charmaine + saul | u. of san francisco | lifestyle session

sometimes as i'm crossing over the bay bridge for a shoot, i get certain feelings.  sometimes i get frustrated at the traffic on the bridge, other times i'm rockin' out to sesame street or muse, and then there are those times that i'm hoping for a good shoot.  i remember driving across and feeling a certain nothingness before this shoot.  it was like the calm before a storm.  i didn't know charmaine and saul (pronounced like sow) and had never met them before.  this was a lifestyle session and not an engagement shoot.  so the car ride over had a different vibe.  little did i know that it was going to be one of the best shoots ever!  

why?  because, charmaine and saul were amazingly fun to work with.  we talked and talked and talked and did some shooting in between all the talking.  we explored nooks and crannies.  hit up some cool back lighting and found our way into a construction site!  a photographer couldn't have asked for a more relaxing and inspiring session.  

the story behind this shot is that saul was charmaine's GSI as an undergrad at USF.  she got a 49 out of 50 in the class and came back to him to demand that he give her that last point for an A+.  he refused and now they're together.  

we found a studio inside the school building and snuck in.  


we flew to rome and back for this shot, all in one day!


my background in cinema prompted me to carry out this sequence.  

Anya + Grant | Lawrence Hall of Science | Berkeley | Engagement Shoot

Anya and Grant!  If I could I would spend all my weekends with you guys exploring the world and learning from your massive combined intelligence!  Words can't even begin to express how I feel about our time together.  It was so short, yet so perfect. I couldn't have asked for a more fun-loving couple or a more perfect engagement shoot.  If only I was able to shoot your wedding as well, it would have been something else.  

Thank you so much for going to great lengths to hire me for your engagement session.  I expect both of you to be Nobel laureates and world changing scientists someday!