San Francisco Wedding Photographer|Destination Wedding Photographer » Engagement Session

Ocean Beach Engagement Session – Stacey and Travis

genekosoy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:19:51 +0000

One of my favorite spots for engagement sessions in San Francisco is the magnificent Ocean Beach. With the Great Highway running alongside the exquisite expanse of the Pacific Ocean, it is by far one of the most picturesque natural settings in all of San Francisco. Because of its strong current, the waves of Ocean Beach draw local and visiting surfers alike, including our groom, Travis and his fiance, Stacey. Travis is an avid surfer and since Ocean Beach is near their home it was a meaningful and beautiful choice for their engagement shoot. In addition to the awesome shots in the dune grasses, we were able to take advantage of having a Beach Patrol truck nearby and I took some sweet shots of the couple. I really enjoyed this working with this couple, and their love for each other and their beach came through beautifully in these images. Be sure to keep your eyes on the blog for their upcoming wedding photos!

Congratulations Stacey and Travis!

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San Francisco Engagement Session – Tegan and Igor

genekosoy — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:38:30 +0000

I absolutely love San Francisco engagement shoots. New love is a captivating thing and there are so many awesome settings in this city to capture it. Tegan and Igor are really cute couple and it was fantastic to Golden Gate Park as a backdrop for the session. Igor is Russian like me, so we connected easily which contributed to a having a fun and relaxed shoot.

At Golden Gate Park we started at Stow Lake before moving on to the Palace of Fine Arts. After our time in the park, we headed to Baker Beach to capture shots in the shadow of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge. This lovely couple will be marrying next year at the beautiful Temple Emanu-El

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San Francisco Engagement Session Rosi and Eddie

genekosoy — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:05:51 +0000

Another successful engagement session! The shoot I did with Rosi and Eddie was great, and particularly meaningful to me since Eddie is a friend of mine. He is a bartender at a popular San Francisco nightclub where I have photographed frequently in the past, and so we’ve come to know each other well over the years. Being asked by Rosi and Eddie to photograph their engagement session and wedding was such a privilege. It’s always feels good when friends and family trust you with what will surely be one the most important days of their lives.

We held the session at the Fisherman’s Wharf to revisit the scene of Eddie’s proposal to Rosi. We moved into Musée Mécanique, the antique music and arcade machine museum, and captured some unique shots around the vintage machines. In keeping with the retro theme, the couple posed with a classic car from the 60′s. Another fun aspect to the shoot is that Rosi’s maid-of-honor, Irma, was the light-holder for the session!

Congratulations, Rosi & Eddie! Thank you for including me in your celebration!

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San Francisco Engagement Session: Caroline & Steve

genekosoy — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:12:16 +0000

Most of us who have taken public transportation in San Francisco would hardly consider BART to be the setting for a modern day fairy tale. But for Caroline & Steve, a fateful train ride a few years ago led them to each other and to true love! Caroline is an architect and Steve is in PR, so both have a lot of vision. Although it took them a while to warm up at the beginning of the shoot, it wasn’t long before their creative and fun personalities surfaced for me to capture on film.

In this San Francisco-inspired engagement shoot, we ventured throughout the city by foot and BART while I captured the couple in various familiar city settings. We started at the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero, and then moved to 101 California Street with the oversized Christmas baubles. We also took shots on the iconic San Francisco cable cars, and as a tribute to their love story, at the BART station. We ended in the Mission, using the electrifying murals at Sycamore Alley as a backdrop to create a little video you can watch below. I was inspired by the use of stop-motion animation technique and applied the soundtrack to the film Run, Lola, Run. The images from this shoot were created by using a combination of motion blur and off-camera flash techniques combined with a slow shutter.

Another exciting part to this story is that Caroline & Steve chose me as the photographer for their wedding in Chicago in September! They are also having a photo booth from SnapFiesta, a division of Gene Kosoy Photography. I’m really exciting to head to the Windy City and photograph this awesome couple in a new setting.

Congratulations, Caroline & Steve! Thank you for letting me be a part of capturing a piece of your beautiful love story!

