Kristen + Christian | Yosemite Engagement Photographer

Yosemite National Park is always my number one choice for an Adventure Elopement or Engagement session in California. Yosemite really has it all. The park has meadows, creeks, rivers, cliffs, mountains, forests of all different types of trees and foliage, waterfalls, epic views a short walk from parking, and stunning vistas pretty much every direction you look. Another great thing about Yosemite National Park is that it is beautiful almost year round, with roughly 10 out of 12 months being more than photogenic. Although, it could be argued that even in those ‘ugly’ two months, where all of the meadows are dead and swampy, Yosemite still has a magical feel to it. It is one of those parks that might feel like a trek to get to, and might even feel like the chore of traveling won’t be worth it (believe me, I’ve felt that way sometimes lol), but when you step foot into the park it is like being hit with a rejuvenating breath of fresh air. You quickly forget about work, stress, the long travel it took to get to the park, and just about every other thing going on in your life, because your entire being is now entranced by the spectacular views surrounding you on all sides.

When Kristen and Christian reached out to me about capturing their Adventure Engagement session in Yosemite, right away I was yearning to return to the park, even though I had just left Yosemite from a few shoots two weeks prior. I loved talking with Kristen and Christian over the phone and going over all of the options of where we could shoot. Did they want grand cliffsides with dizzying heights and the valley stretching off into the distance below, or did they want the green flowing meadows dwarfed by the cliffs vaulting up above them? Did they want to have their portraits captured during the golden light of the sunrise or sunset, or did they want the more enchanted misty light of the morning or afternoon?

We then started talking about location options: El Capitan, Three Brothers, Cathedral Rock, Half Dome, Taft Point, Glacier Point, Tunnel View, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Falls, Cliffside trails, and more. With every location having so many reasons why they should be used for their session, it was hard for Kristen and Christian to make a decision on what to cut out and what to use. After some discussion, they decided to try and cover as many locations as possible and opted for the 4-hour Adventure session, split across two days. Starting at Taft Point on Day 1, we shot along the trail all the way to the point, finishing our session on the dizzying iconic granite cliff. Day 2 started early with a sunrise session at Glacier Point, then we headed down to Tunnel View for a view of the Yosemite park, and ended our session by shooting in the various meadows along the Valley floor.

Their final gallery turned out to be one of my most favorite complete Yosemite galleries I have shot to date. Not only did Kristen and Christian have fantastic and energetic chemistry that highlighted their love story, but they both took the time to relax and enjoy their moments together during our various shoots. I also loved that Kristen and Christian went all out to make sure that they put together multiple full outfits for the various areas we would be shooting in. Kristen and I spoke about the different outfit choices she should bring and covered the right color/texture/cut of each outfit to best compliment the environment. All of this helped to create a stellar gallery that they will cherish for years to come.