I connected with the Gibson’s through a mutual vendor which I’ll honest I have never done before. I’m very big on being present and authentic in the way I connect with my clients from start to finish; so “meeting” through what you can call a middle man made me nervous. 

After chatting about their ideas and how they too had been affected by COVID I knew I wanted to make their portrait hour something beyond the typical session I offer. Especially since these images would stand as their wedding portraits for their cancelled wedding. Quick story about this day, it was the day before another extreme wildfire broke out in the Bay Area the night had produced crazy winds that put a huge layer or better yet layers of smoke across the sky. That day we traveled to a mid point in Oakland where we had planned to take their portraits. As always I arrived early, and to my surprise there were rangers out putting up signs the park would be closed to prevent potential fires! Yes my clients had already driven hours to meet me and here I am standing in our bow closed location. Talk about a face palm. I knew I couldn’t just deliver bad news so I instantly started thinking about secret sports that would fit her theme and vision, but was GUARANTEED to be open. Of course my thoughts as always led me to my neck of the woods and to my underestimated city.

Tucked in the outskirts we found the perfect spots, and the Smokey sky only provided this dreamy twilight feel to the pictures. Which turned out perfect for a girl who loved a good mysterious love story! Check out the shots below and see a cute capture of my ‘Edward and Bella’.