Jamie + Kyle // Ocean Beach Engagement

It has only been FIFTEEN WEEKS since I last worked, and while my 2020 wedding season has undoubtedly been cancelled, taking on a few sessions this week has restored a tiny bit of normalcy in my life, and reminded me how much joy my job of photographing beautiful humans brings me.

Practicing 6 feet of social distancing while wearing a mask was an interesting obstacle during Jamie and Kyle's beach engagement session, but I think we were all pleasantly surprised with how quickly it felt normal, and how easily we adapted to the safety parameters we put in place. It was a typically gloomy day in San Francisco, and we practically had the entire beach to ourselves, so we took our time galavanting around the sand dunes, running along the beach, and not taking ourselves too seriously, and I think (know) it was the most fun I've had in actual months.

Congratulations to these two amazing humans who were so instantly warm to be around, and for being as natural as humanly possible when your photographer is wearing a mask over 60% of their face and you've never met them before this.

Jess + Chris // Golden Gate Park Engagement

Anyone who has ever worked with me and stepped in front of my camera knows one thing: I become a slightly obnoxious motivational coach. My couples and I even laugh about it, in the moment. Over time, this has become my inadvertent alter ego, and I know I must sound like a really proud (stage) mom to all of my subjects (or anyone within earshot). The over-the-top enthusiasm comes from a genuine place of understanding how not-so-comfortable it is to have a giant camera pointed directly at your soul, and wanting my couples to openly know that know matter how far out of their comfort zone they feel, they are absolutely crushing it.

Jess and Chris reached out at the end of last year for their wedding this Summer, and after tossing around a few ideas for their engagement session, I knew two important things: 1- they didn't have many pictures together (I instantly commiserated- my husband and I have .5 pictures together in the 11 years we've been together), and 2- they weren't looking to achieve the cliche engagement photos that I know we've all seen (aka hard no to the "heart hands"). We met at the Conservatory of Flowers, and within the first five minutes of this session, I knew this was a great location fit for them, and that they were a great fit for me. In true D. Lillian stage-mom form, I was basically cheering throughout this entire session, but can you honestly blame me? They're gorgeous (and I'm the luckiest photographer).

Cheers to these two for owning this session, I can't wait for round two this Summer!

Regina + Ben // Land's End Engagement

While January is historically a slower month in the wedding industry, I typically schedule a handful of engagement sessions in this month, and pray to the rain gods to give me some semblance of decent weather to work with. This couple, Regina and Ben, were in town from New York, and we had a dangerously small window to fit this engagement session in before the rain started back up and before they headed back to the East Coast. A clear forecast in San Francisco had us openly celebrating our good luck on this day, and it made our adventurous excursion that much more exhilarating (and manageable).

I had chatted with Regina and Ben on the phone just a few short weeks before this engagement session, and while I loved connecting with them and hearing about their wedding day vision, nothing beat getting to hang with them in person. I loved the "old friends" energy that we collectively created on this day, and I watched any/all camera-shy jitters dissipate only a few minutes into our session.

As we wrapped this session, I headed back to my car feeling so grateful for these opportunities to meet such incredible humans like Regina and Ben within my line of work. Not sure where these two beautiful people came from, but I'm so thankful for the connection, and I can't wait for round two this Fall.

Lea & Max // Presidio Engagement Session

I may be in the thick of wedding season and dreaming in first looks and ring shots, but I will always crave these beloved engagement sessions, and they always provide the calm I need in between packed wedding weekends. Beyond having the creative freedom to select unique locations and set the general vibe for these engagement sessions, they also yield the perfect opportunity for all of us to get to know each other, and allow the right space to inquire about each others life, and I will never tire of learning how all these amazing couples have found each other.Lea and Max are new clients, yet felt like old friends about five minutes into this session, and their sweet energy was almost palpable. We met up for this session at one of my favorite, hidden spots that I found on complete accident during a past San Francisco wedding, and it never fails to disappoint or photograph completely differently, depending on the season (it's the perfect mash-up of both beautiful nature and slightly creepy Snow White forest). The more we got to talking, the less I had to coach them through any posed shots, and their organic chemistry was so easy to capture the less I intervened. My engagement sessions are always one hour long, yet I couldn't stop documenting these two, and I secretly-now-openly could have captured them until the natural light left us completely that day.Cheers to these two incredible humans on their engagement, and thank you for allowing me the creative space to capture your love exactly how I saw it on this day.