I love shooting in Palos Verdes! It feels like an extension of my backyard. Just a hop, skip, and a jump from Torrance, and you’re met with cliffs, breathtaking views, and quiet solitude. My sister and I drove up once (pre-SLR days), and took pictures in one of the random fields with a point-and-shoot. And now, years later, I get to make pictures of amazing couples in the same area? Life is awesome, yes? :)

Hanaya and Darren are the types of people who bring the happy with them wherever they go. They both share a super sweet and mellow vibe, and complement each other so so perfectly. We’ll all be heading back up to PV for their wedding in July!

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For the second part of Joann + Donald’s session {see part I here!}, we headed down to the beach to chase the last of the afternoon’s golden light. They brought along a bunch of the prettiest pastel balloons – I’ve done quite a few fun balloon sessions & I know we’ve all seen lots of lovely versions on the interwebs, but I loved Joann & Donald’s idea to place them around in the sand for a different look. Pops of color galore!

A big thank you to Love and Lavender for featuring their session!

When Alwyn & Alvin contacted me about an engagement session, they immediately started a fun dialogue about props. They really wanted the session to be vibrant and dynamic, colorful and sweet, and to most of all, show their personalities. We tossed around a few ideas and in one email, Alwyn suggested water balloons and a bat. Upon reading her suggestion, I did a little happy dance in my seat, and then started brainstorming other ways we could incorporate exploding balloons of awesomeness. On the morning before the session, I bought a sweet pink umbrella from Target (how I got out of Target without buying 571 other things is entirely beyond me), and as you’ll see below, it made for some fun photos {before it met its end at the hands of one especially overzealous water balloon}.

Alwyn & Alvin were SUCH troopers, not minding one bit that they were basically drenched by the end of the session – in fact they happily forged ahead into the second half of the session, where we skipped over to Chinatown for a romantic night shoot. Stay tuned!