When my friend Howard gifted this portrait session to his sister, I was first surprised to learn that he had a sister and then surprised to learn that she lives right here in Oakland, no more than five minutes from me! It took quite a while to schedule the shoot with Cindy and her boyfriend…
We stood facing the sunset with the soothing sounds of the ocean crashing against a coastline lit up in vibrant hues. It was everything I loved most about the California Coast: our strange but beautiful sense of the seasons (autumn at the end of November); the color tinting our succulents rather than deciduous trees; the…
When you head out of San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge, driving northward under the iconic International Orange towers, you cross into a decidedly different peninsula. The first stretch is undeveloped hills, and then through a tunnel and off to the right, you can visit the town of Sausalito, a posh little area lined…
I am often guilty of taking tons of photos when I travel elsewhere but totally neglecting my own beautiful surroundings when I’m back in California. The solution? A hearty dose of staycation (vacationing at home!). My boyfriend Jesse was coming to San Francisco for a business conference, just as he did last year (when we…
Yali is quiet, genuine, caring, while Sriram is laid-back, more outgoing, and always able to make her laugh. When they met at work, they found balance and a place in each other’s hearts. I met these two on a sunny but windy-cold day in San Francisco for some engagement photos by the Legion of Honor…
Courtney and Nick are so down to earth and a joy to be around. We met up in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and roamed around, making stops in the Japanese Tea Garden, where they went on the day of Nick’s proposal, and around the Conservatory of Flowers as well. It was an incredibly foggy…
Julie and Jeremy’s proposal story, as told by them: Jeremy proposed to Julie exactly on their three year anniversary in front of the Golden Gate Bridge (this is where they first asked each other out!). Julie sleeps in on weekends, so Jeremy woke up early and frantically checked the weather all morning on public webcams…
What an incredibly special wedding for a very special couple. All of the details were perfectly personal to them, including vintage birding table cards to reflect their love of birding, and the overall “1920s Paris” theme to reflect their year in Paris together and their love of all things historical. But the absolute best part…
It started with a fall when Deirdre and Damian first met. A hard fall. It’s best when Damian tells the story: Deirdre was interviewing for a developer position at a new company, dressed in heels and very long dress pants. Her heels got into a fight with her pants and she fell (face first) in…
I just love how happy Caterina and John are when they’re together. They are giddy with excitement and absolutely unstoppable. They first met in a dining hall, freshman year at Harvard, and they quickly became friends. Senior year, friendship turned to courtship, and soon after, they both got into their top choice medical school, UC…
Agnes and Z traveled all the way from Singapore and met me in California’s wine country for this super sweet engagement shoot. They met when they ended up in the same lab, Agnes as an undergraduate and Z as a research assistant. At first, they gave each other no thought, but over time, they slowly…
It was such an amazing experience to be part of this special proposal. Alex and Jessica first met at TAF, a summer camp that many of us have attended since we were kids, and they have been together almost ten years now. Because many of our TAF friends were going to Napa for The French…