Shannon & AJ

Engagements

January 22, 2021

MALIBU

For these California engagement photos, we all woke up early and caught the sunrise at El Matador. This is my favorite beach in the greater Los Angeles area! El Matador has incredible cliffs and rock formations lining the coast, and in my opinion it looks just like the Amalfi Coast in Italy (aka my favorite place on earth! And one of my bucket list locations to photograph a wedding!).

We got there just in time for the sun to start peeking out above the horizon, and the sky filled with beautiful soft shades of pink and orange! I love sunrise photo sessions because have such beautiful, soft lighting. Plus, these two made it super easy to capture cozy, playful, candid engagement photos.

One way that I make sure to capture candid engagement photos is by keeping my couples moving. I’m always giving my couples actions, movements, and prompts to get them interacting with each other. Rather than stiff poses, by using movements I enable my couples to not only look more natural in the photos but also to have more fun taking them!

Also, I play music on a JBL Clip Bluetooth speaker during engagement photo sessions! This also lightens the mood and makes us have 10x more fun. (Check out my Photography Playlist on Spotify!)

PHOTO LOCATION

Shannon & AJ will be getting married in May 2021 after postponing their 2020 wedding, and I’m so glad that I got to meet up with them in California for this fun engagement photoshoot. Malibu is their favorite place to be, so we chose to capture their California engagement photos at this location in Malibu.

Their neutral outfits against the sand, the sandy beach, and the rocky cliffs came together so perfectly, and we might have had a little too much fun chasing the waves as they came in and out.

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

This day reminded me just how special sunrise beach engagement sessions can be! Capturing engagement photos is truly one of my favorite parts of being a photographer. Check out their photos below, and feel free to reach out if you’d like to set up a candid, playful beach photo session of your own!

couple hugging on top of cliff overlooking ocean Malibu engagement photos California photographer
sunrise engagement photo session on trail by the ocean in Malibu California
Candid natural engagement photos holding hands and kissing at Malibu beach in California
couple hugging on top of bluff overlooking ocean
couple holding hands on top of cliff overlooking ocean in Malibu California
California engagement photoshoot overlooking ocean at Malibu beach
California engagement photoshoot overlooking ocean in Malibu
couple holding hands walking down beach in California for engagement photoshoot
couple dancing on beach in California for sunrise engagement photos
couple hugging on beach in California for sunrise engagement photo session
couple holding hands on beach in California engagement photoshoot
couple kissing on beach in California candid engagement photoshoot
couple holding hands in California El Matador beach
couple holding hands kissing on beach in California photoshoot
couple hugging on beach in California Malibu engagement photo session
couple hugging on beach in California black and white engagement photos
couple hugging on beach in California for engagement photoshoot
couple hugging on beach in California by the ocean
couple hugging on beach in California with engagement ring
engagement ring photoshoot in Malibu California
couple kissing at california beach engagement session
couple holding hands and running at california beach engagement session
Malibu CA couple holding hands at beach engagement session
engagement photoshoot Malibu CA
sunrise engagement session natural candid photoshoot
couple holding eachother at california beach engagement session
engagement photo session at Malibu beach
candid unique engagement photos at the beach in Malibu California
candid unique engagement photos at the beach in Malibu California forehead kiss
Man kissing woman on cheek engagement photos
couple kissing on the beach engagement photos in california
couple kissing on the beach in California
couple kissing at El Matador Beach engagement photoshoot
couple hugging on the beach engagement photo poses
couple hugging on the beach for engagement photos with engagement ring
couple kissing on the beach in Malibu CA for engagement photos

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@tylee.shay