Sidenote: We were joined on the shoot by my assistant, Terry, who took some behind-the-scenes photos of me for his class project. You can check out a few of his images of me for his class project…which I am happy to say he aced!

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Joni and Dana’s Engagement Session

genekosoy — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:42:47 +0000

It has been a while since I last posted on my blog, so I need to catch up on all the great shoots and travels I’ve been on, over the past month. This shoot with Dana and Joni took place in late March. They are a great couple, and have an electrifying chemistry between the two of them. The shoot took place a bit after 5pm in downtown San Francisco, with very little sunlight left. I had my lovely assistant, Olya, help me with the lights, which are mandatory for shooting after dark. We strolled down Grant Street, through China Town, to North Beach, coming back to Belden Place. We even managed to make our way into an apartment building in China Town for a cool balcony shot. Unfortunately, the conditions of the fire escape made it dangerous to get outside, so we kept going. We got to photograph underneath one of my favorite art installations in the city, “Language of Birds“, by Brian Goggins and Dorka Keen.

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Kathy and Jeremy Engagement Session – San Francisco

genekosoy — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:26:14 +0000

Had an awesome time with Kathy and Jeremy the other day. They are an awesome couple, that met online. Well more like on an iphone app. Pretty crazy where true love might be hiding, but they definitely hit it big. We had a great time going around the city, visiting the Palace of Fine Arts, Presidio, Embarcadero and The Port of San Francisco. Special thanks to Peter Brandt for doing some stunts for us on his bike. I am lucky to have the opportunity to hang out with great couples on a regular basis. It gives me the opportunity to see their bond first hand, allowing the couple to be more comfortable on the wedding day.

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New York proposal! Sahra and Demetrios

genekosoy — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:02:42 +0000

Last week I flew back to New York to photograph another couple. This was not an ordinary shoot, Demetrios was to propose to his sweetheart, Shara, in the middle of the shoot. He even arranged for a professional saxophonist, Michael Seropyan, to play a song during the proposal. I was excited about the addition of the musician in the scene, since it goes with my ongoing theme of couples pictured with musicians. Sahra had no idea what was going on, thinking this was just a cute couple shoot. I along with my cousin/assistant/interior designer, Jenia Kosoy, were in on the secret and helped Demetrios stay on schedule.

Needless to say, everything went according to plan. We met up at Battery Park in the South of Manhattan. We then took some shots around Sahra’s apartment building, and got busted by security for taking photos in the common areas. We took the train up to Central Park where Michael was waiting for us with his sax on the famous Bow Bridge. It all happened so fast. There were many people on the bridge, and suddenly it felt like Demetrios and Sahra were the only people that mattered. Everyone stopped in their tracks as Demetrios got on one knee, and Michal began to play. Sahra said “Yes!”, everyone clapped and we moved on to continue with the rest of our shoot. Its a beatifull time of year in New York, its somewhat cold, and there is snow on the ground, and the air is crisp. Spring feels like its around the corner. We finished off the shoot with another wardrobe change (total of 3), and headed to Time Square for our final few shots. It was an amazing day, stay tuned for the Sahra and Demetrios’ wedding photos yet to come.

The crew, wrapping up a long day.

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Sheena and William’s Engagement Session

genekosoy — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:02:53 +0000

Had a great shoot with Sheena and William last week. They are high school sweethearts that have been in love since they first met. For this shoot we picked the Mission District in San Francisco for its vibrant street art and urban feel. I haven’t done too many shoots in this neighborhood, and I love the experience of getting to know a new neighborhood from behind the lens. The shoot ended with some great Ethiopian food. After the shoot I got a heart warming email from the couple, here is an excerpt:

“…For our engagement shoot, you took us to the city. It was cold, and we have never been there before. We walked around, and you would stop and see something that my fiance and I didn’t quite see. I look at the photos you have sent us, and it took my breath away. The moment you captured, what you saw, how you saw us! It was far more beautiful than what we thought we were doing. Looking at your photos you made us realize how much we love one another, and how it really shows.” -Sheena and William

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