This was such an incredible surprise proposal. Vijay crafted such an intricate plan, completely thoughtful and intimate down to the last detail. It was not a big public display or self indulgent in the least. It was all for Anika. It was all about Anika. While Anika went to work, Vijay prepared everything in her…
Defining Movement, a.k.a. defMo, is an amazing multicultural dance group at Duke University. In college, I used to love photographing their performances. In fact, a defMo show was my first official paid photography gig. I always wished I could dance that well, but I was pretty content with leaving the dancing to defMo and photographing…
This is an engagement I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. You may remember my friends Sun and Elliot from their portrait session a year ago, before they were engaged, just as they were about to embark on a year of long distance across San Francisco and Vietnam. Well, they made it through…
This elopement takes my breath away. Erin is a painter; Thomas is a composer. They both knew they didn’t want a big, expensive wedding. It was difficult for their families to not be there for the ceremony, but they knew this was what fit them best. They flew from New York City to Big Sur,…
She is a pharmacist by trade, but she doubles as a clarinetist in her free time. I met with Elisa one Sunday for a quick headshot session outside the Dean Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek. I love the mix of looks we got! Some of my favorites are below.
I know it may be tacky to quote myself, but I recently wrote a piece for my alma mater Duke University, and it was selected for publication as part of their “Major Impact” campaign on campus. I posted it yesterday on facebook and was truly overwhelmed by the positive response from my friends. My letter…
A surprise engagement session! Erin and Jack were so great to work with. They were visiting San Francisco from Seattle, and Erin planned the whole shoot as a surprise to Jack for his birthday weekend. We started by the California Academy of Sciences and wandered through Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Conservatory of…
My friend Talya is an incredibly talented opera singer. She also happens to be gorgeous. She’s one of my long time fans and has made frequent appearances on this blog. This time, I told her if she flew out to California, she had a portrait session waiting for her over here. She got a little…
They envisioned an outdoor wedding at a Napa Valley winery, V. Sattui. The courtyard would be strung with lights and guests would be seated in the cozy little square. But mother nature had other plans when the forecasts all turned to rain. Of course, Christine and Scott didn’t let it stop them for one second….
It’s been such a pleasure to photograph the Gardners year after year and watch their family grow. Sadly, they are moving down to Southern California this month, and they will be sorely missed up here in the Bay Area! But I fully plan to visit them down in Ojai to continue the annual tradition, as…
Joy and Timmy are expecting! Despite forecasts of rain, we lucked out on some gorgeous sunlight instead. It took a little bit of convincing for me to assure Tim that we weren’t going to create super awkward maternity photos (because yes, there are so many super awkward maternity photos out there in the world). But he…
I will never forget when at the end of this session, Kristen turned to me and said, “Anna, thank you so much for taking the time to make our family feel special for a day.” It’s an absolute privilege for me to build relationships with my clients and to keep in touch with them even…