BKM Photo Blog » Engagement

Laurence and Cherryl: Engagement Session

Ben and Kirin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:21:12 +0000

It was cold! When we shot these engagement photos of Laurence and Cherryl, it was at the tail-end of Summer, and we just finished a string of days with 80+ degree weather. Laurence and Cherryl chose to do their photoshoot in the late afternoon by the water, at Coronado and in San Diego along the harbor. Of course, the day of the shoot turns out to be unusually cold–downright chilly!

Laurence and Cherryl made the best of it, though; they gutted out the cold, and we managed to get some pretty good shots from that session. I felt so bad for them, working so hard to keep their teeth from chattering so as to not interrupt the sexy! Extra kudos to Cherryl for getting through that icy harbor wind in that short dress!

Now check out the pix…

We Love Jac and Joe!

Ben and Kirin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:32:45 +0000

We first met Jaclyn and Joe during a dinner consult at Seau’s. Joe, a Naval Officer and physician (we seem to be booking a lot of doctors lately), was in town to begin their wedding planning. Jaclyn told us they loved our work because she could see and feel the emotions we try so hard to capture in our photos. I was pregnant at the time and we both started getting teary eyed talking about her big day. I told her about how overwhelming it is to see so many people you love in one place, who are there because they love you in return and want you to be happy. From that moment I knew we were going to enjoy working with them. They are two of the sweetest people ever, and keep giving us gifts for Roman even after our protesting. In return, it makes us happy to create beautiful images for them.

Just goes to show how much difference a change of angles can make.

I love the next series simply cause Jaclyn’s miss sassy side peeked through. Even the most humble woman wants to look her best in her wedding photos, and that is important to us as well. I believe one of our knacks is being able to reflect that beauty in a photo. Jaclyn is adorable AND is an engineer. I think women engineers rock.

This is why photographers love Balboa Park so much. There’s great light everywhere.

Can’t wait till the wedding you two!
–Kirin

Jasmine and Dean’s Engagement Session

Ben and Kirin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:13:44 +0000

We met Dean by sheer luck at the local Farmer’s Market, as he was chatting with a couple of friends of ours. They mentioned he was engaged, we gave him our card, and several months later, we produced the photos below. We chose the trolley and train station areas downtown, given the great architecture and light flowing through the stations. Plus, we got to incorporate a bad*ss chopper into the shoot, thanks to a swell guy named James who works at the train station. James, if you ever get to see this, you rock man.

Dean and Jasmine rocked the shoot as well.

It’s cute seeing Jasmine having to tippy toe to wrap her arms around Dean’s neck.

Candice and Dave’s Engagement Session

Ben and Kirin — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:48:56 +0000

Candice is a close family friend of mine. I still remember her as young girl, and now she’s a Navy officer, along with her fiance David. Although we are not shooting her wedding (we actually get to attend for fun for once) she asked us to take her engagement photos. We happily obliged.

–Kirin

An Afternoon with Lindsay and Scott

Ben and Kirin — Sun, 03 May 2009 04:53:22 +0000

Meet Lindsay

and her fiance, Scott

They are just as down to earth as they are gorgeous. We always joke about being fortunate to have the nicest clients ever, and hope that luck continues! For their engagement session, we wanted a location that would give us a mix of both urban and seaside environments. We remembered downtown Oceanside, where we had the honor of being photographed by Jay Reilly for our maternity session. You would never know, but Lindsay actually had the jitters at the beginning of the shoot. As you can see, they both did great.

Lindsay told us her mom cried when she saw these photos. We’ve heard that many times before, about the impact our work has had on people and their loved ones. It’s gratifying to know our photographs can bring so much joy to others.

Tammy and Mike Break it Down

Ben and Kirin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:55:19 +0000

This was definitely one of the most fun shoots we’ve done. Mike cleverly chose the University of California Irvine campus for his and Tammy’s engagement session. He chose well, as the campus gave us a variety of environments to work with. They came well prepared, Mike even made a special song list on his ipod for the shoot. The music was an asset, especially for active part of the shoot, which showcased their dance talents. Both Mike and Tammy have danced for hip hop and breaking crews, and we had a BLAST working with people who are so comfortable with posing.

Jasmine and Ryan Rock!

Ben and Kirin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:23:01 +0000

Jasmine booked us a while ago to cover her upcoming July wedding. She’s based in Seattle, but her and her fiance Ryan are getting hitched down here in sunny San Diego. We’ve never met face-to-face until we finally shot their engagement session at Seaport Village. But they’re the kind of people who feel like old friends from the moment you meet them.

Here are some highlights from our session together.

Tricia and Ronnie’s Engagement Session

Ben and Kirin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:35:22 +0000

Ronnie and Tricia both work for major clothing lines, so it's no wonder they came to their engagement session in style. Their upcoming wedding will take place at the historic Mission de Alcala, followed by a reception at the trendy Omni Hotel. The hotel was kind enough to let us shoot their engagement session in and around the hotel. Despite the cold weather, these two were troopers, especially Tricia, who kept her poise and grace in those hot MK heels. We like having these two engagement sessions posted back to back, as they showcase these two couples and their respective styles. That is important to us, the ability to convey our client's personalities.--Kirin



Anna and Kirt’s Engagement Session
Ben and Kirin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:45:07 +0000
We had the joy of photographing Anna and Kirt, who you can tell love the heck out of each other just by the way they look at each other. Their wedding will be held beachside, with a reception at the historic El Cortez.  True beach lovers, they wanted their session in Coronado.  We had a great time photographing them, and can't wait for their big day. --Kirin































































Lorie and Jericho
Ben and Kirin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:53:47 +0000
Lorie is a daughter of a friend of my mother’s. I never met her before our first consultation, but she looks so much like “Auntie” (Lorie’s mom), I recognized her right away upon first seeing her.




Lorie and her fiance Jericho–who has a cool name, BTW–are really chill cats from San Francisco. Lorie is a San Diego transplant, but nevertheless, she has the same unpretentious vibe that Jericho, a native, gives out. They wanted to explore what Downtown San Diego had to offer at night, so we decided to take this approach for their engagement session.




Many thanks to Leilani, my sister-in-law and BKM lighting assistant!