San Francisco Beach Engagement

It’s an amazing feeling to be trusted by clients to capture precious moments, but it’s even better when it’s a couple of close friends! Back in the day, I went to high school with John and then to college with Anico and we’ve been great friends ever since. When they asked me to come out to San Francisco to take their engagement pictures I was beyond excited!

If you’ve ever been to Northern California you know that there is a natural beauty of the coastal landscape alongside the stimulating buzz from the city. Every time I had visited San Francisco prior to this trip, I froze the whole time due to the fog and cool ocean breeze. This time, no way. We were lucky enough to spend the weekend in almost 90 degree weather in September!

It was early afternoon, the lighting was perfect, and we had two locations in mind. We decided on Lover’s Lane in Presidio park and then over to Baker beach for the sunset. Presidio park was beautiful that day. We wandered through the trees and navigated the pathways and practically had the place to ourselves!

Next, we drove down to Baker beach. It was a bit foggy and my heart sunk when we arrived at the beach and the Golden Gate Bridge was completely covered by the clouds. Being a San Francisco couple, John and Anico wanted some photos with the bridge in the background if at all possible. We contemplated changing locations at the last minute, but when my eyes drifted to the other, less crowded side of the beach, I couldn’t look away. If you’re a natural light photographer, you can’t help but chase ‘good’ light. And the other side of the beach was literally glowing.

We spent maybe 20 minutes playing in the golden light when I suddenly turned around, and the clouds were gone! From then on we went back and forth to capture all the beauty this location had to offer. We got the chance to have amazing back lighting and the infamous Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop for my San Francisco couple. They even brought along their new bernadoodle pup Zuri to steal the show! It was a weekend I’ll never forget, and these photos are some of the best moments I’ve ever captured. Congratulations John & Anico! I can’t wait to celebrate with you this June!

Keep scrolling to see my favorite moments from the shoot!