I first met Felicia four years ago when we took Elle Walker’s Fine Art and Visual Expression together. I vividly remember an incredible self portrait she took of herself holding hands with her two girls, walking down Cannon Beach. Funnily enough, we actually got to meet up at Cannon Beach a year later when we happened to be in Oregon at the same time! Over the years, she has become one of my dearest friends, even though she lives up in Vancouver (where she is an incredible documentary photographer). We have met up in person several times and have exchanged thousands of messages over Facebook, so when she asked me to get a few photos of her and her husband while they were in town for spring break, I jumped at the chance. It was such a joy to capture these intimate, California hillside couple portraits for them.

We chose this incredible hillside up above the Silicon Valley in one of my favorite open space preserves. Spring break weather in California is usually a bit of a toss-up, so I was grateful we didn’t get rained out! Even though we didn’t get a hazy, dreamy golden hour shoot, the sunset was stunning and the hills were lush and green from all the rain this year. Best of all, we didn’t have to avoid the ticks, mosquitoes and prickly weeds that come out in the warmer seasons, haha!

Like many husbands/grooms/boyfriends, Derek was not the biggest fan of being in photos. It definitely took Felicia some convincing to get him to participate… but he was so incredibly sweet and gracious with me at the shoot. I adore weddings and capturing the start of a love story, but there was something so special about photographing love that has changed and grown over ten years of marriage.

And, of course, I had to get a photo with Felicia! Thanks to Sam for snapping this photo of us!

If you liked this post, you may enjoy my sister’s Half Moon Bay anniversary photos or these intimate couple portraits in a field.