San Luis Obispo Wedding Photographer - Christan Parreira

Michelle + Sean [San Luis Obispo Engagement]

christanp — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:05:55 +0000

Corey, Melanie and baby Jackson Gregory [San Luis Obispo, CA]

christanp — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:00:06 +0000

This post is a massive change in gears from the norm because I, Allegra–Christan’s Wife–have hyjacked his blog to share a moment of our life from this weekend with our friends.
Back in spring, I got a phone call from one of my dear friends telling me she believed she was pregnant. Soon after, it was confirmed by her Doctor. I think I flew onto cloud nine from the moment she told me. I wanted to celebrate her, I wanted to cover her in encouragement, I just wanted to her to feel so un-alone. In some ways, those nine months seem to have flown by and in other ways I cannot believe she now has her baby boy in her arms. I swell with emotion thinking back on the last 72 hours as I can only describe myself as a fly on a miracle’s wall.Melanie had a great birth plan–as most women do– but it played out much differently–as most women’s birth stories do. She found out that she would have a C-section and handled the news with her ever-present and supporting husband. In an effort to reach out and love on her a little more, I asked if she would want her last day pregnant photographed with her husband. I thought of what I would have wanted and I would have wanted to capture that last moment of being a couple before becoming an official family. I would have wanted a quiet place and a still small reminder of everything I feared and how love would unfold in infinite directions that I could never imagine. She obliged and I escaped with them for a brief moment in time to memorize that last moment before parenthood:As we packed up and drove away, I made a last ditch effort to completely smother them in my “hindsight is 20/20″ view of delivery. I offered to be available to them if they wanted a photographer during the delivery. I told them to talk it over (to “dicuss amongst yourselves” for you Coffee Talk SNL fans . I had no idea I’d get a call about 30 minutes before delivery that they had decided they’d want me there. What do you do when someone invites you to be involved in a moment that really should only belong to them? If you’re me, you shake-you cry-and then you pray. I made a specific prayer to God as I drove over to the hospital and I can tell you, He heard me and He showed up.Melanie & Corey’s room flooded with family and friends that wanted to shower them in their last words of excitement, support, and love before their son would come into the world. I suited up to match Corey and we went into the operating room. As Corey was escorted to sit next to Melanie, I was given my perameters. I watched as Corey stroked his wife’s head and she stared intently into his eyes begging for his confidence, longing for his touch, and pulling from his strength. I saw their fingers wrap around each other and knew words were being exchanged that only the two of them would ever hear. An intricate web of prayers hovered over them, I could feel it. The prayers we friends had all gathered around them to offer: wisdom, courage, strength, His will. Those prayers encompassed them and wrapped them in the miracle of their son’s life.Jackson Gregory Knowlton was born on January 29, 2010. As the anesthesiologist lifted Melanie’s head to see her son take his first breath and pull the curtain down so I could see what she would struggle to, he entered this world abounding in instantaneous love beyond what he will ever truly know (because lets face it, do we as children ever truly know how much our parents love us?)Corey would have to endure something I still feel heavy with his ache over. As his wife would be sent to recovery his son would be taken to NICU to be monitored due to Melanie’s gestational diabetes. He would long to be with both and feel a pull that I could feel just by standing next to him: the desire to be in two places at once, the need to hold both his wife and his son, the weight of being the emotional and physical support to his very own family. I can tell you, Corey is an amazing calm to Melanie and he was a pillar of strength and love to his new son from the moment he could hold his fingers and soothe him.To Melanie & Corey, I thank you from the bottom of my swollen heart. I witnessed a miracle I should have never seen this weekend. I love you three more than you’ll ever know!

Little Love Session [Valentine's Day]

Allegra — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 06:17:20 +0000

For the next two weeks, ChristanP Photography is offering a Valentine’s Day Special to capture the little-loves in your life.

Details about the little-love sesh:
Book a little-love session between the dates of January 21 and Feb 5 and receive a complimentary digital image!

The package is $100 and includes 20 minutes of shooting time, a session styled and tailored for your shoot, 10-15 re-touched images in an online gallery, & one digital image for some adorable valentines day card sweetness! (*A la carte prints will also be available for purchase.)

This photo session is for children, but couples, individuals, & families are also welcome but may be subject to additional fees.

Times and dates are limited so contact us today!

Travis + Miranda [San Luis Obispo Engagement Session]

christanp — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:21:40 +0000

Stepping in front of a camera is never easy. As humans I believe we are constantly aware of our own imperfections and this makes us self conscious. The thing about an engagement session is that the love transcends awareness and awkwardness. A couple, if they allow themselves to, can slip into a world that is only theirs and the cameras are invisible. Travis & Miranda walked in with stars in their eyes and uncontainable enthusiasm, they were finally having their moment and I loved every second with them.
Miranda, a self-proclaimed fan of Frenchie & Flea, became the first subject along with her willing fiance to take part in a session that was stylized just for them. With a hand crafted back drop hung between two fall struck trees, Travis & Miranda jumped right in and did just what I would hope they would: lose themselves in play. With a small audience looking on, the two acted as if no one else were present. They smiled, kissed, made goofy faces, and laughed. The energy of the day was fluid and seamless without even so much as a hint of question as to what they should do next. Travis and Miranda just went for it. “Hold my hand,” you hear Travis whisper to Miranda as they frame themselves (literally) for a playful shot to capture their love. It was a moment perhaps no one should have been witness to, but lost again in their own world, no camera, photographer, or photo stylist existed on their coveted day.
Travis & Miranda, THANK YOU for erasing the word “work” from this day and filling it with smiles, fun, and a new friendship with you both. A special thanks to Frenchie & Flea for styling this custom shoot for Travis & Miranda. You replaced the awkwardness that can exist with an engagement session with an air of relaxed fun that they could lose themselves in. What a perfect day for play!

