MEF Photography Blog! » San Francisco-Based Wedding, Family + Portrait Photography

Whenever a couple comes to me from Laurel of Esla Events, I know they’re going to be outstanding and I cross every available appendage and limb and hope they’ll book me. Ladies and germs, meet the latest duo to find me via Laurel: Liz + Pete!

The first time we met, we talked until the hipster barista at the Oakland coffee shop we were in kicked us out on the street. And then? No joke, we went to the terrifying Church’s Chicken across the street where we managed to talk for another hour (and I managed to scar myself when making the mistake of using their bathroom). They knew they wanted to hire me, and I knew I was one lucky lady. Because anyone who will laugh with you into the night in a fast food restaurant where the workers are protected by bullet proof glass has got to be something special. Plus, they’re getting married at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts—a venue I’ve wanted to photograph for. freaking. ever. Can you tell I’m smitten with them? :) PHOTO TIME!

When we were talking about where to take their engagement photos, Liz + Pete told me that they love Mt. Tam and the ocean, so there was no question about where to go. And the weather could not have been more perfect. A miraculously fog-free afternoon. Can you see San Francisco in the distance? :)

I love the light in this image:

So dang cute!

The photo on the right? I’m pretty sure I was singing them a song I made up (it was either I’m the Squeakiest Wheel or Sherman’s Watching Us) to get them to laugh. :)

FAVORITE. Ugh. How flipping gorgeous is Liz? (The answer is “WAY.” She’s WAY gorgeous.)

We were walking back to the car when I saw the light coming through this tree and I’m pretty sure I snorted in excitement. Worth it, right?

LOOK AT THE MOON! This right here would make an amazing giant canvas, in case you were wondering. :D

Can all of them be my favorites? Because if so… (Love their outfits, too.)

Weird compliment time: Doesn’t Pete have awesome hugging arms? Totally. :D

When I asked them what they envisioned getting out of their engagement session, Liz said they just wanted to show how much they love each other and nature and the ocean. With that in mind, I think this was a perfect end to our day. :)

Liz + Pete, I am SO excited for your wedding. The fact that you didn’t skip a beat when I started singing to you, and in return you taught me a song that’s become part of my daily repertoire (“I’m a ball full of complaints!”) made my little ol’ heart burst with joy. You two are a ball full of delightfulness and I had an awesome time photographing and laughing with you. I hope you love these images! I am counting down the days to your wedding—I’ll try to have some more songs under my belt by then! xo, M

I was really looking forward to Carrin + Logan’s engagement session, because up until that day I had only ever talked to Carrin briefly on the phone. Don’t get me wrong, that phone call was delightful, but I’m an in-person kind of gal (my weirdo personality is just… weird… via other channels of communication). (Also? This is mostly unrelated but I’m thinking about it so I’m just going to say it: I hate voicemail.)

ANYWAY! Let’s just say I was not in the least disappointed upon meeting them for the first time at Lake Chabot near Castro Valley. They’re both adorable (I think Carrin looks like a young Christy Turlington, though I still can’t place what celebrity Logan resembles—any ideas?). They’re totally sweet and in love. And they’re also completely practical go-getters (C’s a veterinarian while L’s a rancher who taught me a whole lot about plants during our session). Basically, they combine a number of my favorite traits into one couple and they didn’t bat an eye when I asked them to crawl under a dark deck or cuddle up on a concrete boat ramp. Bingo, pals.

As usual, however, I shall cut short my wandering preamble to bring you the real stars of the show. Starting off with a favorite (and you see now why I couldn’t pass up the aforementioned boat ramp):

Walking up the hill to this spot reminded me of a couple of things: 1) I love California and her golden hills and, 2) I really, really need to exercise more. :)

Most favorite of the whooooole day, right here:

Pssst. This would make an awesome canvas. :D

Logan is basically 6’1,000,000″ tall, so I took a lot of advantage of natural slopes that day. :)

The one on the riiiiiiight! :D

Pssssst, again. Hang a gigantic canvas of this over your couch. :)

I ran a 10K around Lake Chabot earlier this year. I remember it being beautiful, but I was mostly focusing on not keeling over, so it was a nice to return and view it from a slower pace. The foreground scenery wasn’t so bad, either. :)
What you can’t see in the image on the right is the giant goose puttering around right behind them. So bossy. :D

Ducks!

