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  • We are the Chansons!

    We are Scott and Breanna Chanson and we live and breathe to tell stories….
    We were married in 2005, and as we stood saying our vows at the altar, neither of us could've predicted the incredible story our life together would develop into. Since we began shooting weddings in 2006, we've had a whirlwind of unforgettable experiences. We've shot all over the U.S. as well as internationally. We've gained an invaluable following of loyal fans who have encouraged us to continue on… even through the rough times. We've developed ourselves into teachers and mentors for other photographers and small businesses. We've expanded Radiant by adding a new photography team and creating a home base in both Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ.
    Through all this, we've discovered that the two most important things to us are people and their stories. Radiant Photography exists to help us meet amazing people and allows us to tell their stories.
    We hope you enjoy this shared experience into one another's worlds.

Matt and Rachel and their/our neighborhood engagement session (by Scott & Breanna)

May 4, 2013 Posted inEngagement,Engagement Sessions,Scott & Breanna

Los Angeles is the kind of city that has something for everyone. As photographers, Scottie and I feel that one of the best things it offers us is amazing locations to shoot!

It has everything from the beach, to the lights of downtown, to famous landmarks, to beautiful flowers and greenery, to spacious and mountainous hiking trails… whatever you want in your photos, there’s a good chance that Los Angeles has it.

With so much to choose from, it can be quite a chore sorting through your many options and trying to pick a location to shoot at! So when our neighbors, Rachel and Matt started planning their engagement session, we all decided to keep things simple and just stay in and around our own neighborhood of Venice Beach!

And why not?! We have more options than we could ever possibly squeeze into a single session, all right here! We have the famous Santa Monica pier…

…the beach….

…gorgeous flowers and open fields…

… and the unique look of the California Venice canals.

What more could you ask for in a photo session location?!

Well there is one thing we could’ve asked for and didn’t get and it’s something that you almost always find in Southern California… SUN!

It was a cloudy and gloomy day, but we decided to go with it and make the best of it, which actually created a cool effect and made our photos look a little different than they would’ve had we gone with the typical sunny SoCal look!

Hopefully they’ll get all the sun they need at their June wedding in upstate New York… and if not, there’s always the chance for a fantastic Unique Session after their wedding once we’re all back in “sunny” California!

(Like our Facebook page to be the first to see Matt and Rachel’s wedding pictures when they go up!)

Sun or no sun, one thing is for sure, and that is that we’ll have a blast capturing this awesome and exciting moment in time for Matt and Rachel. How could we not? Getting to work with our good friends is one of the perks of our job that we love the most! Can’t wait for your wedding guys!

See you in June of 2014… or just later this afternoon when you take your dog out for a walk I guess.

Click to see the rest of Matt and Rachel’s neighborhood photo session here.

 

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May 5, 2013 - 3:35 pm

Calvin hao - Congratulations to you both on your engagement. Looking forward to meeting Rachel.

Amy & Anthony’s wedding, where 1+1= 3 (by Scott & Breanna)

April 26, 2013 Posted inScott & Breanna,Weddings,Weddings

Is there anything better than being a part of a wedding for a family member you love?!

Through the window

Florence Windmill Winery Wedding

Well yes, there is one thing that’s even better than that and that’s watching a wonderful little girl get a new family.

Amy and Anthony’s wedding contained both of those amazing aspects! Amy is my (Breanna’s) cousin and I’ve had the privileged of watching Amy grow up through the good and the bad in life, work so hard at being the best mom around, and struggle to find the perfect man to be a part of her and her daughter Tatum’s life.

And I can tell you, it was more than exciting to see the results that came about once Amy and Anthony found one another and began the process of forming a family together as they prepared to head down the aisle to make it official at their Florence Windmill Winery wedding.

(Like our Facebook page to tag yourself in some of the photos!)

I’ve been to A LOT of weddings at this point, but I have yet to see a wedding more emotional than this one was for every single person in attendance.

People who are normally pretty even keeled emotionally… cried at this wedding. People who are not sure what they think about the institution of marriage…. cried at this wedding.  The tons of people who always cry at weddings… cried at this wedding.

Of course myself who has been a part of Amy and Tatum’s lives since they were both born… cried at this wedding. I think even Mr. Manly Man Scottie will even admit to shedding a tear or two!

There was just no way of getting around the water works as you watched Tatum head up to the alter to join Amy and Anthony for a sand ceremony and family prayer.

And just as you began recovering from the initial tear flow, the reception started and Tatum got on the microphone for her speech congratulating Amy and Anthony… and the tears started all over again.

Then right when you’d finally fixed all your smudged eye makeup after the speech, Tatum and Anthony got up for their “new father daughter dance” right after Amy and her dad had their dance… and the tears started all over again!

Of course, these weren’t sad tears running down all of our faces, they were tears that were moved by joy. And as the night went on, the joy spilled over more and more as it moved from our tear ducts to our dancing feet.

It couldn’t be contained. This was one group of crazy happy people!

And Scottie and myself were so happy to be right in the mix of it all.

Amy and Anthony, it was such an honor to be not just family members at your wedding, but to be involved in capturing all your memories as well. Thanks for trusting us with such an important task, it means the world to us.

Congratulations again on your wedding, we can’t wait to see where the 3 of you go from here!

Click to see the rest of the photos from Amy and Anthony’s Wedding here.

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Isabella’s Family Filled Senior Session (by Josh & Kelley)

April 22, 2013 Posted inJosh and Kelley,Seniors

Today, Josh and I (Kelley) are happy to introduce you to Radiant Photography’s latest senior, Isabella!

Actually, this isn’t Isabella’s first time on the Radiant blog. Back in 2011, Isabella’s older sister Francesca had her senior photos taken with Radiant, and Isabella and their younger sister came along and had a few photos taken together as well.

