Kat & Jake's Santa Barbara Engagement Session

Some couples just know who they are. From the first conversation I had with Kat and Jake, it was obvious these two weren't interested in a session that looked like everyone else's. They wanted something that actually felt like their life together. So we built the day around the places in Santa Barbara that already meant something to them.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

We started at the Botanic Garden, up in the foothills where it's quiet and the light comes through the oaks in that soft, broken way that makes everything feel a little unhurried. We lucked out with beautiful weather and an oddly quiet garden.  It felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.  I didn't have to do much directing. They just wandered, talked, pointed things out to each other. That's honestly the best thing that can happen during a session — when two people forget I'm there and just exist together. That's what happened here.

Chaucer's Bookstore

Chaucer's was last-second, turn the car around, add on to the day. Walking into Chaucer's with them felt less like a shoot and more like tagging along on a Saturday afternoon. They pulled things off shelves, debated recommendations, got a little lost in the stacks.  There's a particular kind of intimacy in watching two people share something they genuinely love. Chaucer's gave us that in spades.

Ellwood Bluffs

By the time we reached Ellwood, the light was doing that late afternoon thing it does on the California coast — warm and a little reckless, the kind that makes every photo feel like it was taken on the last good day of summer. The eucalyptus trail opened up to the bluffs and suddenly it was just the two of them and the Pacific stretching out ahead.  It was GUSTING when we got there and we knew we were in for it.  At this point in the day, Kat and Jake were at ease with me and my camera, so despite the crazy wind we had so much fun running around the bluffs.