Travis + Miranda [Engagement Preview]

christanp — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:42:48 +0000

Here is a preview of my latest engagement session. I had a blast shooting these two and am super excited to show everyone…..so stay tuned!

Ashton Brooks [Ketchum, Idaho - First time in snow]

christanp — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:30:04 +0000

Some people were born to be engineers, others artists, and others chefs. I, however, have always known that I was meant to be a Dad.
There was an indescribable moment when my wife and I were seeing our child through an ultrasound for the first time and heard the words, “It’s a boy,” that my world changed forever.

My son is the smartest boy I know. He is my light, my reason to be better, and my heart. He is MAGIC and defies all definition of ordinary.
He has taught me to live more selflessly, to take life less seriously, to build a future that is for him and past myself, and to be the man I want him to learn to be.

Being a father is amazing. Having my son in my life is like reliving the childhood I struggle to remember. He is a series of firsts and joy that make everything I do worth doing.

We had an awesome opportunity to spend a week away from home, away from work, and away from routine. There is something wildly magical about abandoning routine: the moments you discover that otherwise would have been clouded with keeping busy or maintaining efficiency. In a quiet, snow fallen haven, I had the opportunity to watch my son discover his first experience with Snow.

He could have cried- he could have fallen apart or hated the cold- but my son touching snow for the first time was like walking into Narnia. It was the unfolding of innocence and absolute purity.

While he first screamed and fought mittens and a warm hat, he soon begged to put them on. He wanted to be sticking his toddler paws into the snow, shoveling ice into his face, sticking his tongue to the bricks collecting snowflakes, and bending down to stick his face in the slush. He signed “please” repeatedly while reaching for the door handle to go back outside to head knee deep into the snow. Forget the shallow end of the snow, he wanted all in.

Innocent magic. Uninterrupted, undisturbed moments of achieving what I was meant to do and be, my son’s father.

Robert, Anjali and baby [Avila Beach, CA]

christanp — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:23:47 +0000

This is the first time I have ventured into doing a maternity shoot– at least one that was not of my wife. It brought me back to the moments of excitement and nervous anticipation that was to come as my wife and I waited for our son’s arrival. Photographing them allowed me to relive that magical time before our love magnified itself and multiplied ten fold. What a great gift to receive from one couple’s request of me to capture this life moment.

As the sun shone brightly above and the waves crashed at our feet, Robert & Anjali lost themselves in quiet moments of their love and the mystery of adventure that lay ahead. Robert would disappear as he focused on his baby girl and his wife who was carrying her. Anjali would transcend into a world that belongs only to a mother- the world of sheer admiration and unconditional love for a sweet baby she has yet to meet in person but knows in heart.

Robert & Anjali, thank you for reminding me of how the love of two become even stronger, more infinitely in love just by becoming three. The magical moments that lay ahead are untouchable by any other life occurrence. In the moments when sleep is distant or the moments of uninterrupted awe, may you always cherish the journey!

Marisa + Sean [Cypress Ridge, Arroyo Grande Wedding]

christanp — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:25:02 +0000

Price Changes

christanp — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:01:31 +0000

Somehow it’s already October and 2009 is reaching its end! My son is nearly a year and a half old, I just celebrated my four year wedding anniversary, and I am so excited about all of the couples I get to work with in 2010! That being said, I’ve got some news for all of you who are looking at booking ChristanP for the upcoming year.

Effective November 1, 2009, our prices will be going up. If you have received a 2009 price sheet from me, those prices will only be valid until October 30, 2009. This means that if you have been waiting to book your wedding, you’ve only got 17 days left to sign a contract and book your date before the prices jump up. Don’t miss out! (Any new inquiries will receive our new price list.)

2009 has been an amazing year for me. Thank you to all of the couples and families who have invited me to be a part of capturing the moments in your lives. 2010 promises to be another great year and I wouldn’t be here without you!

Hello Fall!

christanp — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:12:23 +0000

We moved into our home the very day our son came home from the hospital. We had spent the first 2.5 years of our marriage in an apartment. Finding a home somehow seemed to make being a family more real. This home was an answer to specific prayers– aside from the fact that it does not have a dishwasher.
Our home has been full of dreams that have come true and dreams we still hold on to. One of those dreams was a small one, but now a fulfilled one.
In San Luis Obispo, yard space is rare and we have a large one. We have always wanted to host a back yard party and we finally did. My wife arranged a Farewell Summer, Hello Fall Soiree. We provided the snacks and all of the guests were in charge of bringing one to two appetizers plus a bottle or two of wine that paired with their food.

Our evening was full of laughs, lots of wine, and plenty of food. It was official that the hot summer nights had slipped away and Fall was here as the cool wind wrapped us in chills.
Hello Fall!!