We recently took Matt and Molly’s engagement photos in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California.  The love these two have for each other showed from the moment we met them.  Molly is one of the most upbeat and energetic brides we’ve met yet and her smile just radiates.   Matt is super gracious and easy-going and together they compliment each other incredibly well.  We had so much fun exploring and taking photos that nobody wanted the session to end.

We recently got the chance to photograph Kristin and Paul’s engagement in some of their favorite spots in San Luis Obispo.

First we stopped in at McCarthy’s Irish Pub as a tribute to their old SLO college buddies. (Mekenzi also got a drink and sat down to get to know them a little better. She works so hard. )

We found out that Paul is quite the romantic. When he proposed, he swept Kristin away for an impromptu snowboarding getaway and packed her entire wardrobe for her before she got off work! Now that is awesome love.

We then walked around downtown SLO hitting up Bubblegum Alley, the creek and even Urban Outfitters.  Later we went up Irish Hills and grabbed some more photo goodness. Kristin and Paul are so versatile, urban and natural. So juxtaposey. -That was Mekenzi’s word

Finishing the day, we caught the tail end of a sunset. best ever.

Asa and Mandee love going fun places, eating great food and watching awesome movies.  These happen to be some of my favorite things to do as well. So when planning for this engagement shoot we decided to make it a double date.  Asa, Mandee, Mekenzi and I had a blast roaming the hills of Chalk Mountain. We then went to our favorite local sushi restaurant Kai Lana and ate entirely way to much food. (Sake and Sapporo may have also been involved:)  And finally, we went to see a late night showing of Snow White at the theater.  (You can skip it.)

All in all, this is probably one of the best days of work ever!

Last weekend I got to do Ryan and Sarah’s engagement photos at the Dana Powers House in Nipomo.  Mekenzi was there to assist and add her creative touches to the shoot.  We had a super fun time. Sarah and Ryan are naturally affectionate, easy going and awesome.  You can really see that they adore each other.  Afterwards we went out and got beers together and spent a couple hours just chatting and laughing.  Mekenzi and I are super stoked about their upcoming wedding.  Enjoy 

Ryan & Carolyn are:

A) From Atascadero

B) Both Doctors

C) Getting Married

D) Super Cute Together

Answer = All of the above

Ryan and Dr. Jones (couldn’t help it)… I mean Carolyn have chemistry.  Lots of chemistry!  My beautiful wife assisted for this engagement shoot and we just marveled at Ryan and Carolyn’s love for each other.  They laugh with each other. They have that special look when they look at each other. They respect each other.  And once they started kissing each other I could not get them to look back at the camera:)

I can’t wait for their wedding at the Taft Barn later this year.  It will be a major kiss-fest.

Burk & Caryn are getting married!  Caryn found out about me when she booked the Cass Winery, in Paso Robles, as her wedding venue.  (Check out the last wedding I shot at Cass.)  Caryn and I emailed back and forth for a few days and then she booked me as her photographer. Sweet!

A few months later we did their engagement shoot in San Luis Obispo, California.  It was a sunny and perfect weather kind of day.  We met for coffee at my favorite local brew shop, Linnaea’s.  As we talked, I found out that for Burk and Caryn it was love at first sight.  I also found out that Burk is a Hollywood screenwriter and Caryn is a government contractor.  (Both sound intense!)

It was so much fun walking through downtown San Luis with these guys, taking pictures, laughing and climbing around.  They were game for whatever I asked them to do. At one point I had Caryn boulder hopping in her high heeled boots:)  We got so many great photos that I had a hard time narrowing them down.

Here are just a few:)

Mike@mstephensphoto.com

I can’t help but notice how appropriate it is that I am blogging this Engagement Shoot on the 4th of July as Adam served in the military helping ensure our nation’s freedom. Thank you Adam and Andrea for a wonderful day!

Brendan is a worship leader at his church and also a Civil Engineer.  Lindsey is the worlds most capable nanny.  Her mother is the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Church in San Luis Obispo.

When I first met with Brendan and Lindsey, they were very excited about their wedding pictures but unsure about doing an engagement shoot.  Since they both live in the Bay Area, there were coordination issues and of course the good ‘ole budget to think about.  As you will see below, they did decide to go ahead with the engagement shoot and it was well worth the effort.

We picked a day in late February to shoot.  It was a chilly day in San Luis Obispo but, thankfully, Brendan and Lindsey came prepared with jackets and jeans.  I had the fortune of having an assistant, Corinne Roberts, with me and all together we had one beautiful shoot.

You can feel the love and mutual respect that comes with being around Brendan and Lindsey.  They have their relationship rooted in the strongest of foundations and I am so excited for them.

Please enjoy:)

Michael Stephens Photography

www.mstephensphoto.com

I had a little help from my friends: Richard (lights and car signaler), Glen (stunt car driver of Scion 1) and Will (stunt car driver of Scion 2).  So basically each shot went down like this… I have Richard use my iPhone 4 as a flashlight, shining on the faces of my friends so I can manually focus on them.  Then, I have Richard stand behind me watching for traffic and signaling the drivers of the Scions to start speeding after us.  As soon as they start moving, I hit the shutter. 8-10 seconds later and BAM! Sweetness!!!  Check them out for yourselves.

We had tandem Scion xB’s racing towards us at 20 MPH!!!

Christina could have easily lost a foot!!!

But in the end, all we lost, was…

Our breath.

Their Love Story:

Andrew met Kristin at work, Family Care Network, which is an amazing foster care agency where I also used to work.  They soon found out they shared a love for online gaming.  After a few weeks, Andrew asked Kristin out via email.  Andrew says, he “wooed her with Halo and Rock Band and the rest is history”.  Kristin says Andrew, “had her at Halo”.  Andrew and Kristin went out on a date to play miniature golf and then they went for a romantic evening walk on the beach.  As they held hands walking the moonlit shores, they knew this relationship was going to be something special.

Andrew and Kristin have lots of fun together and share a strong faith.  Seeing the love that these guys have for each other is really inspiring.  I look forward to seeing their relationship grow and strengthen in the years to come.  We had a ton of fun running/driving/climbing/hiking/maybe trespassing around finding sweet places to shoot.

We went out in my yard and found some old farm stuff that has been there far longer than I have…

Then we went to the train tracks and caught a ride…

The great thing about the central coast is that there is tons of wide open spaces…

And finally time to take a break and just relax…

Thanks guys for a truly great day!!!

I was very fortunate in being able to attend Cameron Ingalls’ Fall In Love Workshop this past January. I have been so blessed from my experiences and highly recommend the workshop to anyone interested in getting inspired by one of the best guys in the industry. I had the privilege of meeting Jose Villa and watching him shoot with FILM!  Here are some pictures I took during the day. Thanks to Brynn and Daniel for being so amazing and letting all of us shoot you