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I shot these about a year ago. I had so much fun doing these and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up! How many times are you going to be able to say that you were able to stand on home plate at AT&T Park? Better yet, how many times can you say that you had full access the whole baseball field, to yourself, to take engagement photos? It was definitely an amazing experience!
These were shot in the beautiful Napa Valley at the Castillo Di Amarosa Winery, downtown St. Helena, and downtown Yountville. I have to say, lighting was definitely on my side this time!
These last four are my absolute favorites!
Aileen and David were such a fun couple to take photos of. I always love meeting great people because not only do the photos come out a lot better, I end up with a great new set of friends. You can really tell that they love each other by looking at the photos, and that’s the kind of love that many people out there are constantly searching for. Best of luck to you guys in your future together, and see you at the Sake Lounge sometime soon :).
Most of you can agree with me that being in front of a camera is not easy. You want to look good in your photos but at the same time, you’re constantly worrying that you’ll have a funny face or that you’re going to smile funny. The only way you’re going to have a good photo of yourself is to let go of all inhibitions and just have fun! This is where it’s so important for the photographer to make their subjects feel really comfortable with you. No matter how nervous they are in the beginning, it’s your job as a photographer to warm them up and just have fun with you. If that doesn’t happen, then it’ll be really hard to get good photos.
This cute couple is Minh and Mary, whom I’ll be shooting their wedding this May. When I first met up with them, they were a bit nervous because like most people out there, they have never had photos taken of them “professionally” (I still have a problem saying that word, as I don’t consider myself a professional photographer at all). After a bit of just getting to know each other and a few test shots, they really broke out of their shell and had fun. I’m totally looking forward to shooting their wedding!
A lot of my clients have mentioned to me in the past and present that they are really nervous when it comes to getting photos taken. They say that they just don’t know how to pose, how to smile, and even don’t know what to wear. My advice is - be yourself! I strongly encourage getting engagement photos done for a very important reason - you get to see how I work. You’ll learn more about me and I’ll learn more about you as a couple (subtle nuances… you know… those little things like kissing him on his nose makes him crinkle his face). I’ll be your guide as to how to pose, where to look, and how to smile… even what to wear if you’re not sure! As we take more photos, you’ll relax more and things get a lot more fun and you become more daring as to where to take photos! This in turn will let you know what to expect when your wedding day comes around! Not to mention that if you do take engagement photos, you’ll have some cool pictures to use as “save-the-dates” or for your slide show!
I loved taking photos of Emily and Erik! They were very free spirited and just knew how to have fun. I think they had an idea of what they wanted in their photos so they just did what they did best - love each other, and they left the rest to me.
I tried using the 50mm f/1.2 L for this shoot. I’m very mixed about this lens. At times the backfocus was killing me, and at other times, the photos were tack sharp, even wide open. But seriously, I don’t really think there’s a huge enough benefit over the 50mm f/1.4 to justify spending an extra 1000 dollars to get the 50mm f/1.2 L. For those that don’t have either lens, I highly recommend that you pick up the 50mm f/1.4. I beleive right now it’s about 300 dollars and it’s seriously the greatest bang for your buck lens that Canon makes. For those beginning in photography, this is the perfect lens if you just want to focus on a subject and blur everything else out.
