Valentine’s Day has never really been a big thing to me, but last year Sam surprised me with the PERFECT picnic basket. It literally came with everything you need for a picnic, including a pair of real glasses, two sets of cutlery and a cheese knife. So after a breakfast that included these delicious chocolate pancakes from Annie’s Eats (that reminds me I haven’t made them since!!) we packed up some cheese, bread and apples in our picnic basket and headed off to Russian Hill for a Valentine’s Day picnic. Since I knew we’d be walking for a bit and we were already carrying the picnic basket and blanket, I decided to eschew my Mark III and bring my little Fuji X100T along instead!

This was the only photo taken with the camera set directly in the grass. I used the 10 second timer, focused on Sam, and joined him in the shot. Actually, I’m pretty sure this was taken in Aperture mode, because I rarely put my Fuji on Manual.

For the rest of the photos, I rested my Fuji on the picnic basket to get a cleaner frame. Not having a tripod meant that I couldn’t angle the camera as easily, but I’m pretty sure I used the lens cap to modify my composition slightly. It was right after noon when we were picnicking, so I mostly went with direct light, which actually gave really beautiful, bold colors.

No photoshoot with Sam is complete without a silly face. 😉 I may have not known this at the time, but I definitely do now! Haha!

Our little Valentine’s day picnic was a lot of fun and we miighhhttt have to make it a tradition! We ended the day with a more official photoshoot with my Mark III and a fan, haha! I got some of my favorite photos during that shoot, so I’m definitely planning on blog about it soon. What are your Valentine’s day plans? I hope they include a photoshoot with your significant other! <3

If you’d like to book your own couples/engagement session for Valentine’s Day in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact me or email me at alice@aliceche.com!

Alice Che is a San Francisco Bay Area photographer specializing in wedding, engagement, couple and boudoir photography. Serving the South Bay, Peninsula, and East Bay: San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Carlos, Burlingame, Los Altos, Milpitas, Union City, Fremont, Berkeley, El Cerrito and surrounding areas.