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Engagement Sessions

Panther Beach - Santa Cruz Engagement Session

Panther Beach - Santa Cruz Engagement Session

Panther Beach is one of the more popular engagement photography destinations in the Santa Cruz area, mostly because it offers stunning natural features and is fairly private, as it’s challenging to access. But with great beauty, comes another natural risk – big waves! This is the only beach I or my couples have fairly routinely gotten wet at – usually by accident :) Luckily I was able to get a bunch of great photos before the risky shot at the end. A sneaker wave pummeled the rock these two were standing on and utterly drenched them. I got the shot (of course), because that would be a real bummer way to end a session if I didn’t! Luckily they were in good spirits and it wasn’t too cold (even though it’s March). Enjoy a few of my faves below:

Capitola Beach Sunset Engagement Shoot

Capitola Beach Sunset Engagement Shoot

It’s been rainy… rainy… RAINY for weeks, and it’s been a real challenge to schedule (and reschedule) around the weather since 2019 started. It had been raining on and off all day, and I knew my clients were coming from the East Bay for their engagement shoot, so I was worried they’d drive all this way for nothing. Luckily we caught a break about 45 minutes before sunset on the beach in Capitola, California. Sweet! I’m shooting with to very different cameras now, my trusty Nikon D850 and my new mirrorless Nikon Z6. They are both amazing pieces of tech, and while it’s generally more efficient to shoot two of the same camera bodies (especially when it comes to editing), I’m embracing the unique way each camera renders light and color, bringing more variety for my wedding clients. All the wide-angle shots below are with the Z6, the tighter shots with the D850. Which do you like best? Enjoy…

Indian Engagement Session at Palace of Fine Arts and Baker Beach, SanFrancisco

Indian Engagement Session at Palace of Fine Arts and Baker Beach, SanFrancisco

These two were flying back to New York the same evening, so rescheduling their west coast engagement was… not an option. While I waited for them in the Palace of Fine Arts parking lot, the sky opened up and rained… Part of me was expecting the client to cancel via text, but alas the rain stopped and they showed up not too long after, ready to go! Even when the weather is cold and drizzly, the Palace of Fine Arts is a very popular tourist destination, and they get dropped off to explore the property by the busload. And of course there’s always photographers, both amateur and professional, snapping away at the architectural wonders or, like me, shooting sessions with couples. We took our time exploring the property, getting both wide shots to show off the towering architecture, and closer in, more intimate photos. The challenge is really to make it seem like my clients are the only ones there – and I think we more or less accomplished this! Afterwards we drove 10 minutes to Baker Beach, another popular tourist location given the great sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge. After a quick outfit change in my Sqivvy pop-up tent, we finished the engagement shoot on the beach, getting some romantic sunset shots along the way. Enjoy a few of my faves below!

San Francisco Engagement – Palace of Fine Arts, Baker Beach, Embarcadero, Bay Bridge

San Francisco Engagement – Palace of Fine Arts, Baker Beach, Embarcadero, Bay Bridge

These two lovebirds are getting married next week in India, but before heading out of the country for their week-long nuptials, they wanted to capture their love for San Francisco with a substantial engagement session in the city. Not only did we visit 3 different locations, but they changed outfits at each spot as well! We started out at the always-impressive Palace of Fine Arts, exploring the architecture and pond (with 1,000 other people). Next, we hit up Baker Beach for a few obligatory Golden Gate shots, thankfully without and nudists in the background… Lastly, we met up at the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building for some fun street shots, plus some pretty amazing Bay Bridge night shots. Enjoy my faves below…

Panther Beach Santa Cruz Engagement Session

Panther Beach Santa Cruz Engagement Session

We had nice soft light for Abbey and Andrew’s engagement session at Panther Beach just north of Santa Cruz, California. Just because you’re a little shy in front of the camera doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of amazing photos! By some miracle, we avoided getting soaked by the notoriously enormous waves at this beach. Here’s some of my faves from the session…