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the mountain terrace wedding couple backlit under trees

How to Plan The Mountain Terrace Wedding

Venues

The Mountain Terrace Wedding The Ultimate Planning Guide to The Mountain Terrace Wedding (with pricing, photos, and video)​ If you are planning The Mountain Terrace wedding, read below for an extensive guide to help in your wedding planning! It is one of my favorite wedding venues in San Francisco and is perfect for any wedding small or large. Check out the photos and videos below to help in your decision to get a little feel for how pretty this wedding venue is! Why The Mountain Terrace Weddings​ The Mountain Terrace, located in Woodside, CA, is one of best outdoor wedding venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for its scenic bay views and stunning redwood grove. With decades old trees acting as a wedding ceremony backdrop, it is the ideal setting for anyone wanting natural beauty and fresh air. A fire pit, swing, and the giant open lawn all help add to the casual feel at this scenic venue.  The Mountain Terrace is one of the few wedding venues in the San Francisco Bay Area that allows for just a morning wedding ceremony. Popular if you are doing a restaurant reception, for example, the morning ceremony allows you to have the best of both worlds. Many Couples choose a more intimate outdoor ceremony with close friends and family before going to a much larger function at a restaurant, for example.  The Mountain Terrace Wedding Cost​​ Rental Fee + F&B Min: $23,000+Deposit : $500Capacity: up to 300 seated guestsHours: 8 hour rental period To get a more detailed outline, please check out their pricing page How to Book A Mountain Terrace Wedding​ Phone: 650-851-1606Website: https://www.themountainterrace.com/weddings/Contact Form: https://www.themountainterrace.com/contact The Mountain Terrace Wedding Locations​ The Great Lawn The Mountain Terrace is known for its grand lawn outfront, that can accomodate up to 300 seated guests. In addition, the backdrop of the redwood grove serves as the perfect ceremony location to say your vows. The Great Lawn is where the ceremonies are all held. Reception Hall For those wishing to keep things indoors, their rustic lodge provides a cozy atmosphere for the reception. Warm candle lighting and a string lit patio help compliment this wedding venue along the Peninsula, as well as heaters outdoors for those wanting to have a safe balance between an indoor and outdoor reception. The Evening Sky One of the best things about the Mountain Terrace, in my opinion, is the ability to see the stars at night. Couple this with the fire pit, giant sequoias and redwoods to block the wind, and you have the perfect setting for an evening stroll when you want to catch your breath from all the dancing inside! Situated around the Santa Cruz Mountains, there is little light pollution around this area and allows you to fully appreciate the nature of this location. We often forget to look up sometimes (I know I do!) and this wedding venue out in nature allows us to appreciate the world and the people we surround ourselves with. https://youtu.be/ibmrGG9xbac Conclusion Hopefully this post gave you an idea of how a wedding at Mountain Terrace can look like. With its location in Woodside, it offers a nature surrounding for you and your guests to explore and celebrate. If you are interested in other redwood wedding venues, check out my post for the best Bay Area redwood forest wedding venues. The Mountain Terrace Wedding Photos​ Weddings at The Mountain Terrace on the Blog​ Scarlett and Stephen Wedding Interested In More Information? Please Fill Out the Form Below! 415 756 9335  ianchinphotography@gmail.com

