Catherine + Jeyel - San Francisco, CA Financial District/Embarcadero Engagement

As a photographer, you always hope to work with wonderful people who happen  to love each other; really, if you have that, you’re going to be able to make something beautiful with them.  If those clients trust you and can see themselves in your work, that is icing on the cake.  We are so fortunate that Catherine and Jeyel were just this type of couple.

When we broached the subject of their engagement session with them, Catherine and Jeyel immediately expressed that they wanted to do something in the city, but not necessarily with anything identifiably San Francisco.  This sounded great to us, knowing that in these limitations was actually carte blanche to really dig deeply into the lest often photographed environs of The City.  After throwing around a few ideas, we settled on making this San Francisco engagement session localized around the Financial District, adjacent Embarcadero Center and newly refreshed swath along The Embarcadero from Piers 15 to 27.  These areas are actually quite a distance apart, especially if you’re walking around in heels, but luckily Catherine and Jeyel were planning on making an evening of it with us.

Catherine and Jeyel actually proposed that we start the evening with a couple drinks at Wayfare Tavern, which was a masterstroke.  This set the tone for the shoot as "new friends on the town" with some business to discuss.  Maybe.  We put back a few drinks (Bulleit Old Fashioned, thank you very much!) at the house that TyFlo built, and we were well on our way through the canyons between the buildings of the San Francisco Financial District.  

Early on, it was apparent that it actually didn’t matter where we shot with these two; they were going to be great on camera and our mix of cool/sexy/sweet anywhere.  Just find some light, and GO!  April and I were so glad to hearfrom Catherine and Jeyel that they felt that we understood how they wanted to be seen; I think this went a long way to how well they fit on any backdrop we put them on.  They looked appropriately edgy on the weathered brick alleys just north of the Transamerica building, but looked sophisticated enough to play well under lights and the austere faćades of Embarcadero Center.  We found our way to Vaillancourt Fountain, which while out of commission and dry, was where Cat & Jey managed to give us maybe the most distinctive image of the shoot.

We were inspired by imposing, square hewn, serpentine-postured water outlets that visually contained Cat & Jey’s verve and passion for each other.  It was welcoming and not in the center of the frame, and cold towards the edges that was undeniably beautiful, if not unconventionally so.  There was not soft light, round edges, or smooth gradients; there was stark and dramatic contrasts, rough and interesting textures, and just hard purposeful light.  It was really this vibe of being cool and unexpected that came to be emblematic of this couple.

The evening ended the way it began, with some drinks between friends at Fog City near Pier 27.  It was a perfect way to say good bye for now; lucky us, we'll be there for their wedding day next year.  We know to expect a lot of style and chic, but more importantly, the simple joy of people who belong together.

-Joseph & April

Avery + Emma - Garin Regional Park, Fremont, CA

Kids are the most fun when they become just quarter sized versions of people you would enjoy full grown.  Kids are endlessly entertaining kids when they start to hold normal conversations with them, but one side seems to be breathing helium.  That phenomena is worth at least a chuckle, but kids at this age are best when they are just starting to grow into their personalities that is still paried with their active curiosity.  Kids like this are amazing in that they show you their seen through fresh, excited eyes, with the bonus of being voiced by Chipmunks.

Avery and Emma are this type of awesome kid.  Spending time with them at Garin Regional Park was an exercise in trying to keep up with flitting points of  boundless energy then bracing for when they would collide into a fusion explosion of cuteness.  What stood out to us about these sisters was how easily they would show affection for each other and how exuberantly they would play together.  Play time was more than just doing, but also a constant exchange of ideas and thoughts, as if the constant chatter was a concession for not being truly telepathic with each other.  These kids were wonderfully precocious, always asking about what was around them, but at the same time seeming wise beyond their combined 3/4 of a decade on earth.

Little adults like this are as much a product of who they are innately as much as they are of their parents.  All the credit goes out to Liza and Eric, just wonderful parents to Avery and Emma, but also just about the coolest people ever.  Knowing Liza and Eric make it easy to see how they made these confident, smart, and delightfully inquisitive kids.  Mom and dad offer a great mix of tender hearts always, firm hands when needed, and a real investment into the people their kids are learning to be.  We can only hope to have similar success for our own family eventulally because we absolutely love these little women.  We know it must be a tiring at times (we had to keep up with Avery and Emma for just a part of the afternoon, and we were spent at the end), but it's obvious that their dedication and unconditional love are translating quickly into cool,  little personalities with the tools o grow into fantastic people.

Bayan Family Photoshoot - Disneyland, Anaheim, CA

Christine and DJ are a great couple with whom April and I adore, and are great parents to their two kids, Ava and Sean.  Christine is actually an old high school friend who invited us into their lives this summer to photograph her family at their favorite place, Disneyland.  I had seen Ava and Sean in social media posts that I would show April and which would inevitably be followed by an exasperated “AWWwww”, so making the trek down to Southern California for them was a no brainer.

When April and I met the Bayan family in the Disneyland parking lot, we knew instantly that we were in for a great shoot.  There was a powerful energy that started right then and continued throughout the day; a combination of catching up with an old friend and also making new ones in DJ and the kids.  The love this family has for each other was inspiring; it was easy to see where Ava got her moxy and how Sean, barely a year old, is so inquisitive and curious.  The kids were no doubt a handful, but it is a rambunctiousness necessary to beget the confidence to become successful and happy.

The shoot itself was a heatwarming glimpse into Christine and DJ’s  lives with their kids.  After an 8:30AM arrival into the park, Ava took the lead darting from character to character to have her autograph book signed, each time excited hopping/jumping in place while immediately scoping the area for the next mark.  After a few photos with the Pluto and the like we followed them down Main Street to some of the kid’s favorite rides in Fantasy Land, then onto Frontier Land with a nice lollipop bribe, courtesy of mom and dad.  

We ended the day with It’s a Small World since it’s the kid’s world, after all.

The Bayan family made it a beautiful day for April and I, and we were truly honored to be able to give them these slices of their time as a young family.

-Joseph