It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco and also Game 6 of the World Series with the Giants and the Royals. We met up with Monica and Nichlesh for their engagement shoot at Dolores Park in the Mission District. We got worried because we got there and did not see them. I took the time to walk around the park and find the best shooting spots as it was a very crowded day at the park and half of it was closed for renovations. Fortunately, Christal, who had done Monica’s makeup a few hours before did let me know they were on their way.
Just as the light became quite beautiful, Monica and Nichlesh walked up and we started our session to make the most of this beautiful streaming backlight! This first shot is one my favorites and was one of the first frames I took during our two hour shoot. I quickly got them to relax and let them know this was going to be a lot of fun and these are the types of shots that I set out to create, among many others at our engagement photo shoots.
Walking around the park got us many candid and casual images. We never want our couples to be uptight or stiff. We always like to stay moving, stay active, and never stay in one place too long. The experience of the shoot is even more important than the pictures in my eyes sometimes because “a great experience will make the best photographs”.
We normally can’t get shots of a couple and the city in the background unless they are under the same lighting and on this beautiful clear day in SF we did capture both the city scape and our couple. Adding a film effect really brought out the feeling we were going for. Adding in the closeup shot of the city with them out of focus to frame it was also another way to show the city where they live, but also include them out of focus framing the scenery that they love so much.
To be forewarned if you have a shoot at a park with a slide, I will make you go down it! I went down it too though. It was fun! 🙂
The golden backlight did not disappoint at this park and we milked it for everything we could and then we left and all drove together in our car to Grace Cathedral for our next stop! The Fairmont Hotel was showing the Giants pride and there were huge grip trucks out front shooting a series on HBO. Unfortunately, we didn’t see anyone famous.
Around the Catedral we got a lot of great shots of them hanging out, making out, and being cute together! They are getting married in just a few weeks at San Francisco City Hall and I think this engagement photo shoot really made them feel like taking photos is a breeze! We are very excited for the both of them and cannot wait to see them again on their wedding day!
