mashawnta & razzaaq • a real engagement session • los angeles

engagements

I’ve been working on this post for the last couple weeks, because this session was made truly special by Razzaaq, the man who contacted me via a mutual friend (thanks, Dina!) to set up a portrait session for himself & the woman that he loves. I’ve been dying to share these pictures, & I wanted to make sure that I could tell the story of what unfolded during our session with the kind of cinematic drama & aesthetic beauty that would do this director-designer couple justice.

So our session began as a fun, fashion-y shoot–as planned by Razzaaq, to take into consideration Mashawnta’s taste for style & architecture. She is the producer of her own magazine, MASH. And Razzaaq carefully chose our location, knowing that its urban, industrial feel would be loved by Mash, because of her native Detroit sensibilities.

Scroll on through…you’ll see: mid-shoot it became a REAL engagement session…!!

bo & eric • engagement portraits • redondo beach, ca

engagements

I had such fun with Bo & Eric, shooting them for their engagement! Eric’s sister, Joanne, is an old friend of mine from grad school, so doing these portraits for her brother was a special honor. I love the tale of Bo & Eric’s courtship; they told me their first date was at Cheesecake Factory, but it was the third date that cinched it for them. As they tell it, Bo was impressed when Eric offered to eat her piece of kobe beef that she thought was a little too raw; & Eric liked that their similarly low-key personalities were a good match. And when Eric proposed at the pier in Malibu, Bo said, “Are you joking?” So funny! So for our session, we celebrated their history by enjoying a dessert at Cheesecake Factory & then having some fun at the pier & the beach! Congratulations, Bo & Eric! Have a wonderful wedding in Korea!

oh, canada! • tomomi & dany • engagement portraits

engagements, outdoors

I had the great pleasure of doing Tomomi & Kai’s Mommy & Me Portraits a few weeks ago, & this weekend, I got to meet Tomomi’s fiancé, Dany, who is from Montréal. We had a fantastic time shooting in the Mediterranean-style plaza in Malaga Cove, & then taking a stroll on the Buena Path. Tomomi & Dany are so easy to talk to, & they’re so obviously totally into each other. I loved hearing about how they met (get this: playing World of Warcraft!), & how Dany picked both of Tomomi’s dresses for the shoot. He’s got great taste! Here’s to their future & lifetime of love together! Bon voyage!