There are a million and one reasons why I so love and endorse engagement sessions, but the top 4 must go something like this: (1) you get to show the world who you are, (2) in your favorite personalized locations, (3) in your unique “you” clothes, (4) with your best friend and most favorite person in the world (usually your fiance, but I don’t mind if you give me that title too :). And what Nina and Erick showed, lovingly and wholeheartedly, is that they’re Laughers. They laughed from the second I pulled out my camera, as we were chatting in between shots, whenever they caught one another making a silly face – and I would be telling a bold-faced lie if I didn’t say that I LOVED every minute of it (and that it was horribly infectious).

I really adore all the kinds of expressions that seem to come up in a shoot – the serene shots, the sweet smiles, even a more serious moment or two, but my favorites are always the ones with the big, honest laughs. The kinds that remind you of why you’re doing this whole marriage thing in the first place… because who doesn’t want to spend the rest of their life with the one who makes you giggle until your sides hurt & milk comes out of your nose? (The latter didn’t happen on the shoot, but it’s totally happened to me umpteen times, usually with painful things like juice and maybe soup.)

We met up with Nina & Erick in downtown LA, starting off at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, making a detour through the tall fountains of the music center, and ending by MOCA. Thank you Nina & Erick for an afternoon filled with laughter and love!

I love this sculpture in front of MOCA. Totally reminds me of something out of a Studio Ghibli movie.

Valentine’s Day – a wonderful opportunity to consume massive amounts of chocolate, but more importantly, a time to celebrate finding your better half and a chance spend the day with the one you love. And for Heather and Joe, the very start of a special relationship – a date that turned into a fantastic love, that morphed into an engagement, and will soon be a marriage. They will be getting married on Valentine’s Day of next year and I could not be more excited for their wedding!

We met in Laguna Beach for their engagement session and ran around the shops and the shoreline until the sun began to set. I had done a session in Laguna a few weeks prior, and I loved the challenge of finding new nooks and corners and watching the session unfold as a reflection of their relationship. I am a firm believer that even if the backdrop is similar, a session is made unique by each couple and this one definitely has Heather & Joe written all over it! :)

Isn’t Heather stunning? Her make-up and hair were done by Beauty and the Beach.

We met with Trish & Sammy during one of the hottest days of the summer. The beach was an endless sea of people, of colorful umbrellas and striped beach towels, spilling over into the neighboring shops and cafes in search of a cool spot of shade. But Trish & Sammy brought the breeze. They both share the most laidback and down-to-earth personalities, and ran around Laguna with us to create the impression of them being on a private beach, in a quaint quiet neighborhood, with practically no one around at all :) They braved the soaring temps like no other and then walked right down to the shoreline and braved the waves. I absolutely cannot wait for their wedding this fall at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach!

When I’m editing an image I usually can decide pretty quickly whether I prefer it in color or black and white, but for this one I just.couldn’t.decide! I was wracking my brain and probably driving Scott crazy with my incessant “this one? or this one?” so I’ll let you choose…

After we finished up at the beach, we dusted the sand off our toes and headed to Hennessey’s. Trish & Sammy both love beer so we rounded up the session with some snaps of them with a couple of cold ones…