It’s obvious that family is important to all of these girls, so it was no surprise at all that Isabella wanted to bring her family in for a few photos before her senior session.

When Isabella started planning her session, she realized with her dad flying in from California at 2:30pm on the day of the shoot, and Francesca heading to the airport to go back to school at about 5:30 that night, they had a very small window in which they would all be together and able to take photos.

Luckily it was a window during which Josh and I were open and excited to help this family out!

After grabbing some family shots, Isabella’s dad and sisters headed out to drop Francesca off at the airport, and we officially started the senior photo portion of the evening. It was then that we began to learn more about this super sweet senior and her plans for the future.

Isabella will be graduating in mid-May, and not long after that, she’ll be shipping out to the Naval Academy. Yes, THE Naval Academy, all the way in Annapolis, Maryland.

Isabella has been lucky enough to attend Xavier College Preparatory school the last four years, which means she’s worn pretty much the same outfit five days a week for most of her teenage life. Of course, this meant we had to get a few shots of her in her uniform.

While she loves her school (she’s even enjoyed her daily uniform), she says she’s ready for a change and is looking forward to all of the new and fun challenges the Naval Academy will bring into her life.

One of the first big changes she’ll face, is cutting off most of her long beautiful locks. That’s right, before starting at the Naval Academy Isabella will have to get her hair cut to about the length of her chin. While her long hair is gorgeous, I am SURE that she’ll make short hair look absolutely fabulous.

How could she not? She would obviously be stunning with any hairstyle.

After spending the evening with Isabella, we can tell that no matter what hairstyle she goes off to college with, she’s going to be awesome and she will always have the support of her wonderful family back home! Congrats on your graduation Isabella, and have a blast with all of your upcoming adventures!

Click to see the rest of Isabella’s Family Filled Senior Session.

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April 22, 2013 - 11:19 pm

Francesca - These are unbelievably gorgeous! (And not just the ones with me in them)

Margaret’s Two Sided Senior Session (by Scott & Breanna)

April 17, 2013 Posted inScott & Breanna,Seniors,Seniors

So is Margaret a gorgeous, feminine girl?

Or a hardcore, in your face athlete?

I know, it’s amazing how much she can transform isn’t it?! If I (Breanna) were the captain of her softball team, she would totally be my secret weapon!

I can just see it now, a sweet and innocent girl who looks like she could hardly hurt a fly gets off the bus, giving the opponents the idea that they can totally take this team….

…and then BAM! She comes out of the locker room a transformed girl and cleans up on the field!

So of course for her senior session we had to capture both sides of this talented girl’s personalities. But you can only look through so many photos of an intimidating face before it stops being fun because you immediately feel like you’re losing a game you’re not even playing, so for most of the session we focused on Margaret’s daily, non-game personality!

And Margaret chose just the location to help show off her relaxed and stylish self! The Venue at the Grove is one of those places that non-desert fans love because it just doesn’t quite look like Phoenix with the pecan grove, the white picket fence, and the green grass. In other words, there are no cactus in site!

Only awesome old trucks…

…a grungy shed…

…and on this particular day, a beautiful girl with stunning eyes and a shining smile who was excitedly posing for the senior pictures she’s been looking forward to for so long!

Margaret, thanks for choosing us as your senior photo photographers! We know that’s a huge deal and we loved working with you as we attempted to show off both sides of your personality!

I hope you love the photos as much as we do! Enjoy the rest of your senior year and we hope you rock it at graduation!

Click to see the rest of Margaret’s two sided senior session!

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Kelly and Andrew’s Desert before Vineyard engagement session (by Scott & Breanna)

April 15, 2013 Posted inEngagement,Engagement Sessions,Scott & Breanna

Don’t you just love it when amazing people from your past show back up again?! Me too. Which is why I was so excited when Kelly called to tell me she was getting married and wanted Scottie and myself (Breanna) to be her photographers!

This situation works out even better than you would think because they are getting married in California (where we live) but they wanted engagement photos in Arizona (where they live) and we happened to be taking a trip out to Arizona to shoot a wedding around the time they wanted engagement photos! And viola!

A real live Arizona desert engagement session as a precursor to their upcoming gorgeous California vineyard wedding! They get the best of both the worlds they love in their photos!

The interesting thing about this couple’s story is that while they currently have one foot in Arizona and one foot in California (sounds familiar!) during this wedding planning time, they plan on landing both feet in Africa shortly after their wedding!

Yes, I said Africa!! Kelly is a dietician and she has spent quite a bit of time working with an organization called Mercy Ships which focuses on bringing health care to Africa by docking a ship full of incredibly talented medically trained individuals, while African people come on and off it to receive the surgeries and medical care they need. 60 Minutes recently did a piece on Mercy Ships that I highly recommend watching!

So once all the glamor of their wedding is over, Kelly and Andrew will be trading in their tux and white dress for their flip flops and tank tops as they make their way through the ocean into their new life and new adventure together! So exciting! And it’s so perfect for them!

As Kelly mentioned, Andrew is the perfect guy for her, especially since it’s not easy to find someone willing to commit to spending their lives in Africa with you! And since I’ve known Kelly for awhile, I can tell that Andrew really does make her incredibly happy, I mean just look at her! Is that the face of a girl in love or what?!

I am very happy with Kelly and Andrew both myself because I am thrilled about the work they’ll be doing in Africa and it makes me so happy to see such wonderful people in love and committed to a cause greater than themselves! Of course, I’m also partial to married couples who work together!

We are so excited for your wedding, but we’re even more excited about the life you’re going to build together after it! See you in September!!!

Click to see the rest of the photos from Kelley and Andrew’s Desert before Vineyard Engagement session!

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