magnificent and spontaneous art that fills the desert for one week each year. This year, the Temple of Juno, designed by the incomparable David Best was one of the most striking and indelible markers on the playa. Both couples chose to have their weddings at the Temple, but while one took place after a clear sunset, the other was nearly enveloped in a massive dust storm. These two images I created reflect how differently things turned out.
At Burning Man, each participant contributes what they are able for the comfort and enjoyment of others. It was very fulfilling to unpack my trade and experience as a wedding photographer from the real world, and a privilege to partake, for a brief moment, in the lives of two couples who chose to take this rite of passage at the desert festival. Now that I’m back from Burning Man, recharged and inspired, it’s going to be a very, very busy fall wedding season. The Indian summer will finally bring sun and warmth to foggy San Francisco. I’m excited for the music and energy and sunsets that bless this city of ours. I’m excited to create!
I know the blog has been a bit silent recently, but I promise there’s a good reason! I just returned home from the most incredible week of my life: my wedding celebration in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico! We chose to get married at the Villa Cielito, in Chileno Bay (halfway between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo). It was truly an incredible experience to see everything finally come together after months of intense planning. To stand there on the beach, under the Cabo sun, with my wife, in front of our community of family and friends, was a transformative and defining moment. Our awesome planner Patricia, and Lazy Gourmet Catering made the planning seamless and made sure everyone filled their bellies with tasty food. We were fortunate to have Rabbi Ian Adler conduct an incredibly meaningful ceremony for us and our guests. So, after feeling what it’s like to plan a wedding, and to be a groom, I can honestly say I’ve walked a mile in my couples’ shoes. I had always objectively understood the flow of a wedding day – as an observer – but the emotion and intensity I experienced are impossible to put into words. So I’ll stop trying. Of course I took care to arrange for professional photography and videography for our day, but this amazing photograph was taken at the wedding reception by my dear friend Igor, (it’s easy to be fooled, but he’s not a photographer – he’s a San Francisco Bay Area real estate agent). Anyways, I’m back home – rested, recharged, inspired, and…married! Off to document what promises to be a unique and gorgeous San Francisco wedding tomorrow! It feels good to be home, at the opening of this new chapter in my life. Come back to the blog soon. It’s going to be busy!
Update! Our professional photographs are now available from our incredible photographer and my colleague Joseph Kohn, on his IQ Photo Blog.
Another update! Our wedding video is now available from Alexander Kohn on his IQ Videography Blog. He did such a beautiful job capturing our vows and telling the story of the day. We are very fortunate to have had the IQ team document it all!
Perhaps because I live in the fog of San Francisco, I get really excited by rich, vibrant colors in my photographs. Naturally, one of the most frequently asked questions I get from my clients is: “Do you shoot only in color? What about black and white wedding photos? Do you do those?” Since I’m escaping the fog to shoot a wedding in LA this weekend, I thought I’d flip the script with a quick post about how I approach black and white wedding photography. The answer is, of course, yes. I love black and white photography and you can certainly see examples of B&W photos on this very blog. Today’s high end digital cameras shoot everything in color, and black and white conversion happens in my digital darkroom. Not all photographs are conducive to black and white…usually, if something has rich color to begin with, why get rid of it? However, I’ve found that candidates for black and white photos have a certain “timelessness” to them, even abstractness in some cases. Generally, photographs with strong contrast (pronounced highlights and shadows) are perfect for black and white. Black and white also offers the ability to use different filters, that screen for certain colors, such as red, yellow, green or blue, and achieve a very dramatic effect. Ever see those National Geographic photos with dramatic, almost black skies? That’s a red filter in front of the lens. Fortunately for us digital photographers, this kind of effect can be applied seamlessly and precisely in the digital darkroom. Check out the “fish” photo from Alla and Pavel’s engagement session, and see if you can guess the technique! So, the bottom line is, in my work, converting photographs to Black and White just for the heck of it doesn’t cut it. Whether it’s wedding photography, an engagement shoot, or a portrait, black and white images need to be purposeful in order to achieve a striking, timeless look.
Recently I had the pleasure of being flown out to NYC to create a promotional film for the non-profit Praxis Youth Leadership Orchestra. Praxis aims to dramatically improve the skills of advanced, talented young musicians by training them alongside seasoned music professionals. The nearly 1:1 student-to-teacher ratio and the invaluable coaching the students receive were truly a wonder to witness. I brought my cameras along for the ride, and set up 30 Flip cameras to record Praxis’s inaugural performance in the Italian Academy at Columbia University in New York City. I constantly challenge myself to bring a unique perspective to my films, and this clip perhaps takes us to uncharted video territory. The idea was to capture a moving portrait of each musician. The full promo film is coming soon! Thank you, Praxis!
Just a quick public service announcement from Sasha Photography. It’s cold. It’s rainy. It’s the Holidays. There will be drinking and carousing. Just remember, stay warm, stay dry, and most importantly, stay safe. Happy Holidays everyone!!!
The Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) parade in the Mission is one of my favorite San Francisco events. This City really comes alive between August and October, and this is a beautiful and intimate way to celebrate those who have passed, as well as to come down from the manic energy of October, baseball, and Halloween. The range of costumes at the parade is quite striking, and Garfield Park is aglow with hundreds of altars and candles. This year I decided to do something different, and set up a little photobooth to capture the essence of the evening.
Check out the ALL PHOTOS from the Dia de los Muertos Parade.
My favorite time of year has officially started…September and October in the SF Bay Area usually kick off with a creative recharge on the playa in Black Rock City. This year I wanted to make sure to always have my camera with me at Burning Man, so I swaddled it in saran wrap and reinforced with scotch tape (thanks, Andy McElroy) to protect from the dust, and never changed lenses. Here are a few of my favorites from my time in the desert this year.
You can see the full gallery here: http://sashaphotography.com/burning-man-2010.
Also, check out my Burning Man 2009 photos.
The luckiest hedgehog.
General of the Gold City at sunset.
Up up and away - Burners get a lift from some giant balloons on the playa.
The Man himself, at dusk.
Beautiful lady with umbrella in outer playa.
Daytime beats at the brand new DISTRIKT soundcamp.
The bone tree.
The peak moment.
Beautiful ink.
Love.
