August 15, 2018
John and Matthew chose San Francisco City Hall for their elopement, wanting to finalize their long distance relationship in the City they happily settled in. Matthew, hailing from Utah, met John while they both attended Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Settling in San Francisco, they preferred to have a small and intimate celebration now before their bigger celebration in the future. They were self-proclaimed awkward in front of the camera, telling me that they were hoping I could direct them during our time, which of course I am more than happy to! This being said, I was excited to experiment on some new, fun ideas I had in mind that lend themselves to same sex couples. I distinctly remember going to bed and hoping they were wearing the same colored clothing so I could have fun with a particular idea I thought of the night before. Their clothes being similar but not the same, I settled on converting the photo to black and white which in hindsight makes the photo more interesting, in my opinion (see the first photo).
I love shooting elopements because it allows the Couple to really focus on each other and not have to worry about anyone else, letting them focus on the moment and the reason they are celebrating together. At the same time, we do not have to take too much time on formal group photos but rather spend more time efficiently shooting couples portraits which is my favorite thing to do. Toss in such an easy going and fun couple and you have the formula for a joyous wedding day!