On a sunny winter morning, I met up with Amy, Andy & Kaitlyn for a portrait session by the sea. I was so fortunate to have met them through Andrea + Taro last year, and to be able to capture some photographs of Kaitlyn just past her first birthday. I love all the props Amy brought along – a tutu, a cake {which Kaitlyn happily devoured}, bubbles, and a bundle of pink balloons. Kaitlyn has such a sweet and adventurous personality and it was so much fun watching her explore her surroundings!

Valentine’s Day – a wonderful opportunity to consume massive amounts of chocolate, but more importantly, a time to celebrate finding your better half and a chance spend the day with the one you love. And for Heather and Joe, the very start of a special relationship – a date that turned into a fantastic love, that morphed into an engagement, and will soon be a marriage. They will be getting married on Valentine’s Day of next year and I could not be more excited for their wedding!

We met in Laguna Beach for their engagement session and ran around the shops and the shoreline until the sun began to set. I had done a session in Laguna a few weeks prior, and I loved the challenge of finding new nooks and corners and watching the session unfold as a reflection of their relationship. I am a firm believer that even if the backdrop is similar, a session is made unique by each couple and this one definitely has Heather & Joe written all over it! :)

Isn’t Heather stunning? Her make-up and hair were done by Beauty and the Beach.

We met with Trish & Sammy during one of the hottest days of the summer. The beach was an endless sea of people, of colorful umbrellas and striped beach towels, spilling over into the neighboring shops and cafes in search of a cool spot of shade. But Trish & Sammy brought the breeze. They both share the most laidback and down-to-earth personalities, and ran around Laguna with us to create the impression of them being on a private beach, in a quaint quiet neighborhood, with practically no one around at all :) They braved the soaring temps like no other and then walked right down to the shoreline and braved the waves. I absolutely cannot wait for their wedding this fall at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach!

When I’m editing an image I usually can decide pretty quickly whether I prefer it in color or black and white, but for this one I just.couldn’t.decide! I was wracking my brain and probably driving Scott crazy with my incessant “this one? or this one?” so I’ll let you choose…

After we finished up at the beach, we dusted the sand off our toes and headed to Hennessey’s. Trish & Sammy both love beer so we rounded up the session with some snaps of them with a couple of cold ones…