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Why I Became a Photographer

Informational, Personal

Why I Became a Photographer Pre digital age, when film was the only photography format available, my dad was always that one person who had a camera around his neck and took photos. With 2 other siblings in the house, it perhaps became his responsibility rather than his passion, but nevertheless I attribute my joy in photography to my Papa. And a majority of what I do is to continue his memory and to make him proud.  He was the quiet type, which allowed him to use the camera as a shield at family gatherings, but also use it as a way to break the ice when needed. Around high school age, my brother initially took it up when my dad gave him a camera to play with. Since he had several cameras laying around, he introduced it to me as well and I said, “Sure, why not give it a shot?” I really believe that if my brother didn’t first take an interest in it I would not have cared for it. 2 years his junior, I was just as an impressionable teenager as any, but also a very competitive sibling as well 🙂 Our family summer trips eventually became my yearly responsibility, taking over for my dad as the family photographer, since my brother quickly lost interest in it.But as most starting photographers begin, I did not really enjoy taking photos of people, so my early days of photography started in a very different field. Growing up by Golden Gate Park, I had an endless array of subjects and would take photos as often as I could.Couple that with me being a quiet teenager, photographing nature became my main interest and way for me to practice photography.  My interest in nature photography led me to photography almost daily at the Park, shooting whatever caught my eye. Flowers, sunsets, and wildlife all became the subjects of my overexposed photos. Eventually, I grew to appreciate and study birds, which became my main subject of choice for a while, because I started noticing them a little more after all my walks in the park. Befriending other birders / bird photographers at the park, I was introduced to long lenses that I never knew existed, and made the whole world of photography even more addicting! The world of zoomed in photos even opened up an entirely new (and temporary) fascination in my life – birding. And because of this, I am probably one of the few wedding photographers in the world that can name two dozen birds as well 🙂 After a few years of taking a lot of bad photos and a few decent ones, I thought I would try my hand at sports photography, since it seemed the most related subject to wildlife photography than anything else.  Whether it was my lack of business skills, my lack of photo skills, or all of the above… Sports photography did not pan out back in my early days. Of course, as a enthusiastic hobbyist photographer, I happily tried to shoot any and everything, including Night club event photography – my first real consistent gig.  As a mid 20s single guy, night club photography was awesome! I got to go to all the clubs, get free entrance for myself and friends, and flirt with girls! I mean…network! 🙂 In an era without smart phones, virtually all of the most popular clubs wanted a club photographer to show how awesome their venue is and how much fun people had the night before! The pay was garbage, but it allowed me to practice my flash photography, and allowed me to get out of my comfort zone of shooting in only natural light and having to talk to my subjects.  Though this specific genre for me was short lived (how many 26 year olds nowadays do you know go to the clubs three nights a week?), night club photography taught me one of the most important lessons that I use today – how to talk to strangers And become a pseudo-Richard Simmons type behind a camera When shooting, I like to think I’m one of the more approachable and talkative photographers because I genuinely enjoy what I do. The camera in my hands allows me to be what Sasha fierce is to Beyoncé. Other people who have seen me work have told me I smile and dance a lot, but of course , I never notice myself doing them. I suppose I am so happy when taking photos and I just move my body uncontrollably 🙂 Eventually that exposure with taking photos of people lead me to focusing on people. One day I sort of said that I have taken enough photos, learned enough technique, and I should just toss myself out there. Within my first week of posting a random ad on craigslist, I booked my first gig to photograph a school teachers session where the kids were creating artwork for a book she was going to publish. Fast forward a year later, and my first published photos were created! 🙂I still have those children’s books and they are arguably one of my more valued possessions because it relates to my very first gig and how far I have come. I have since developed as a photographer from those early days, (taking several workshops from photographers I deeply admire for starters), but I definitely plan on continuing my education as the years carry on. And through it all, I still hope I carry the same enthusiasm for taking photos as I did my very first gig, because I have no reservations in saying that photography is my true calling. I am so blessed to have found the one thing I absolutely adore. If my Clients see the result of my passion in their photographs, I’d like to think I made the right decision and can make Papa proud. I may not be able to physically hug him, but at least I can utilize photography

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baker beach rainbow couple holding hands and walking along Baker Beach with a rainbow over the Golden Gate Bridge in the background in San Francisco

