17 Mile Drive, Carmel By The Sea and San Francisco Engagement Photography Session | Mayuka & Shimo

Mayuka and Shimo are two amazing and sweet people! I had the opportunity to photograph their complete engagement session which means we had plenty of time to travel to different locations and really get to know each other and have fun! It's also so wonderful to have Camille Goldston, makeup artist extraordinaire, along with us to help restyle Mayuka's hair which was a great help during the crazy windstorm we encountered at Baker Beach!

Before they moved to Japan, the couple really wanted to have an engagement session in California and visit some of the locations that meant a lot to them. Their top choices were to visit Carmel by the Sea and 17 Mile Drive, where Shimo first asked Mayuka on a date. How sweet is that?! They also really wanted photos in San Francisco to capture the beauty of the city that they loved before they had to leave it.

We visited some of San Francisco's most iconic spots, such as Potrero Hill, Baker Beach with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Lover's Lane in the Presidio. I love the emotion we captured in the images.

Mayuka's one wish was to have beautiful, warm, sunny photos. Unfortunately, it's tough to find days like that on the coast in August but we tried our very best! When we were in Carmel, it was very overcast and the fog was rolling in. While it was nothing a gorgeous dress and bright pink balloon couldn't fix, Mayuka was still a little sad. Suddenly, just as we were about to hop back in the car, the clouds parted and out came the sun and soon after, a breathtaking sunset! An engagement session miracle!

Shimo was such an amazing trooper through the session, helping Mayuka climb the boulders along Carmel's coastline so that we could capture that perfect sunset photo.

Congratulations Mayuka and Shimo! I wish you the best in Japan and hope to work with you again in the future!