Love conquers all

It was late morning. Our absolutely adorable couple, Karen and Joe were waiting for the makeup artist, Tiffany to finish up Karen's look. We were headed out for their engagement session, a few spots that I photographed a mere few days ago. Legion of Honor, Palace of Fine Arts and Baker's Beach. Déjà vu. Karen loved the image I took above for Jen and Matt, and wished to recreate it for themselves. It's usually not an issue, weather permitting.

That was the beginning of the problem. Fog rolled in and covered every inch of the beach and especially the Golden Gate Bridge. The 20 minutes hike to the location began to look rather pointless. Neither the sunset nor the Golden Gate Bridge was visible. Even the path just 100 yards in front of us began to disappear.

I turned to Karen and said, "We'll not catch the beautiful sunset and the Golden Gate Bridge today. However, we'll capture amazing mood in our imagery that no other couples has!!!" Though skeptical, they did brighten up and continued the hike. When we reached the beach, I placed Karen and Joe peacefully on the exact same rock that Jen and Matt were standing a few days ago and I changed my angle completely. Their beautiful tranquil look were surrounded by angry waves that swirled and splashed around them like a perfect storm.

Same rock, different mood. I named the image, "Love conquers all"

- Michael Soo

Buccaneers' cheerleaders team photoshoot

Roseanne, a Buccaneers' cheerleader takes us behind the scene of Soo Photography's photoshoot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' cheerleader's team shoot.

(Video by Ed Bottger)

Keeping engagement sessions engaging!

(Click to view larger images)

Engagement sessions are not just bringing_a_couple_out_anywhere_to_photograph. It's a big deal for us. We plan the locations (nature versus architecture), schedule (time and location for the sunset) and wardrobe matching with the couples. We'll ensure that our most amazing makeup artist and hair stylist are on board for the shoot. At times, we'll go as far as to invite our couples for a home cooked meal while we talk about the upcoming shoot while we psyche each other up for the fun filled day of shooting.

I'm a foodie. So, it's not one of those mac-n-cheese dinner, but white truffle cheese, salad with drizzled pomegranate reduction dressing, shrimp bisque, medium-rare grilled tenderloin steak, banana fosters spread over grilled peaches-a la hot/cold/sour/sweet combo. Mmmmph..mmmmmph. :P~ Did I ever mention that we also photograph food? So, imagine how beautiful your wedding cake will look.

(Click to view larger images)

I digressed... There are three important pieces to our engagement sessions that we always capture, which you'll notice through the images in this blog.

1. Love - It's about how he looks at her and holds her, how she plays with her hair when she talks to him, how she always laughs when he tells a joke. It is the most basic instinctive raw emotion. Yes, we capture the love and we know where to find it. ;)

2. Fun - The above images tells it all. We have a blast when we go out photographing our couples and by golly, you should too.

3. Art - We play tai chi with nature. We utilize natural sunlight in combination with flash photography to create the most beautiful and natural portraits, with a gorgeous backdrop in nature (see images below). By posing you a certain way in relation to the light, we help you shred 20 lbs without breaking a sweat.

(Click to view larger images)

Engagement photography collection for us is to reach through the camera lens, pulling in the couple’s shared happiness, and recording that for them to remember.

Of course, the greatest fun with the engagement shoots is my collaboration with the couples themselves. They give me new ideas all the time. These collections of pictures reflect the freshness of relationships before the weddings, before the kids, before the mortgages. They are keepsakes as meaningful as wedding albums.

- Michael Soo