Erica + Ryan - San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts, Downtown SF Engagement

After a quick meeting over a Google Hangout, we felt a little bit of pressure when it came time to meet Erica and Ryan in person; Ryan grew up in the Bay Area, but now lives in the heart of a rejuvenated and bustling Downtown Los Angeles.  We had some work to do to impress Ryan in his hometown against the backdrop of his current dig with Erica, and chose a cool bar in the Mission District.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at Laszlo we were greeted by construction signs that told us they were closed for renovations.  The rough start to our evening was our fault, but Erica and Ryan rolled with it, and as a group we rallied to another bar nearby.  Situation averted, GOOD TIMES CONFIRMED.

It was a small incident, but it went a long way to showing that on top of being hip and fashionable, they are just really great people.  Over a few cocktails, we learned about Ryan’s work in a number of famous visual effects houses in Hollywood, Erica’s work at a top defense contractor, but most of all how important family is to both of them.  Erica and Ryan love food and travel, a love expressed through Erica’s food/travel blog Table for Two and Instagram which are replete with their adventures experienced through the food that they’ve shared.

A recurring theme throughout the evening was the love they both had for their pup Simba.  Simba started with Ryan, but Erica has long since adopted him as her own as well.  When we broached the subject of their engagement session, they knew they wanted to use Ryan’s hometown San Francisco as the backdrop and Simba was going to be there.  The day of the shoot, we were worried that the windy chill in the city that day might spoil things a bit, but just like that bit of adversity Laszlo situation presented us when we last met, Erica, Ryan and Simba powered through and helped us make some beautiful stuff.

With Simba in tow, the whole session had the vibe of the coolest dog walk ever (see above).  Simba needed a little coaching every now and then, but like his dog-dad, he was a gentleman.  Erica was stunning in her red dress that became a character unto itself in the wind at the Palace of Fine Arts, which also gave us some fantastic chances to play with the light.  We couldn’t ask for more from Erica and Ryan who were good enough to let us in on the love between them everytime we had the camera pointed their way.

We are incredibly excited to be with Erica and Ryan again for their wedding later this year.  They are some of our people who are are absolutely fantastic together; well that, and we’ll take any chance to hang with Simba that we can get!

Jennifer + Christopher - Palace of Fine Arts/Sutro Baths Engagement

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Palace of Fine Art - San Francisco, CA

The day before this shoot, it was about 4pm, and I was in the Outer Sunset neighborhood on the west side San Francisco, and was struck by how warm and inviting everything looked.  The skies to the west were clear, except for some wispy patches of clouds stretching  across the sky punctuating the light filtering through that splashed yellows, oranges, reds, blues and purples above.  

This made me immediately fire off an e-mail to Jennifer & Chris, asking if they would be interested in heading to the coast after their scheduled shoot at the Palace of Fine Arts the next day.  I was happy to find a "yes" reply in my inbox after not too long.  I made the disclaimer that the idea to do some of their engagement shoot on the coast at Sutro Baths would put us a the mercy of the weather a bit, and even if it stayed dry, it might be on the chilly side; but Jennifer & Chris were up for the risk.

It all worked out because we got to work with same golden sunlight that inspired me the day before, and it looked just as warm and dramatic as I could have hoped.

This was the first time I had worked with Jennifer & Chris, and immediately I was struck by how cool they were.  Our rapport was that of old friends right off the bat, and that dynamic really made it a joy to spend the afternoon with them.  We were already getting a taste of what the light on the coast had in store for us at our first stop, the Palace of Fine Arts.  It was a lot of fun working with Jennifer & Chris, just finding little spots to let the great light wrap around them.  Already excited for what we made so far, we headed to Sutro Baths/Land's End with the sun already low on the horizon.  Upon arrival, the light was as I had hoped the day before;  just awesome.

Jennifer & Chris were a pleasure, and even though their San Francisco shoot ran into the night, it was still too soon for me.  I really enjoyed getting to know them,  and loved the easy way they show each other love.  Photographing them together makes me excited to shoot their wedding in March.  

-Joseph

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Sutro Bath Ruins - San Francisco, CA

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We finished up at the Sutro Bath Ruins, and in the course of conversation, Chris let me know that he took Jennifer to the Cliff House just down the highway from where we were; that meant we weren't finished until we did a little bit to commemorate their first few moments as a couple.

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