Mari + Eric | University of California, Davis Arboretum.

UC Davis Arboretum is one of those rare locations that has it all – grassy fields, oak, pine and sycamore groves, a mossy pond, monarch butterflies and redwood forest. I met up with Mari and Eric for their engagement – and since they booked my services without ever meeting me in person, it was great to get to know them both a little over the next two hours. I’ll be honest – it was overcast and in the high 50s. Not ideal conditions by any stretch of the imagination. But my shoots have always been couple-focused, and my goal is to make them look their best, no matter what. Plus, they drove all the way from Sacramento – we were gonna make it happen!

And so we did. Mari and Eric were really easy to work with, following my lead and building on their natural chemistry together. Even though we didn’t get a sunset or warm sand to sink our feet into, we got some great memories captured for posterity – and some great practice in front of the camera.

 

Tyellis and Nam Phuong | USNS Mercy, San Diego.

We had so much fun Tyellis and Namphuong’s photo shoot in San Diego. San Diego has some beautiful engagement photo spots. Tylellis and Nam Phuong chose Balboa Park so I took them to all of my favorite little nooks tucked away in the park,  with over 1,200 acres to explore we were able to carve out our own areas to sneak off to and get some amazing photos. Thousand-year-old trees, and cactus gardens that make you feel like you are in Joshua tree. Balboa Park is for sure one of our top choices for San Diego engagement photos.

It was especially special to capture shots of the two in front of the USNS Mercy, the military hospital ship where Tyellis and Nam Phuong met 6 years ago in Viet Nam. They are such a fun couple to work with and I cannot wait to witness their union later this year!

Amanda + Saif | Fortpoint , San Francisco.

It was cold and windy and late December when I met up with Amanda and Saif for their engagement shoot at Fort Point in San Francisco. It’s a really old military building, right at the base of the Golden Gate – and adjacent to the turbulent waters of the bay. This was always interested location for me, and I was amazed at the view of the Golden Gate Bridge the location offered. Of course you pay for it one way or another, and suffering the weather was our payment for the opportunity to experience the man-made and natural beauty. These two lovebirds were total naturals – and it didn’t take much coaxing to get them to get all cuddly. After we shot for an hour or so, we drove to our next location, the Pier 14 where you can see the Transamerica building in the back  and Bay Bridge another side. It was less windy there, but still pretty cold. Amanda and Saif did great though, they laughing so much with our joke and give us amazing natural expression from lovely couple , and I feel like we got just the right amount of photos. Speaking of which, check out my favorites from their e-session below!