A Mission of Engagement

Art & Alyssa have really done things right over their 20's. They've chosen a wonderful place to live and invest their lives, they've found the person who complement each of their own skill and ambitions. It was a joy to be considered for their engagement session and be involved in the creative direction of the shoot. Alyssa has a wonderfully sharp professional demeanor and is a true class act of a friend so for us to organize an editorial shoot with black tie tuxedo and black formal gown wear was not a surprise. Both of these two with their looks and confidence were made for editorial style shoots.

Choosing a location that would compliment their roots and taste was a difficult one. I searched around Los Angeles, both in Downtown L.A. and the beach town of Laguna Beach before settling on Mission San Juan Capistrano. Part of the chain of historic Missions in California built in 1776, in San Juan Capistrano, CA it offers a wonderfully rustic backdrop of history, texture and natural tones that beautifully reflect light and change the character of the setting as the sunsets.

These two were perfect in this massive setting where they owned their wardrobe and filled the space with their personality. Thank you Art & Alyssa for entrusting us with these moments. Your love is real, it is big, and it is rich. Besos, nick

Temecula Blazing Summer || Surprise Engagement Session

As a photographer, I love to shoot photographs of my friends, which can also make planning a surprise engagement session a little easier. If the one being proposed to can know I'm there, and thinks its just a couples photo shoot, I don't have to hide out in the bushes attempting to grab the perfect shot.

When my friend reached out to shoot a proposal to his girlfriend, I was ecstatic. When the day finally came, I wasn't as ecstatic about the 120• weather prediction for that day. In any case, my fiancee (at the time) and part-time second-shooter joined me for a drive to the desert to photograph our friends surprise proposal. We were even able to get some gorgeous 6K video footage before the heat took down my second shooter (literally, but that's a story for another time, hahah).

I love photographing friends and strangers alike, and look forward to being apart of many more surprises like this in the future! Congrats my friends!

A Tennis star and a Teacher || Engagement Session

There's nothing like opposites attracting. To see it mold and shape a future is even more wild.

I'm so thankful I got to photograph Damian and Jackie's engagement pictures this past Fall. They each wanted to have a personal aspect to their two looks. Damian, a more "sporty" and theatrical individual wanted some Tennis outfits and rackets in-hand. I immediately thought of my dream shots on Pinterest crossing over into my fashion background and utilizing Damian's acting chops. The second "look" was based on Jackie's love for her job as an educator (and an extraordinarily smart one at that!!!). They both love to read, but Jackie, knowing education is the growth in all parts of your life wanted a number of pictures of her reading and just being surrounded by her books and oldest friends, as she put it. I think we have some wonderful photos to show for our time together. Creating personal images that will deliver a message of individuality that each person brings to the future union. And that's what makes these "opposites-attract" relationships incredible, the differences.