I was helping another wedding photographer, Eric Sullano, in his engagement shoot with Rachel and Warren. Shot in the Venice canals, this shoot presented two challenges: crowds of people and busy backgrounds. I had no choice but to shoot most of the session at a very low angle to isolate the background and make the images look cleaner. As I was helping my friend as a favor, I didn't shoot quite as much as he did, but I managed to make a few selects:

There are actually two engagement shoots here: one in the UCLA Japanese Gardens and the other at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Both are excellent locations for engagement shoots, but each offered their own challenges.

At the Japanese Gardens, for example, we could only shoot between 11am and 1pm in the harshest lighting conditions. The sun casted horrible shadows on Mike and Vania so we had to use an umbrella to diffuse the light. Luckily it was a Japanese umbrella so it fit the motif we were going for.

At Union Station, the main challenge was access. After having shot in the tunnels, on the tracks and inside the waiting areas, I wanted something different. There is a giant room that once served as a ticketing area. This room was perfect for phtoography: polished floors, completely empty, and most importantly, the diffused yellow light coming through the windows was simply amazing. Unfortunately the room was closed off to the public, so we had to talk our way in. Luckily we were given ten minutes.

Here are my selects from Mike and Vania's engagement shoots:

Japanese Gardens: