During the first thirty minutes of Jamie and Adam’s engagement session, I found myself perched on top of a swingset, then laying on a tree branch, hanging over the side, taking pictures of them. I love when a couple has fun ideas for pictures that give me an excuse to have some fun of my own, so this engagement session was starting out great.

I knew it would. Jamie and Adam and I got along really well at our first meeting, and we had lots of ideas lined up for their Salinas engagement session. We started in beautiful Toro Park, with oak trees and weathered fences and swings, then on to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Posse Grounds, where they’ll have their wedding and reception. The light couldn’t have been better for our final location — a field in the country, graciously provided by a friend of Adam’s, which allowed us lots of room to maneuver for photos with Adam’s cool old Bronco. And it gave their dog lots of room to run, when he wasn’t posing in the back of the Bronco.

Post-sunset, I got out the big flashes and lit up a dramatic-looking tree for a final shot, its branches standing out against the deep blue of the Salinas Valley sky, the couple holding hands on its slanted trunk. It was a great end to a fun day with an awesome couple.