So I just returned from my trip to California a couple days ago and am recovering from whatever bug I caught while I was there.  Who knew it was going to be cold there in August???  I packed four pairs of shorts and one pair of jeans and pretty much wore the jeans for a week straight.  Oops.

Like my first wedding-based trip to California, my trip this time was great!  The wedding, which I’ll talk more about in a post or two once I’ve made some progress editing the epic quantities of images I shot, was wonderful.  I also had some time to spend in San Francisco with my brother and his fiancee.  And while we did much recreating, we also spent some time doing engagement portraits.  This was good motivation to share an engagement shoot that’s already done (while I spend all my time editing the one I shot of them).  It struck me, while in San Francisco, how clueless I was about where we should go to take photos.  We basically traveled around the city armed with camera equipment at all times in case we stumbled upon a location suitable for photos.  In the end, the approach worked great and the shots were awesome.  But it did make me miss the home field advantage of DC where I know well every shoot-worthy inch of the city and surrounding areas.  A five-minute conversation with a couple about who they are or what they want is enough here to make a recommendation.  Here are some shots.

Becky and Jordan will be getting married in Maine in October, but they wanted shots in the city where their relationship began.  They love the city and wanted some shots that captured the beauty of the city and the twinkle of their burgeoning romance.  We spent a morning together doing some shooting and some talking and had a great time.  And, like I said, knowing the city made guiding this couple very easy.

I used to think engagement shoots were just a quick collection of portraits to be made and moved on from.  My focus was very checklisty and terse.  As my interest in and ability for making meaningful engagement portraits has changed, so has my shooting style.  Now I spend a little more time with the couple before and during the shoot.  And the images speak for themselves – it’s been a great change for me.

DC has so many places that are perfect for engagement shoots (or any kind of shoots).  In fact, I daresay, there is a beautiful setting within about 15 miles of DC for virtually any mood or feeling that a couple could want to create.  Don’t believe me?  Try me.  I’ve lived here for 11 years this month (wow, it is this month…) and I know a random place or two.

And if you can actually stump me, then we both learn something.

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