Ice cream during your engagement session? Heck yes! I always encourage couples to choose a location or activity that’s meaningful to them. Hope + Patrick love going for ice cream, so of course we had to start their Pasadena engagement session at Afters ice cream. YUM! Their outfits fit the vibe perfectly and the harsh light really added to the vibeeee!
Corey and I have known each other since he moved to California a few years ago. His modeling agency linked us up for a shoot and the rest is history. We became instant friends and always find a way to shoot together 1-2 times a year or at least meet up for coffee. When I saw Corey had a girlfriend, I was so stoked for him! When he asked me to photograph him and Sami together, I was so quick to accept. We made plans for the following week to meet up in Orange County since he loves to drive, especially to OC.
He and I had previously done a shoot outside of Kit Coffee, so I figured we might as well meet there, grab a coffee, and explore a bit. We hit Balboa Island and Little Corona. In this post, I’m focusing on their shots together, but if you’d also like to see their individuals/modeling photos, head on over to this blog post!
Who doesn’t love classic cars and Ruby’s Diner? Nick and Paolena wanted to meet up and take their engagement photos at Ruby’s in Laguna Beach. I was a little nervous at first to get kicked out, but Paolena called ahead of time and we got the okay! We even grabbed a shake afterward and did some photos inside. This spot 100% suited them and the shots they had in mind. I had so much fun hanging with them. They are so fun, goofy and badass all at the same time. Pro tip: choose a location or activity that really showcases you as a couple.
La Jolla is always a good idea for engagement session. La Jolla Village offers a variety of locations to take photos as well as plenty of beaches nearby. I met Allan and Cassie at a cute coffee shop called Better Buzz. If you’ve been to San Diego, you know this coffee shop is one for the books. I’d never been to the one in La Jolla, but I’ve been to others and the decor is always on point. The shop was a little more crowded than we expected, but we still managed to get a few cute shots of them sitting at the bar snuggled up then we decided to walk around a little bit before making our way to Scripps Pier for the final photos.
If we thought Better Buzz was crowded, Scripps Pier was ANOTHER STORY! I parked and waited for them at the top as I watched photographer after photographer walk down to the beach with their clients. By the time we got to the sand, there had to be at least 25 photo shoots happening. We picked a small unoccupied section of sand between a few photographers - that’s how busy it was! We waited in line for photos under the pier, too. It’s a beautiful beach and sunset is killer here — no wonder people love to shoot here. It’s the Laguna Beach of San Diego. The clouds also rolled in early here, so we didn’t get quite as nice of a sunset as expected, but we did get a little pink and orange in the there.
As I’m sure you’ve seen, I do A LOT of engagement sessions at the beach, especially Laguna Beach. I was so stoked when Andreas and Britt told me they wanted to do Calafia Beach. It’s a beach they go to together often, so of course it made sense for them. When I met them at the beach, they offered to pay for my parking, but I have a state parks/beaches parking pass. They said they got rid of theirs because it’s so close to just bike down, so when I say they chose a spot that’s meaningful to them, I really mean it. They brought their pup Coral who made the shoot so fun and kept all of us laughing.
Capture real, raw moments.
