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<\/a><\/p>\nWood and Benson told Saipan Tribune of their love of this little capital of the Northern Marianas: its beaches, weather, natural beauty, and warm and friendly people\u2014but also how, unfortunately, these same things do not get noticed anymore by people here.<\/p>\n
Their goals are photographers, they say, is to \u201cpromote Saipan as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last Valentine\u2019s Day, they staged a wedding shoot on Tank Beach with friends and acquaintances, using\u2014they emphasized\u2014all local items to showcase this, e.g., jewelry from Star Jewelry and a cake from Java Bakery.<\/p>\n
Even the wedding dress was tailored locally.<\/p>\n
This versus the $1,000 couples can spend on an indoor wedding, when the raw materials of a lasting memory are right outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really just wanted to promote Saipan the way it is,\u201d Wood said. A wedding can still be \u201cfashionable, affordable, and current\u201d with just local supplies, she said.<\/p>\n
From what they hear, photographers feel that people \u201cdo want to have more traditional wedding Saipan-style\u201d\u2014\u201cbut they don\u2019t know how to do it,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
The stylized wedding shoot was done in a month, under less than $500. That included cake, flowers, dress, and jewelry for the shoot.<\/p>\n
They wanted the culture in it, they said, the entire island. And they believe Saipan can be that spot for locals and tourists alike for gorgeous and natural wedding shoots.<\/p>\n
\u2018That moment<\/p>\n
Wood and Benson shoot weddings, portraits, bridal or maternity shoots, among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do little projects on the sides,\u201d said Benson. \u201cTo get the creative juices out, we showcase ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood calls her style \u201cvery emotional\u201d while Benson\u2019s style is more \u201cmodern, bold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from the mainland, they prefer the local scenes of beaches, cliff sides and ocean, and natural light as ingredients in their shoots.<\/p>\n
Not new to the weather here, the two know who to work with the moment, so to speak.<\/p>\n
Benson recalled one shoot of a couple, where it had been raining.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just go with it,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery moment is beautiful. You\u2019re getting married\u2014that\u2019s the most import thing,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n
The photographers look at every detail to get the narrative of the moment to spill into the photographs. They ask their clients to find locations that suit them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to tell a story\u2014where they are in life, how did they get there,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n
The search for \u201cthat moment\u201d\u2014where things are as they are, and color themselves\u2014has brought them to many beaches and spots on island that some would never think to hold a wedding or even shoot.<\/p>\n
They want that shot where \u201cthe emotion just hits you in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local shoots versus ones indoors are simple, easy and affordable, they said.<\/p>\n
They come \u201cwithout a lot of the worry and the price tag,\u201d said Wood.<\/p>\n
Benson lists Tank, Ladder, Obyan, Wing, and Paupau beaches as some of her favorites.<\/p>\n
She described a pink sunrise at one beach, where \u201ceverything lights up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood said Banzai Cliff is memorable for the view of the waves crashing below, and the continuous view of the mountain and fields at sunset.<\/p>\n
Even shoots at the Veteran\u2019s Cemetery field, and in the island\u2019s wetlands\u2014\u201cturned out to be beautiful,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
The wetland\u2019s \u201csuper tall grass,\u201d Wood said, can give a \u201csoft, romantic feel\u201d to the shoot.<\/p>\n
Someone even thanked them for it, they said. The person had been raised around the wetlands, and appreciated how that part of her life and island got highlighted.<\/p>\n
Wood believes that \u201cSaipan\u2019s eyes can be opened,\u201d by turning to its local scenes for lasting memories, versus commercial shoots.<\/p>\n
Wood pointed out that in some places, you have to pay to go to crowded and noisy beaches.<\/p>\n
But here, you just look out your window, or go for a short drive.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
CREDITS<\/strong>
\nPhotographers: Mylyn Wood of Mylyn Wood Photography, Lauren Benson of Lauren Benson Photography
\nVideographer: Salvi Villa Nueva Productions
\nCake: Java Bakery
\nFlowers: Kagman High Floral Design
\nJewelry & Accessories: Star Jewelry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That the island can be discovered with new eyes\u2014with each snap of a camera\u2014is no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":193459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2745,21,190,67],"class_list":["post-193458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-and-style","tag-cake-java-bakery","tag-life","tag-natural","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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