Sandy & John | Napa valley | Domaine Chandon winery | Engagement Session

Napa is one fun place!  I knew from the moment Sandy told me that she wanted to go to Napa that we'll be able to find some cool locations to shoot at.  Not only that, Sandy and John both have had modeling experience.  Check out Sandy's portfolio and web design work at Sandswirl.com, she's got some great shots in her galleries! 

It was super hot in Napa that day and we were constantly battling the heat, but Sandy and John were troopers.  We started off shooting at the front mushroom garden on Domaine Chandon winery in Napa.   It was a fun location with all these mushroom rocks that a local artist made.  John was pretty excited to bring his Ford Retro Thunderbird to the shoot and we made some good use of that fun prop.  The huge wine crates at the winery served as a very cool backdrop and we didn't get kicked out! 

I can't wait to shoot their wedding in August and then their post-wedding session!  I'm sure Sandy's going to look absolutely stunning in her dress.  Thanks guys for the wine and everything else! 

 Sandy lookin' cute.

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Sandy and John lookin' hot! 

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Love this shot of them! 

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Almost feels like they're walking through a fairy tale.   

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The cool wine glass wall that we found inside. 

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Loved the lighting in there, with the small warm hard lights.   

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The crates were really cool to be next to, literally!  So we stayed there for a while.   

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John had to climb up there for this dangerous shot, but I think he's a certified crate climber.  Great idea John! 

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John's Retro Bird.  So hot!  We actually had to put a towel underneath Sandy, because the car was very hot.  Hot couple, hot car, hot photographers, hot sun!  

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It kinda looks like they're on a ship with all those containers.   

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Curtis & Shana | San Francisco | Urban | Pier | North Beach | Golden Gate | Engagement Session

Curtis and Shana are awesome photographers from Missouri.  They have their own studio emphasizing in seniors, babies and children at ShanaWatkins.com.  So when they contacted us and wanted us to do their engagement session, we were stoked!  They flew all the way out to San Francisco, one of their favorite spots, for this session.  Shana wanted something more urban and edgy, because their wedding will be full of greenery.  That's one of my favorite things to hear, because I love the look and feel of an urban shoot. 

I can't blame them for wanting to come all the way out to SF for a shoot, because the weather is so nice here!  Curtis and Shana were so easy going and fun to work with.  They were up for anything, even though they probably felt really silly at times.  There was one shot in the park where Shana was lying down and Curtis was on top of her with me shooting down on them to get the cool looking grass around them.  I wanted to make sure I got a good shot with the hands in the right place, so it took some time to get that.  Fun times! 

The lovely Shana. 

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 Curtis lookin' quite dapper.

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 Shana forgot her shoes when we first met up, so we had to go back and get them, I think it was worth it. 

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 We found this cool spot in between all these buildings. 

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 Having some fun in some random restaurant.  We went inside for the lighting and ended up just fooling around.

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 I never shot through a trash can before.  Almost feels like you're looking through a medieval helmet.

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 This back alley was cool.  Love the shadows and play with light.

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 Shana being her cute self.  Curtis enjoying every bit of it!

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 So, this is that shot I talked about above.  Love the look on Shana's face.  Thanks Curtis for being such a great hand model.FAST_2008-1285%20copy.jpg

I love this take on the Golden Gate Bridge.  The lighting, colors and Shana look great! 

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 We saw this wall of huge flowers on our walk randomly.  Made for an interesting frame.

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