Maria & Ryan | Berkeley Lifestyle Photographer

Autumn in California may not be as dazzling or dramatic as the famed autumns of New England, but we still have some colorful trees sprinkled about, and whatever we may lack in leaves we certainly make up for with our beautiful, mild weather. The combination makes for a picture-perfect setting.

On a California-autumn day in November, I set out with my new second shooter Vay to do a practice session. We recruited our friends Maria and Ryan to be the model couple, and models they were. Maria is the kind of girl who always looks impeccably put together, never a hair out of place no matter how she randomly flips it. I don’t think she’s ever taken an unflattering photo in her life. She’s calm and quietly confident with a sharp sense of humor. And there’s Ryan, bold and assertive, the guy who lives life passionately and goes for what he wants. Oh, and he’s rather good looking too. Beautiful people in a beautiful setting. There’s really some kind of chemistry in this mix.

Gorgeous! And we shot these right off the bat.

See? We have colorful maple leaves in California too.

Vay captures a goofball moment.

Speaking of goofball moments…

Just playing around with the fisheye lens

Vay’s shot:

My view of the back of Vay’s head as he shoots Maria & Ryan on the grassy lawn.

Checking out Vay’s handiwork

And a quick glance from my camera too

And to think, this was a mere practice session. You’ll be seeing more of Vay Hoang in the near future. Keep your eyes out for the December wedding we shot together, to be blogged within the next two weeks!