Rochelle + Kenny {Avila Beach}

Rochelle and Kenny were so much fun I was LOL-ing practically the entire engagement session! We explored some of the green rolling hills just a couple miles north of Avila and ended up cruising Port San Luis pier for some beachy variety. They really won my heart. Can’t wait for the wedding!






Love this next sequence!

Nichole + Ben {An Avila hilltop proposal}

The other day I had the great honor of witnessing my friend Ben Potter propose to the girl of his dreams. A few friends and I who helped prepare the surprise proposal hiked up an amazingly steep hill overlooking all of Avila Beach. We decorated and hid in the bushes waiting like game hunters with 4 guys and 4 cameras in position. Ben is part owner of CanaVP so he had his partner Andrew and some friends filming this amazing moment. I was lucky enough to snap the stills. You can see that my first shot of him on bended knee is well blocked by some trees. I was so nervous she would hear my shutter clicking that I kept good distance, at least, until he poured out his heart and asked her to be his wife. Andrew whipped up the lovely movie of the event below. What an amazing new years eve!






















Engagement: Ben and Nichole from Ben Potter & Drew Barefoot on Vimeo.

Adriana + Steve {Avila Beach}

I had a lot of fun photographing Adriana and Steve’s engagement pictures and I will tell you why. They took risks! It’s so refreshing to do creative things that are a bit out of my client’s typical comfort zone. While shooting in Avila Beach I was scoping out the scene and Steve would notice that I was ‘seeing’ something. Before I could even make a suggestion he would volunteer, ‘You want us to climb down into those boats?’ It was like he was giving me the green light to put them into whatever situation or pose that my creative mind could muster! He said that he had been following my work for awhile and knew what kind of business I got my clients into and he was all for it! It really helped to have Steve fully on board because he was able to lead Adriana into a typically uncomfortable situation and make it comfortable. Great work guys; I can’t wait for wedding day!









Here we are risking our lives in front of some killer sea lions. Notice Adrianna and Steve have their backs turned in confidence. No fear! ;)

Steve asked some fishermen if they could borrow their poles for a shot. They were happy to share!





Killer sunset…