Santa Barbara Engagement Photo Session

Yesterday I photographed my cousin and her fiancé. There is a field near my house with very tall grass that has gone to seed, and has turned a deep golden color. As sunset approaches, the low angle light hits the spent husks and illuminates them. My cousin and her fiancé both have a fair complexion and light hair, which matched perfectly with the golden background. I photographed them sitting in the field, and framed the background so that it looked like they where in a huge field. When I photographed them I let the sunlight fall over their shoulders which illuminated their hair and used a fill flash for the face.

From there we moved to a group of queen palms. I really like using nature (tree or a group of boulders) to frame the subjects I am photographing. I am also a firm believer that if I am photographing individuals at a distance away from the couple they will naturally relax, and the photos will show this. This photos illustrate how the couple were able to relax and enjoy each others company.

After that we relocated to the foothill of Santa Barbara, near on the rim overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon Wilderness Area. Its name comes from its serpentine shape and curves of the canyon, not rattlesnake occupation, even thought I have seen them in the Canyon. This area is very special to our family. We have taken many hikes up the canyon, which has a trail running along the creek to an upper meadow area. It also has views of Santa Barbara, the ocean, and the Channel Islands on a clear day. The location we where photographing has a very typical Santa Barbara foothill background, sandstone mixed with chaparral. The light was perfect, and by this time they where really comfortable with the camera so we got some great photos!