Ryan and I met way back in High School and maybe even Junior High when we performed together in the Santa Clarita Honor Band. That’s right we were pretty cool. So when he contacted me to shoot his wedding and engagement pictures, I was excited to say the least.
Two hours before our engagement shoot I got a last minute idea for a location. It ended up being perfect! Placerita canyon was beautiful that day and was a great backdrop to contrast the first location (Bridgeport).
Julia and Ryan were truly a great couple to photograph. More importantly, they trusted me taking them into the wilderness to come out with great pics. It was a team effort.

For such a relatively small location, we were able to get a lot of different looks. I met this couple because I frequent my local Starbucks nearly twice a day. Rachel’s stepfather would always see me in there meeting clients or hanging out with my wife and daughter. He knew I was a photographer, so when Rachel got engaged, he referred her to my website. One thing I love about overcast days is that I don’t have to worry about the sun getting in the way. It makes it a lot easier to shoot when I don’t have that extra sunny concern.

It was an extremely beautiful museum, but with “Getty” in its name, that is to be expected. This was a predecessor to the Getty that is on Sepulveda. It overlooked the ocean and was absolutely serene and peaceful. We got kicked out, but not before getting some awesome photos. Rae and Karl had very obvious chemistry that made them a lot of fun to photograph. As an added bonus, Rae baked me cupcakes when I delivered her the photos. They were delicious.

I drove down to Huntington Beach on a picturesque February day for Kim and Jorge’s engagement shoot. The weather was perfect, which made the beach a bit crowded with people. At sunset, there were four different groups of photographers all shooting near the pier. We were all trying to avoid getting in each other’s shots. It made for pretty comical end to the shoot.

The weather in Santa Monica today couldn’t have been any better for my engagement photo shoot with Erica and Jake. We had a blast playing the carnival games, listening to a reggae band, and watching some pretty cool street performers. It was the kind of day people who live outside of Los Angeles envision Santa Monica to be. While it took a half hour to find parking, the delayed start time to our shoot was worth it. As was the $12 purchase for a balloon I used for one of the more conceptual photos. Erica and Jake were naturals in front of the camera, which made my job fairly easy.

I wasn’t sure if I was on a day-cation with some friends in Santa Barbara or on an engagement shoot. Either way, I had a blast. At one point we saw a fish backdrop at the zoo and immediately I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I asked that they summon their inner fish. They nailed it.

We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo after hours; we rode a carousel that the ride operator touted as being faster than most; and we walked along the pier. Not bad for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

This engagement shoot was, I imagine, kind of like a tour of Valencia for Ashley and David, considering they are from Orange. We shot in front of the University Center at College of the Canyons, the hills to the right of the college, and then finally at Central Park. When I had these locations in mind I was thinking how these photos would look next to each other – the cool colors of the college next to the more natural settings of the park and oak trees.

Once or twice a year for the past 4 and a half years or so I have traveled to New York State to visit my wife’s family and stay in their cabin. Inevitably I have to explain to my friends that “No, I’m not going to New York City. I’m going to the part of New York where there are more cows than people, and more tractors and ski doos than cars.” I have to say though, for a couple of weeks a year, I really enjoy it.

That brings us to the photo shoot part of this blog. Adam, my brother-in-law, is recently engaged. I knew that I wanted to contribute my skills and thought our travels to northern New York would present a great opportunity to capture some awesome engagement pictures. Mary, his fiancée, agreed. There were way too many places that I wanted to shoot, so we basically picked one road and if we saw something we liked, we stopped. I could have shot there another week. We shot primarily in a town called Malone, known as “The Star of the North”. Its downtown looks like it has remained untouched since 1906. The only drawback were the bugs. My wife, as well as the rest of her family, make fun of me for my phobia of flying bugs. In fact, I even argued my position of flying bugs vs. non flying bugs.

Fillmore is a very eclectic town; we shot on Central Avenue. Between the old train station that had absolutely no security and the theater that looks like a piece of the set from Back to the Future, it offered so many possibilities. And the best part of all, no one seemed to care that we were taking pictures. Actually the town was kind of empty when I think about it. Nevertheless, I think the images are full of life, thanks to Anamarie and Chris.

Anamarie and Chris brought a few props, some edible and some not. Apparently Walmart is the place to go if you’re looking for all things picnic.

Vasquez Rocks is located in Agua Dulce, CA. This famous rocky landscape has been featured in hundreds of different TV shows and movies. That said, I thought it would be a great backdrop for an engagement session. It’s one of those places that I wonder why I haven’t gone there more often.

My engagement sessions always seem to be 2 parts photography and 1 part hiking. Nick and Breanna hiked right along with Josiah and I as we looked for different locations. It was well worth it.