Asah Films

Fewer things are more thrilling than getting back film scans from a wedding! The process of slowing down amidst the whirlwind of the day, considering each frame, and then waiting for the images to be developed feels so aligned for the details that couples spend months planning and curating. I love when that is rewarded with snapshots of light, color, and texture that feel somehow richer and more lived-in than a digital photograph. 

Here are a few of my favorites from L&A’s gorgeous day a few weeks ago.

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Before I lived in the Bay Area, I lived in Hong Kong. So when I moved here, Chinatown became my happy place. The dense streets packed with people and produce, the vibrant conversations in Cantonese, and the steam rising from dim sum dishes felt like home. This connection drives my entire approach to photographing couples in Chinatown, a living, layered place full of cinematic texture.

I’m sharing a few of my favorite stops and tips for a session in Chinatown (which you can also find on my blog at asahfilms.com). If this sounds like your kind of date, I would love to help you plan one!

In Lower Haight that afternoon, the wind came up the hill, tugging at everything.

I met T&A at the top of a few flights of wooden stairs, in their art-filled apartment, taking in the view over the city while they finished getting ready. Then we walked. Twice, we passed their neighbors who congratulated them on their engagement. We wandered through the spots that belonged to them, chatting the whole way to Duboce Park, and made it just in time to find the Muni rattling past.

These 90 minutes are the reason I include an engagement session with my couples before their wedding. The day arrives and they already have a friend behind the camera.

If you were on the block that afternoon, you would have caught the start of it. The chats, the laughs, two lovers heading off down a street they have walked a hundred times, toward a beautiful next chapter.

 

Spring at Filoli is worth the wait every year, and E&G’s engagement session is exactly why.

They have me smiling at my screen while I edit, and I just had to share more from their sneak peeks. We were blessed with perfect weather, and the rose garden was bursting (to my absolute delight because I have been waiting so patiently for them to return).

It seemed like everybody and their cousin was out to see the spring blooms too, but there is always a corner of Filoli that one can find and frolic in. The estate has a way of giving you exactly what you need if you know where to look. Filoli keeps earning its place on my shortlist for sessions like this.