Justine and ian

Justine and Ian aren’t huge fans of being in front of a camera, but they wanted pictures to remember their current moment in life. Justine is a phenomenal potter and Ian has the unique skill of playing any stringed instrument he lays his hands on, and their cat is just as much a member of their family as they are.

This was a very non-traditional shoot, as we didn’t plan locations or outfits, I just showed up for an afternoon and captured them as they did what they enjoyed while comfortable in their own home. Justine spent the afternoon doing ceramics in her garage-turned-art studio and Ian took me on a tour around the globe with his collection of exotic instruments. Their cat patrolled the garden while they practiced their crafts.

We took a short trip over to a local beach later to get some outdoor shots of them enjoying their neighborhood.

Doing the photoshoot of them in their home while focusing on things they are passionate about helped them relax and feel more comfortable in front of the camera, plus it was a more genuine representation of who they are and what their lives were like in this moment of time.

Madison and carter

Madison and Carter live in the Sacramento area and love to get outdoors. One of their favorite places to visit is beautiful Lake Tahoe up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so they wanted some simple engagement pictures that they could send to their family for the holidays.

We met them at Emerald Bay early in the morning to beat the crowds and use some good morning light. A quick hike down to the water and back gave us plenty of inspiration for pictures.

Since we shot early in the morning, we were finished just as the crowds of weekend tourists were showing up, and Madison and Carter were free to go enjoy the rest of their day in Lake Tahoe!

SamEla

Samela was living in the Bay Area after she moved to the US from Brazil. She wanted some photos of her playing her guitar to send home to her friends and family in Brazil. We found a beautiful rose garden in San Jose to have a mini concert

Thuli

Thuli is a Swedish-Vietnamese nomad traveling the globe. She stopped in San Francisco on her way to New York. She loved dancing and wanted some professional photos of her in Northern California.

I took her to some classic Golden Gate Bridge overlooks early in the morning for sunrise. These places are ususaly swarmed with people, but at sunrise we had the entire bridge to ourselves in unique, soft sunrise light.

She wanted to see the lesser known northern California coast, so we planned an epic overnight road trip up the coast to Mendocino, stopping anywhere inspiration struck.