Gaslamp Engagement Session

For Ruby and Brandon’s Gaslamp engagement session we went to the source of the first spark. We started at the Gaslamp Strip Club restaurant where they had their first date. It was great going to the restaurant because I feel like sitting down to a couple of drinks is a great way to start an engagement session.  It gets them relaxed and when I start taking photos the couple is not thinking about the camera but about the tasty beverage and the company they are with.

A big part of their lives are their chihuahuas so they brought them along for the engagement session. Like most dogs they proved to be unruly and uncooperative, but it was great to have them along for the photos. It was really awesome seeing them in their little Hawaiian shirts.

There were some really cool spots to photograph inside of the restaurant and when we went walking around the Gaslamp District. However, I love taking photos with some color in the sky that can make things look very dramatic. That’s exactly what we got when we went to Coronado beach. It was completely dark when we took some photos on the sand dunes so I was a little worried that the photos would be out of focus and that the lighting would not be right but I was very happy with the outcome. The image of Brandon lifting up Ruby for a big kiss is one of the main images on my website home page. I can do dramatic lighting when the sky is just right, but this one is extra special, the passion in the photo is something that I can’t take credit for at all.

On their engagement session, they brought a sign that said save the date. It’s a great idea if you plan on sending out save the date postcards.