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.

This shot reminds me of Jill’s incredible giggle. I kept telling her throughout the shoot that I want to record it and play it back when I get sad… it’s just the perfect little laugh that has the power to make anyone within earshot a little bit happier.

Let me take a moment to say how much I loved Jill’s bright yellow dress! I’m so inspired by colors and especially loved how that yellow dress looked against these amazing purple flower.

I know… I can’t believe this place exists in LA either…

To my delight, Jill and Brian love jumping photos!

They got some serious air- I was very impressed.

Then we headed down the street to a pub for a few beers.

Jill and Brian-

I’m so looking forward to your wedding in May and getting to hang out with you again! So looking forward to those wedding day jumping photos!

I remember my first real trip up to the Bay area, and I remember I wasn’t a huge fan. Maybe because it just wasn’t home and I feel like Northern California is so different from Southern California and everything I was used to seeing. Over the last couple years I’ve had the opportunity to visit different places all over Northern California and now am really wondering why I didn’t absolutely fall in love with it on my first trip years ago. Driving around the different parts of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and all those surrounding areas, it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t scream to me “Take photos here!!” I am a photographer that is mostly inspired by people and their environments, and I totally love the settings that can be found up there because they are so different from what I am used to seeing.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of driving up to Santa Rosa for Liz and Chris’ engagement session and to visit with friends. I knew the shoot was going to be so great because Chris is a photographer himself and had a great concept for the shooting locations. Photographing another photographer is honestly a bit intimidating, but Chris was so awesome and his trust in me to photograph his engagement session (and soon his wedding!) is so great. We had so much fun experimenting with different spots in and around Santa Rosa and I’m so happy with the photos we were able to get!

We started in an area of Santa Rosa called Railroad Square, which I loved! Liz and Chris knew they wanted a shoot that was part rustic industrial, part natural, and this was the perfect place to capture the more rustic, industrial imagery.

The exposed brick was everywhere and so much fun to shoot against.

Then to the railroad tracks. I just love this shot.

This one is out of focus… and sometimes that just feels good.

Then the three of us set out on an adventure to find the perfect field of mustard flowers before we lost too much light. We drove and drove down a winding country road through some of the most beautiful hills covered in vineyards, but kept passing them by because we just didn’t feel they were perfect… We almost settled for a less perfect place just to shoot before we lost even more light, but we continued down the road determined to find an even better place. Chris and Liz’s shared sentiment about not being okay with settling was so inspiring and motivated me to want to find that perfect field even more. Lo and behold, just around that corner, there it was… the perfect hilly field of mustard flowers over looking the Rochioli vineyards, which just happen to be Chris’ favorite. As anyone who knows Chris will tell you, he is particular about his wine, and has more than once told me that Rochioli produces the finest Pinot Noir. Was this location just meant to be? I think so…

A definite favorite…

Is this place gorgeous or what?

Their dog Blue came along for this portion of the shoot. He was a little more interested in exploring than being photographed, but I did get this slightly cheesy family portrait of the three of them. I just love Blue’s expression and that he is looking directly at the camera! This moment was very short-lived… and seconds later he was off to explore some more.

A cute moment.

Another favorite.

Once we thought we took advantage of all the light we had to use, we hopped in the car and continued down the road on our way back home. We came across this old barn that Chris had seen before and absolutely loved, so we stopped for a few more shots post-sunset. This was the barn Chris originally wanted to shoot in front of earlier in the day, but I think this lighting makes it especially cool. Again, meant to be…

Love…

Liz and Chris- thank you so much for your trust and making that afternoon so fun and effortless! I cannot wait for your fabulous wedding next year! xo

The last few posts have been about the time I spent in New York last week – and here is the post for the main reason I was there- to help out Meg Perotti with Jessica & Brett’s engagement session. Click here to see Meg’s post about the session!

We knew it was going to be cold, and a few days before we left we had a pretty good idea that it was going to be snowing the day of the session. Though we knew it would be a challenge, we were so up for it! I was especially excited for the completely new experience and knew that the images we would get would be so fun and so different from anything that could ever be shot in LA.

We met Jessica & Brett at The Jane Hotel, which had this super cute cafe! The color, the decor, everything was amazing. Wish we could have spent just a little more time there..

In the lobby, through a window.

Then it was outside into the wintry, snowy, magical city.

Meg working it out from under an umbrella.

One of my favorites from the Sneak Peek.

I love both of these- their happy expressions- such troopers in the snow! Jessica and Brett- you were truly a pleasure to work with!

Jessica- you’re a beauty!

It was just a short walk to the meat-packing district.

I don’t know who put these here, or why, but I love them for it.

Life is wonderful.

Right outside Pop Burger where we stopped for lunch after our session and ran into the guy who sat right behind Meg and me on the plane from LA to NYC. Seriously? He was a makeup/hair stylist in town for Fashion Week and running into him there was just so random. Sometimes the universe works in weird ways…

In other news- I’ve got updated looks for the blog and Website coming very soon! Hope to have both of those by the end of next week.

Happy Friday, everyone!!

I am so lucky to do what I do and to have such a great friend who also in this business! Meg Perotti asked me to come to New York with her to shoot Jessica and Brett’s engagement session… I, of course, said yes because I love to travel, especially for shoots, and because I had never been to New York and was dying to experience this city! As luck would have it, today was the day we planned to do the session, and today was the only day that it is supposed to snow during our trip.

Some people would try to reschedule… we totally embraced every second of it! As we sit here in this Manhattan apartment, drying off and warming up after being out in the snow navigating the city all day, we are both editing these photos. Here is a stand-out favorite of mine so far. MANY more to follow… and be sure to check out Meg’s blog for her shots as well!

Can’t wait to explore more of the city tomorrow!