Anthony and Magaly booked me months in advance for their City Hall wedding and adventure in San Francisco. They currently reside in London, and because of the ample lead time, I was able to help them plan their wedding day here in SF. Their whole families arrived to be with them on their day, and they wanted to make sure that everything went according to plan. For such a large group, they reserved the Mayor’s Balcony, which allowed them to have an hour of uninterrupted time to hug, toast and be together after the ceremony. Several weeks before the wedding day, I had already sent my proposed itinerary for a Cable Car ride around the City. The Cable Car picked us up at City Hall, and we drove to the Golden Gate bridge and Fort Point, by way of the Presidio. After that, we made a stop at the Legion of Honor for some elegant photos amidst the columns. Finally, wrapped in blankets (in true SF summer fashion) Anthony, Magaly and their families headed to the Cliff House for a delicious and well-deserved lunch. It’s never easy to have long travel- and photo-sessions with large groups, but (a) their families were just awesome and full of energy and (b) everyone was excited and invigorated by the sights and the chilly weather. Anthony and Magaly – you guys pulled it off!! Hopefully you’re on a beach somewhere right now and getting over the SF climate in true honeymoon style!
Posts Tagged ‘san francisco engagement photography’
Jessica + Fred | San Francisco Engagement Session
May 10, 2011When you get your portrait taken in a studio, it’s usually a sit-down affair. But when all of San Francisco is your photo studio, running, climbing, jumping, dancing, skipping and twirling may all be required. I loved working with Jessica and Fred, because aside from the fact that they’re a gorgeous couple, they had amazing energy throughout our photographic adventure. Fittingly, we even pulled into the Sports Basement parking lot to do an outfit change. Can’t wait for your wedding in June guys! I hope the day is just as warm and that we have even more fun together!
Karen + David | Julia Morgan Engagement Session
March 7, 2011OK, here’s the deal: Beautiful Karen and dapper David are having their wedding at the Berkeley City Club, which is a Julia Morgan joint. Karen mentioned to me early on that she was a big fan of the architect. So, for the engagement session, I put together an itinerary that took us to several Julia Morgan sites in San Francisco, including the San Francisco Zen Center, the Chinatown YWCA, and the Fairmont Hotel. Thanks, Ms. Morgan, for the lovely brick walls! At some point during our shoot, they decided it was a good idea to buy some cognac, and who was I to stop them? “Sasha, how do you get your clients to comply with all your crazy ideas?” That’s how. You’ll notice down below in the behind-the-scenes picture, that we were pretty much living on the edge in order to get that tunnel shot. Karen was breathless around David all evening, but probably never more so than when the bus went by! They bought me a martini after the session to settle the score.
Ani + Val | San Francisco Engagement Session
February 11, 2011At the risk of sounding cheesy, Ani and Val literally turned up the heat on what was a very very cold San Francisco day. It was so cold that after a few minutes of shooting, I was finding it hard to bend my finger and press the shutter. But you’d never know it by looking at the photos. There was so much chemistry between these two! At some point during the shoot Val managed to sneak off and buy Ani a rose. Looking back, I think it’s quite curious that I was drawn to a bright red wall towards the end of the session. Now that I look at the colors in this set, I notice that the photos started desaturated and BLUE and ended RED. Coincidence? You be the judge. I brought along a filmmaker to capture ‘behind the scenes’ footage, and I think the ‘making of’ video turned out quite interesting. Check it out! Can’t wait for the wedding on 10/01/11!
Jennifer + Kevin | A Random Walk Down Haight Street
February 7, 2011When Jennifer, Kevin and I were preparing for our the engagement session shoot, I pitched them a few ideas. Some tame, some totally off the wall. Ultimately Kevin said, ‘we just want to show up and be our natural selves’. So, that’s what we did! We meandered down Haight Street, stopping in various nooks and shops, and also at Ploy 2, the delicious Thai restaurant where J + K had their first date. Their chemistry was just amazing – they were totally effortless, natural, comfortable with one another and in front of the camera. Thanks guys! Looking forward to the wedding in March!
Fontaine + Sam | Engagement Session in Chinatown & Financial District
September 14, 2010Sometimes it’s satisfying to just get lost in an unfamiliar city, and when Fontaine and Sam came up from San Diego to do their engagement session in SF, that’s exactly what we did. Chinatown is a fertile photographic environment, full of interesting backgrounds, bright colors and hidden alleyways. After our Chinatown adventure (and a quick wardrobe change), we headed down towards more familiar grounds in the Financial District and the Embarcadero. Thanks guys! Looking forward to your wedding in October!
