Getting back on track since the beginning of the year, we’ve got quite a few events which we’ve neglected to include on the blog.

Starting off with Chanden & Valery’s engagement portraits. What’s great about our clients is that we seem to be on the same page about adding creativity and unique elements to something as common as couple’s portraits. In this case, instead of going with something like the Palace of Fine Arts or the Golden Gate Bridge as a setting, we finalized on the Ferry Building/ Embarcadero area in San Francisco. It fit their desire for an urban feel with lots of things to interact with. We had talked about doing something in the Mission District, but they wanted a little different and this area really clicked with them as soon as I mentioned it. With such a bubbly couple, we definitely didn’t want to stick them in the middle of a lonely park…walking the streets of San Francisco is definitely more their style.

If you haven’t been there, the first thing you’d notice on the weekends is that there’s a lot going on in the area. We actually took these portraits before Christmas, so not only did we have the hub-bub of the farmer’s market, we also had the crowds looking to skate on the ice rink behind the Embarcadero. So much action is not usually what a photographer wants during engagement portraits, but we took it as a challenge and ended up working in the crowds where possible.

Anyways, onto the portraits!

Many photographers try to stay away from the sun when it’s so high in the sky…Our philosophy? Work it! Getting that glare can be something really unique with little extra attention. Chanden & Val were definitely up for it.

What better way to show off The Rock?! This shot was actually pretty organic in the sense that I worked it out with the couple on the spot and it ended up being something none of us planned in advance. I love it when we can brainstorm ideas with our couples. It’s something that we always encourage, but rarely do we have clients who listen to our idea and then very quickly respond back with a variation. Gotta love it!

San Francisco always guarantees a great variety of shots and well known landmarks. What’s more is that it’s a bit different every time we shoot there. If you’re wondering..that’s the Bay Bridge in the background. Visitors to the Bay Area always think it’s the Golden Gate Bridge for some reason….

Central Park? Well, that’s the look Chanden wanted to go for. Just scoping out the area around North Beach and the Embarcadero, we found a little park nestled in between the taller buildings. Perfect fall/winter feel.

Talk about glare! Walking along Market Street, I thought the sun was just something we had to include in this shot.

At the end of our shoot, most couples are usually pretty tired. Taking pictures isn’t an easy thing! At this point in our shoots, we usually have to slow down and give really specific directions to our couples. In this case, Chanden & Val were indeed tired, but more than anything else, they were just so relaxed. We had gotten the exact types settings we had talked about and they knew any extra shots were just gravy. So I let them relax and just stood back. This candid shot is something I just love getting since it’s all on them and without further direction from behind the camera. All in all, a fun shoot.