After seven years together, Hammad decided it was time to pop the question — he would ask the love of his life to marry him and to spend the rest of their lives together. After mulling over possible locations for the big moment, he decided on surprising his girlfriend Sonia with a proposal on the sand dunes at Ocean Beach. To ensure that this moment would be picture-perfect, he went and scouted out the spot a few days before the big day, even taking photos and recording a video of the route to reach the perfect spot. [ read more … ]

What a treat it was to photograph this couple + family photo session! Anh & Cliff (ok, mostly Anh… according to Cliff) had prepared themselves and their kids with matching outfits from head to toe, and even had cute pieces for their two dogs to wear. Every detail was perfectly planned, and I loved every part of it — but my favorite was the mommy/daughter coordination, which was simply adorable! [ read more … ]

Chris really went all the way with the thought and planning that went into his Lovers’ Lane surprise proposal. He had concocted an elaborate story going back several weeks to cover up his real plan, and had even created a Google Sheet with the play-by-play. (My favorite play in the playbook is: “BAM. This is where I trick her into marrying me.”) For the actual moment, he’d also picked out some props and decorations — lanterns, light-up “MARRY ME” letters, and rose petals — that were simple yet really added a nice touch to the whole event. [ read more … ]

On their 1533rd day of being a couple, Yang brought Xiaofei out to a beautiful San Francisco coastside view of the Golden Gate Bridge for a few selfies together under a colorful sunset sky. With the waves splashing down below them and seagulls flying off in the distance, it was here that Yang asked Xiaofei to marry him. [ read more … ]

This was a special 2-in-1 photo shoot: not only are Cathy & PJ recently engaged, but they’re also newly expecting! For this engagement photo session + baby announcement combo, we visited two of my favorite San Francisco locations: Potrero Hill and Sutro Baths. They had picked out a metallic golden “baby” balloon which I thought was perfect, but actually my favorite “prop” (if he can be called that 😛) was their little dog Mochi [ read more … ]