Malibu Hills Engagement

With all of the wonderful weather we’ve been experiencing in California recently, I headed out with Jackie and Nick for a Malibu Hills engagement session. Besides the fact that we virtually had the park all to ourselves, we lucked out with perfect weather and the most beautiful Springtime colors.

Originally from separate coasts, Jackie and Nick met a few years back in California and will be getting married later this year in New Jersey. Because of the location that we chose for their engagement session, Jackie and Nick leaned more towards the semi-casual side for their outfits which were perfectly balanced with one another. Jackie’s first look of the day was an all-white floor length dress with a slit up the leg. Nick donned a navy button up with khaki slacks and brown leather dress shoes. As the day turned into evening Jackie changed into a gorgeous floor-length floral dress with an open back while Nick sported a white button up.

The pair has such incredible natural chemistry with one another that I had to hardly do anything besides clicking the shutter. Rather than posing my couples as many people do, I prefer to direct them as if we were shooting a scene in a movie. As we explored the area together, chatting from one location to another, I would give them both little scenes to set out for me. This works perfectly to capture the genuine connection between my couples and so as to not make them feel awkward and worry about hand placement, body positioning etc.

Towards the end of our session, I took them to one of my favorite locations on the property—a giant oak tree that is more than 100 years old. I don’t normally shoot on black and white film during my sessions but I decided to do a little experimentation and try my hand at it. You can only improve if you take risks, right? I am thrilled that I did so because the images turned out freaking beautiful! It’s convinced me to shoot more black and white and take more chances with my work. We ended the session with celebratory high-fives and watched the sun set behind the mountains.

Lab | Richard Photo Lab
Film | Portra 160 // Fuji 400h // Ilford 3200