Anju & Rajeev Engagement Portraits So ya think we've been doing a lot of outdoor portraits lately? :)

We actually shot Anju & Rajeev's engagement session quite some time ago, but we're only getting around to blogging about it now. This was a great session since the couple wanted to experiment a bit for themselves and we had been looking for a pair who wanted to push the boundaries of what most Indian couples want for their portraits. Not to say these shots are out in left field or anything, but they were up for a lot of fun during the shoot.

Anyways, on to the photos!

From a photography perspective, this was one of the first shoots where we limited ourselves with the lenses we used. Why would we limit ourselves, you ask? Well, by human nature, when there are limits placed, we find a way :) For me, when I challenge myself with situations that I don't normally face, especially when it comes to photography, my mind races with the possibilities and I come up with things which I normally wouldn't.

And so with Anju & Rajeev's buy-in, we purposely challenged ourselves photographically...



Especially this calendar year, we've really been going to locations with interesting angles & lots of energy. Regardless of how crowded the location is, we've found this energy really adds to the results. Not just in terms of cool features, but also on the faces of our clients.








One of the few basic poses we did with Anju & Rajeev...


Mixing up this Stalker shot, it was interesting finding something which would be rather different than the usual columns or trees.

Gigantic chess board? Of course!





Now a storefront that's under construction doesn't usually lend itself to portraits, but I just loved the designs on this walls and they so nicely with Anju's dress. What's more, I just loved her expression.










Rajeev had a little fun with the metal gratings. We didn't want to break them so we only did this one once and then ran for it :)

Personally, I found this shoot really opened up a new world of ideas for me. Asad has pretty much said the same of his portraiture too. I think taking this calculated chance with Anju & Rajeev is a no-brainer in retrospect, but I'm glad we actually made it happen!

What's more, they loved their photos :) A few words from Anju after she saw her photos...

Asad and Jigar,
We wanted to thank you guys for doing our engagement portait. We really had a lot of fun doing it - even Rajeev did and he HATES taking pcitures. It gave me a feel of what models do, and believe me having two guys capture your every move on camera is a lot of fun!! Thanks for doing this for us and making it so enjoyable.

Look forward to seeing you guys soon!

Take care,
Anju

The happy couple are actually already married now so congrats to both of you!

Labels: Engagements, Portraits

  Permanent Link 9:37 PM  0 Comments

  Daisy & Gary Engagement Portraits I recently took Daisy & Gary out to Stanford for their portraits. They wanted something unique in this area so they came all the way out from Sacramento & Yuba City for this session!

We used to do portraits at Stanford all of the time, but I haven't done any on campus in quite a while. So it was a cool little challenge for me to take my learnings from the last 18 months since I shot there and mix them into a setting which I know oh so well. Daisy & Gary obviously had a good time there so I think it all worked out ;)

Onto to the photos!
Over the years, Asad and I have come up with names for the basic poses we take our couples through. Simple poses take up very little of the session, but the names definitely make things a bit smoother. And they also add a little bit of levity to shoot since we pick pretty random names. The shot above is called The Stalker Pose :) And funny enough...we didn't name it, one of our brides did! So she gets credit for bringing a smile to every one of our clients who want to do this shot. Thanks Sharmila!


I just like the relaxed smiles on their faces here...


Bringing sexy back! The touch of setting sun on Daisy's hair really completes this photo for me.




As usual...I loves me some glare. With the setting sun no less!



Now what does one do with a spot that's so commonly used in portraits? For one, don't pose the couple. For two, get funky with the processing. Textures are in the house at Samay Studio.

Okay, so this one's posed, but hardly :)

Near the end of our shoot, it was getting way too dark to do anything in natural light. Daisy & Gary were just chillin' talking to each other when Daisy looked over to see if we were going to do any more shots. And when I saw this look, I just had to stop her and save the moment. Sometimes, these "poses" just come so perfectly and the light is just so yummy, that I'm glad that I have the privilege of taking photos!

Hey guys, it was a pleasure spending a few hours with you on your portraits. Thanks for driving all the way out to the Peninsula and congrats on your engagement!

Labels: Engagements, Portraits

  Permanent Link 9:35 PM  3 Comments

  Shweta & David Engagement Portraits Wedding season is upon us and, as usual, we're finding it tough to keep posting here on the blog since we're wrapped up in events & post-production. Anyways, we'll certainly try to do better with keeping things fresh here ;)

So onto Shweta & David's engagement portraits. The happy couple is actually getting married today! So in advance of that, we went out to San Francisco. North Beach and Baker Beach were the neighborhoods of choice on this shoot.

Washington Square is always a nice little spot to start off the afternoon with. Since the weather was great, it was actually pretty crowded and finding sight lines without sunbathers was a challenge!


Look at David all dapper in his suit!

We found this closed down cafe/restaurant that still had a bench outside. The wierd thing is that the restaurant still had all of the tables with ready place settings..glasses, napkins, silverware, etc. It was like they had set everything up for the next day and then just decided to not open up! Anyways, we got this great little spot just off of the street.



Can ya say GLARE! Lovin' it!

Oooh, textures. Couldn't help adding some with this shot.

A private moment as we pretended to change lenses :) No matter how much our couples want to get candids, we still try and mix it up to give them something they don't expect...
Can you believe Baker Beach was packed with sunbathers and kids playing in the water? We still found a few angles where we had a clear view all the way to Golden Gate Bridge. Beautiful day!

I love how the light bounces off David's shirt back onto Shweta. Talk about sun kissed.

And finally...kissing in the sun :)

Congrats guys! Can't wait to see what you guys have planned for today!

Labels: Engagements, Portfolio, Portraits

  Permanent Link 8:04 AM  0 Comments