Lana + Cuong [Westlake Village Inn Engagement]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY

Rollerskating is hard. Rollerskating while a camera is chasing you is harder. That's Lana and Cuong's first [and thankfully, fond] memory of me -- my lens stalking them paparazzi-style around the Glendale roller rink for a birthday event I photographed a couple years prior. They were guests at the party, and little did any of us know at the time that we'd be working together down the line on their wedding. I'm not advocating stalking as a means of drumming up business. but hey...!

Lana was looking for an outdoorsy garden setting for their engagement session, and after having seen Jason & Jun's wedding on my blog, fell in love with Westlake Village Inn. Cuong, buddy, I know you fell in love with Westlake, too! The manicured property really does have some fantastic grounds, but you do need a permit to shoot there.... OR, even better, you can stay at their inn for the night and have access to the premises for an afternoon of photography [so long as you defer to any weddings taking place, and there were three]. Pretty reasonable deal and a unique stay-cation, right?

It was interesting revisiting Westlake Village Inn for a second time. The season was different this time around, as was the time of day and light, and that meant changing things up somewhat and discovering new opportunities in which to shoot. That's always a plus. And being an engagement session, rather than a wedding, the clock was more relaxed, and this afforded us generous time to explore the grounds. For creative props, Lana & Cuong brought along some punchy yellow balloons and a Scrabble set . We ultimately did release the helium balloons, so if anyone out there finds a mass of deflated yellow latex in their lemon tree, don't mistaken them for some particularly strange fruit.

Thanks again, Lana and Cuong. I'm looking forward to your wedding this summer!