Take a look at the sunshine bathing the field where Jen & Gordon are standing in the image above. That kind of gorgeous light is a rare and wonderful thing on the Santa Cruz coast, where the ocean breathes fog onto the land most days. Jen is from Santa Cruz, and she was of the expert opinion that the kind of perfect weather we got for their Santa Cruz engagement photos comes only a couple times a year.

Not that fog is bad — thick fog can be beautiful in its own way, and lend a different kind of feeling to photographs. But it can also be chilly, or wet, or gloomy.

So when the sun was bright and warm and the air was calm, I felt like the luckiest photographer in town.

I also felt lucky because Jen & Gordon were so great to work with. They happily accepted what little direction I gave them, they made each other laugh, and they didn’t get grumpy when waves crashed over their shoes, even though they didn’t have any dry ones in the car. And at the end of the night, we did a couple photos at their favorite Santa Cruz bar, and we celebrated a great session with delicious pints of craft beer.

Check out some of my favorite images from Jen & Gordon’s Santa Cruz engagement photos below.