Yeah, another favorite.

Last shot of the day. This is going to be on the cover of their guest book. :)
Thank you, Carrin + Logan, for being such good sports and so danged easy going. I am looking forward to your beautiful wedding and to seeing all of your and momma Christina’s hard work! Please pet all of your puppies hello for me and Sherman says “meow!” (Well, truthfully he’s asleep and snoring right now, but I’m sure if he were awake that’s what he’d say.) :D I hope you love these photos, friends!

I have known Miss Shannon (or, as I lovingly call her, ShannyPants) for over a decade now. We were roommates when we did a study abroad program in London between our freshmen and sophomore years of college. And we got along so well and had so much fun together that neither of us can even remember the name of our third roommate. Diana, maybe? Now Shannon is a fancy pants doctor, and a woman with the sort of glowing, infectious, draw-you-in-with-a-smile personality that could make me gush over her for hours and hours. Seriously, knowing this lady is a privilege and a pleasure; she’s the type of person I could only wish to become. And though I don’t know Scott as well, I like him just as much. Really, I’m just happy they’re FINALLY getting married, because guys, this has been a long time coming. :)

It’s harder for me to write about people I care for, because all I want to do is pen paragraph after laudatory paragraph that would make me happy, make them embarrassed and put you to sleep. So instead, you’ll just take my word for how great they are and we’ll get on with the photos! :D

Scott is an avid golfer, and apparently over the last few years he’s begun to convert Shannon to the ways of the sport. So naturally we went to the mini golf course around the corner from their house. I honestly didn’t realize until afterwards that it was totally falling apart. But I think that adds to the charm. :)

Next, we went back to their UNBELIEVABLY ADORABLE house to take pictures with their UNBELIEVABLY ADORABLE eight-year-old dog, Bella. She was a sausage and I wanted to eat her precious face. I mean, look. Just look. Also, we bribed her with cheese. :D

Before I showed Shannon this photo, I said, “I don’t know how you feel about pictures of yourself when you’re really smiling, but…” To which she replied, “Molly, if I didn’t like photos of myself when I’m really smiling, I would never like any photos of myself.” And in the case of “Why I Love Shannon” we’ll call that Exhibit A. The prosecution rests. Favorite. :D

The light in their front yard was basically perfect. And obviously so were they. Duh.

Then we moseyed on over to the CalTech campus, which is beautiful and filled with great landscaping and art deco buildings. So of course, I found a loading dock. :)

I probably could have offered them money not to smile and it wouldn’t have worked. That’s a) how much they like each other and b) how funny I am. Favorite.

Just for future reference, this would make a great canvas. :)

Hi. Could you just stop being so adorable?

I cloned a lot of trash out the the background of this photo. Pick up after yourselves, CalTech nerds. ;)

I feel like ivy walls are becoming my gimmick. But I can’t help it and I just don’t care. Favorite. :D

I believe what I asked for in this photo was straight faces, no smiling. :D And not to be putting ideas in your head, but this one would also make a good canvas. Favorite.

She’s kind of just the prettiest. And the smartest. And the nicest. And what’s totally ridiculous is that he’s equally great. :D

Shannon’s momma commented on this photo on Facebook something that so perfectly encompasses the end goal of all of my sessions. So I’m just going to share her words with you: “This picture shows the essence of how comfortable you are in your relationship and how much in love!!! Brava!” Bingo, pals. Bingo. Favorite from this whole year right here.

ShannyPants. Scooter. If it weren’t totally obvious, I love you both. Like, big time. As a pair, you are a force to be reckoned with. My single complaint about you is that you live too far away, but my life might be too perfect if you were closer, so I suppose it’s alright. Thank you, really, truly, honestly, and from the bottom of my heart for asking me to take your photos—it was an honor. Thank you for giving me another excuse to visit Pasadena. Thank you for giving me something to look forward to next September. I hope you love these images, and I hope you see exactly what your momma saw, because goodness knows I do. :) xo, M