Katee Pederson

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Southern California Styled Wedding

Katee Pederson

In spring of 2014 - yes you read that right, over 4 years ago - I travelled to Southern California to intern with one of the areas top wedding photographers.  At the time Sammy Cosa of Closer to Love Photography was photographing upwards of 40 weddings a year for everyone from the crazy in love couple getting married in their backyard down the road to reality tv stars having their wedding broadcasted on television.  He's been featured on wedding blog after wedding blog and for great reason - his images are breathtaking and the couples and weddings he photographs are stunning.  I've always loved the way he incorporates the environment into his portraits, creating a romantic whimsical look.  Today, Sammy and his wife Natalia live as full-time parents focused on nurturing the relationships around them and photographing a select number of weddings around the world each year.

Natalia, Sammy, and their three children. Taken from the Closer to Love Family Facebook Page.

When Sammy agreed to have me come down to Fullerton and learn from him for a few weeks, he started making plans about what he wanted to teach me.  He only had 2 weddings booked for the time I was able to be there, so he decided to plan a styled shoot to help me get the most from the experience.  As his plans were getting more elaborate he decided to get more people involved and make my first weekend into workshop.  He announced the CTL Workshop and began writing out lesson plans on various things he's learned over the years.  The more he wrote the more he thought, "this could be a book," and before he knew it he went from planning a little styled shoot to hosting a workshop and writing a book!  Crazy how one idea can lead to another.

My instagram post from May 3, 2014 when it was still acceptable for photographers to post iPhone pics.

The workshop itself was wonderful.  I learned a lot of helpful information, met some awesome people, and built on my photography skills.  But to be honest, I remember feeling a little out of place the entire time.  This was likely my own inner voice holding me back, but it was as if because I didn't pay to take the workshop I didn't want to take up the space or time that everyone around me had paid for.  I was also brand new to wedding posing and styling, so I didn't feel comfortable directing a couple with so many professional photographers watching over my shoulder.  On top of that I was shooting on my Canon Rebel T1i with $120 50mm lens and had major gear envy.  Oh how times have changed!

On the final day of the workshop we had the most gorgeous styled wedding shoot at Yorba Regional Park.  The location couldn't have been more perfect with a mix of woods and grass right next to the lake and though nothing can compare to golden hour on the prairies, the light that evening got pretty close.  Have a look below at some of the photographs I captured at the shoot.

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