San Francisco Ferry Building and Fort Mason E session

Bhavna and Emil

I had a lot of fun at this E session. Bhavna and Emil were great to work with, one of those couples who just seem to read my mind--knowing exactly what to do and when to do it to portray everything about their love for one another. In planning our session they said that they wanted to visit some SF locations that were meaningful to them as a couple, of which there were many, but after talking for awhile on email we settled on the Ferry Building and Fort Mason for their variety and placement close to some of the best views in the city.

I always ask my couples to choose an E session location that has some relevance to who they are, as opposed to just somewhere pretty or romantic, or where "everyone else" is doing it. It could be a place that is a part of their history, like where they got engaged or where they went on a first date, somewhere they used to go or have always wanted to go, or merely a place that reflects their personalities...but it has to be relevant. The reason for this is that it helps get their minds off the fact that they are being photographed.

If they've been there before, they can talk and reminisce about the last time they were there. If they've never been there but have always wanted to, they can enjoy the process of discovering the new place and everything it has to offer. Both of these activities help to get them out of the stiff, self conscious, camera-aware frame of mind that is the enemy of any documentary-style shooter looking to capture real connection. The couple gets wrapped up in the moment and in each other, they start to forget I am there (or at least they cease to care), and everything feels and looks very natural.

Its kind of like watching a good movie. Even during the best movies you don't 100% forget that you are watching something contrived, for the sake of entertainment; but you do make the choice to suspend your disbelief and to allow yourself to be sucked into the moment. That is similar to what my couples do during our E sessions, and finding a relevant location is the same thing as turning down the lights in a theater. In the dark, with the movie images and sounds filling your senses, you are able to become fully immersed--sometimes having very intense emotional reactions. It is often only when the movie is over and the lights come back up that you realize just how far gone into that other world you were.

Here are some highlights from the shoot:

out behind the FB



in the front of the FB, where the low sun made for some incredible light puring through the arches




B & E were such troopers out on the windy, freezing pier at Fort Mason

across from Greens, one of the couple's favorite vegetarian gourmet restaurants