Have you ever had one of those experiences that is so beyond coincidence that the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck immediately stand up while simultaneously your jaw drops and the air is sucked out of your lungs for a second? You know, one of those encounters that can only be explained as a cosmic experience because any other explanation just wouldn’t do it justice? Let me tell you a story about what took place during the first five minutes of my session with Katherine and Adam as we walked to our first shooting location…

Me: So where did you guys grow up?

Katherine: Oh, I grew up not too far from here in Santa Monica.
Me: Oh, yeah I lived in Santa Monica for a few years when I was younger. All I remember is it was on some street called Military.
Katherine: What? I grew up on Military! xxxx Military Avenue!
Me: What?? That’s so crazy! I wonder if we were neighbors! I’m going to call my parents to find out the address of our old house. (Dialing… ringing…) Dad, what was the address of the house on Military?
My Dad: xxxx Military. Why?

(Insert hair on arms and back of neck standing up, jaw dropping and losing my breath here.)

We. lived. in. the. same. house.

After a little more investigation on the phone with my mom, we figured out that my parents sold our house to Katherine’s parents! My mom even remembered their last name and said, “yeah, I remember their little blond girl running around…”

That little blond girl, 24 years later, would grow up, meet Adam, fall in love, and hire me to do their engagement session, all the while never knowing that we used to have the same bedroom. (And just to complete the story, Adam was an intern with Sahana, a grad school friend, which is how Adam and Katherine were referred to me.) Of all the houses in the greater Los Angeles area…. what are the odds??

The fact that this happened is crazy… the fact that I even mentioned I once lived in a house on Military was so unordinary – I remember almost not mentioning it in conversation, but for some reason, I did. The fact that so many little things had to happen for Katherine and I to realize we had something very cool in common kind of makes my head spin. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason… and I have no idea why this happened, but I’m thinking it’s way too much of a coincidence to not mean something… right?

Anyway, aside from being part of the craziest story I have from my career as a photographer, Katherine and Adam are the CUTEST couple. They have this amazing, caring, patient relationship, and are so visibly in love. They look at each other with adoration and respect. They individually have positive, energetic personalities- they each love life and it is obvious that they love life together.

We started out with a casual vibe at the Venice Canals, which was a really fun place to shoot. This image is definitely one of my favorites from the whole day.

She has a great laugh!

Another favorite.

Then we got a little funky in the streets…

Then there was a wardrobe change so that we could bring some class to the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

Upon leaving the session, I regretted not getting a photo of Katherine and me together considering our story… but I did snap this dorky one that I couldn’t resist on the boardwalk…

After I took this, Katherine said, “That’s so us!” Love it.

A beach favorite.

Katherine & Adam – I had SUCH a fun time with you both. Katherine, since we decided that we are semi-sisters, I hope I get to hang out with you again soon!

When shooting an engagement session, it’s most important for me to capture the couple as they are. I try to get a feel for who they are really quickly and then I use that to inspire how we plan the shoot. Jill and Brian wanted a session that really highlighted their personalities- fun, caring and super energetic. They also wanted a shoot that would be reminiscent of Northern California, where they met.

I am inspired by environments and love to shoot in a way that shows off the location as well as the people. The week before their session my sister and I went on a hike and she showed me this super amazing place in Griffith Park… right away I knew it’d be perfect for an engagement session if that couple were willing to hike up a pretty severe hill in order to get to the spot. Luckily, Jill and Brian had no hesitations about the hike… and, it was SO worth it. Jill and Brian- you are so awesome! Thank you so much for a lovely afternoon.

To start things off, one of my favorites. This is just so them- so happy and so in love.

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