11 Best Places to Take Pics in San Francisco

Informational

11 Best Places to Take Pics in San Francisco Ultimate Guide to the Best Places to Take Pics in San Francisco (with photos and descriptions) Below is my ultimate list of the best places to take pics in San Francisco, all offering many different scenic locations and iconic views to choose from. As a San Francisco native, I love exploring new places to shoot in the City, but these are the most popular for a reason! Whether you have lived in San Francisco for many years, or are traveling here for vacation, the list below will help introduce you to the 11 best places to take pics in San Francisco to help make your photo session a success!  1. Baker Beach Baker Beach is the most common location I photograph for engagement sessions in San Francisco. Free and plentiful parking, unparalleled views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and a diverse setting around the area help make this one of the best places to take pics in San Francisco for many. Beaches aren’t just seen during the day! I especially love photographing at Baker Beach at dusk, where the Bridge lights up and illuminates the blue sky as well!  Baker Beach If you plan it right, the Golden Gate Bridge reflects in the water at low tide and you can take your photographs to a whole new level! On a side note – closer to the Bridge is clothing optional and it is not uncommon to see a nude body on a sunny day 2. Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is the second most common location I shoot at and offers a more elegant look for those who prefer the more formal setting. Its ornate architecture and photographic dome attracts locals and tourists alike, making it also one of the busiest locations on this list. Opposite the lake facing the dome allows for panoramic views of the entire location, and shooting under the dome allows you to fully appreciate the art deco close up.  Palace of Fine Arts This is one of my favorite places to shoot on a sunny day because the shadows and light that filter through the columns offer so many unique opportunities to play!  3. Lovers Lane With the snake-like trail of logs, Lovers’ Lane provides the perfect outdoor setting for those who love nature and earth tones. It is one of the more hidden best places to take pics in San Francisco since it is a short walk down the road from a busy road. 4. Lands End To narrow down locations for the 3.4 miles of Lands End, I’m going to separate it into two places – Sutro Baths and Point Lobos.  Both of these locations provide a stunning view of the ocean and offer especially magical light at sunset. Sutro Baths Sutro Baths is the area at the bottom of the Lands End Parking Lot, known for the ruins of the old swimming house. Lands End Point Lobos offers a stand of trees in addition to the ocean view, and overlooks Sutro Baths from above.  5. Crissy Field The pier on the western end of Crissy Field is called Torpedo Wharf, offering one of the closet views of the Bridge in SF Crissy Field Crissy Field is a good choice because it has unobscured views of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as a variety of settings to photograph, all within a short walk or drive from each other 6. Pier 7 With its attractive wooden planks and row of street lights, I personally love the symmetry at Pier 7 as one of the best places to take pics in San Francisco. With downtown SF in view, the sky seems to burst in vibrancy at sunset and dusk here for some reason 7. Battery Spencer This place is always crowded (most Instagrammed view of the Bridge?) and takes a little luck to maneuver around other people because of the limited area, but rewards those who are patient.  For those who are early risers, this high vantage point is the best for sunrise, as the morning fog hovering around the span of the Bridge is just so magical. 8. San Francisco City Hall Pro tip – it closes at 8PM every night (unless rented out) so shooting here after 4PM more or less allows you to have the place mostly all to yourself! The grand staircase without a doubt is the prized spot throughout the entire building, but with 5 different levels there are so many photo opportunities even if the staircase is overflowing (which is common during the day) I’ve photographed here over 200x and always love the challenge of photographing it differently.  9. Stow Lake Golden Gate Park offers many locations for an engagement shoot, but the most common ones are Stow Lake and the Japanese Tea Garden.  Stow Lake is known for its mini waterfall and stone bridges that are popular backdrops for photos.  10. Japanese Tea Garden The Japanese Tea Garden is a very picturesque backdrop, offering numerous settings for your engagement shoot. Full of nature, it is hard not to get carried away at this small yet impressive garden. The Japanese Tea Garden requires an entrance fee ($5-$7/person) and has a secret grove of bamboo trees! 11. Legion of Honor Known for its white columns, the Legion of Honor is one of the best places to take pics in San Francisco for those who prefer a more elegant and modern aesthetic. The columns definitely serve as the main backdrop here, but about 70 yards away is an overview of the SF Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge Hope this list of the Best San Francisco Engagement Locations helps you out in your search! If you would like to view my other couples photos check out my engagement photography page. Or if you are interested in a family session, check out my family photography page. Interested In More Information? Please Fill Out the Form Below! 415 756 9335  ianchinphotography@gmail.com

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