Maria and Stephen Engagement Photographs

Maria and Stephen are one of the sweetest couples I have met. During the engagement session I learned that Stephen was a super Apple guy who worked at their headquarters...such a great job! Hopefully my obsession with my iPhone didn't scare him too much.

And Maria told us about her work with local theater that sounds so cool! When we did the engagement session I found out that she was doing Alice in Wonderland but it was different than anything I had heard of...the production was in a wooded area and the audience walked from set to set with the actors. So cool!

Here are some of their photos from their engagement session.


Check back tomorrow to see photos from their wedding!

Jenny and Ben Engagement Photographs

Jenny is a HUGE San Francisco Giant's fan. She loves going to the games and kicking it in her season ticket seats right behind where Barry Bond's use to play outfield. With so many games to go to in the baseball season, Jenny posted an ad online to see if she could find someone to attend the games with....and Ben answered!







For their engagement photographs, Jenny had a clear idea of what she wanted. She wanted to have her photos taken at AT&T Park, where the Giants play. I was so excited about the location and love how Jenny and Ben brought ideas and their own unique spin to the photography session.




One of the ideas that I loved was the baseball with the engagement ring photo that Jenny thought up! She even supplied the baseball and I totally love how it came out.


Ben was great throughout the session. He likes baseball and going to the games too. Jenny wanted a baseball shaped wedding cake, but for a nice compromise they decided to do the engagement photographs at the ballpark and have a traditional wedding cake.



J.T. Snow is one of Jenny's favorite players (after all isn't he everyone's favorite player)? And she stopped to pose with his plaque on the sidewalk across from the ballpark.







After taking shots outside the ballpark, we got to head inside to take some photos in Jenny's season ticket seats. Great seats! I'm going to have to wrangle a trip to a ballgame from them. ;-)

Finally to wrap up we took some photos in front of the main gate. It was a great day, perfectly sunny, and a day that I will remember due to the great company of Jenny and Ben!

5 Reasons to take Engagement Photographs

Planning your wedding involves many details, lots of appointments with wedding vendors, and a ton of decisions to be made and the last thing you feel that you have is extra time. Therefore you may ask yourself, do I really need to have Engagement Photographs when I have fifty thousand things to do?

The answer is yes and here are 5 Reasons to take Engagement Photographs!

1. You'll get to know your wedding photographer better.
Doing an engagement session gives your and your wedding photographer an opportunity to get to know each other better. You will get to see how your wedding photographer works, directs, and poses you. You will also be able to give feedback on poses that you like and don't like and to bring up any additional questions you may have before the wedding. In addition, the photographer will get to know you and your finance's personalities more and be able to reflect that in your wedding photographs.



2. You'll get use to having a camera in your face.
Unless you are a celebrity, you are not use to having someone around taking photos constantly and having a flash go off every now and then. The more comfortable you are around the camera and your photographer, the more nature your wedding photographs will come out.

3. You'll be able to personalize your wedding.
Using engagement photos for Save-The-Date cards, wedding favors, or wedding decoration accents gives your wedding a more personal touch. Frame photos can sit near the table where guest can pick up their seating assignments or as an entry way welcome to your guests.


If it's hot out, you can use the photos to make a unique fan that guests will ooohhh and ahhhh over.


Or you can use it as part of your favors, such as making a CD with your favorite songs as a couple to hand out to guests.


4. Make your guest book be memorable.
Engagement photographs can be used in photo guest books. Or a framed photo with an extra large boarder can be used signed by guests and later hang in your home as decoration.

5. Announcing your engagement.
In years past, formal engagement announcements were always put in the newspaper. Now a days, announcements go out on social networking sites, email, and several other electronic methods. And as they say, a photo says a thousand words, so make your announcement even more special with an engagement photo.

Carolyn and Donald's Enagement Pictures

Carolyn and Donald are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. The weekend that we took their engagement pictures they had just picked out their wedding rings and picked up their marriage license and were complete giddy about it....I love seeing couples get excited about their upcoming wedding.


The Marcom Rose Garden in Oakland has become one of my favorite places to photograph engaged couples. And a cute older couple, who walks through the garden every day together, told me that the garden is at it's best in May. I can't wait to go back and see it then.


Of course, Carolyn and Donald have a great sense of humor and were "brave" enough to fake pushing each other in the pond.




But in the end, everyone was just fine and not wet and enjoyed the rest of the photo session.



I can't wait until their wedding, I'm sure it will be just as much fun. Thanks Carolyn and Donald for a great day of photography!