Santa Ynez Mountains Engagement Session | Marcus + Hailey

Marcus and Hailey like adventuring, so they knew they wanted their engagement photos to have some epic landscape views. After a bit of back-and-forth, we decided to do some off-the-road locations in the Santa Ynez area, where we could see gorgeous mountains in the backdrop. I drove up a few hours before our shoot to scout some potential locations (which I first e-scouting on Google Maps; thanks, Google!). I chose two locations to give a little variety to the backgrounds in their session, starting with outside a vineyard out in the country, not far from Solvang. Then I drove up the mountains off the 154 highway and came across the perfect location where we could watch the sunset. With the view of the ocean on one side, and the mountains/valleys on the other, it felt like the perfect mini vacation!

This shoot took place in the middle of a very rainy bout of weather for us here in Southern California, but luckily we were able to find a gorgeous day. The sun was in and out of the clouds the entire shoot, which gives us a beautiful variety of lighting in the photos! Despite it being VERY cold and windy on top of the mountain, the three of us were just in awe of the views and had a wonderful time.

I cannot wait for their wedding in June 2022!!