It’s been a cold winter, but I have a Morro Bay beach engagement session near San Luis Obispo that will warm you right up. The passion and the love between Ivana and Kyle just makes you want to run through the ocean at sunset, to twirl on the dunes, to roll in the sand and to sing love songs. They didn’t need much encouragement for the engagement poses because the chemistry is right there already and they were so much fun. I usually give my couples quite a lot of direction during their engagement session but for these to all I had to say, is look at each other and the love story just unfolded.
We began this outdoor engagement session at the Los Osos Oaks Reserve, which is a gorgeous little forest hidden away in Los Osos that nobody really knows about except locals. It’s almost like a dream walking in with the huge trees full of moss and the quietness, the soft light flickering through the leaves- it looks like something right out of a 1980’s fantasy movie. I love it because it’s unique, it’s incredibly romantic and it definitely has fairytale vibes. It’s so perfect for an engagement session with unique beauty.
They really wanted to bring their super cute puppy along for the first part of their session and so we had a great time getting a few photos with their little babe before we got into the session too much further. I absolutely love it when people bring their dogs because I’m a huge animal person and how cute is this guy! There are quite a few locations around the Central Coast that are dog friendly and you’re always welcome to bring your furry family member along.
The Los Osos oaks is a really special place that not a whole lot of people go to and so it’s a great place to just snuggle up and explore and find all the little nooks and crannies and little beautiful spots in the trees where two lovebirds can steal a kiss and enjoy the gorgeous ambience. I loved the gold necklace and cute cream sweater dress that Ivana wore with her adorable ankle boots and Kyle looked really handsome and his green corduroy pants and black sweater.
After that we headed over to Morro Bay for the beach part of their engagement pics, which is also where I live and it’s my outdoor studio and playground. The Morro Bay Rock is an iconic location for us Central Coast locals and it’s really unbeatable in terms of sunsets if you know how to get there at the right time and at the right spot. Over the years as an engagement photographer in San Luis Obispo I’ve carefully scouted out all the best places, and how to get just the right photo with the Morro Bay “Three Stacks and The Rock” in the sunset perfectly.
Whenever I shoot engagement sessions, I like to picture scenes out of movies in my head. I like to channel that kind of energy and passion. It helps me to work with my couples and use prompts and encouragement to get them into the right zone. Now to be honest Ivana was a dancer, and really didn’t need that much help in terms of movement, but I do think that I have a knack at encouraging couples to forget that I am there and just enjoy the time together and fall in love all over again. Maybe it’s that I take couples to such beautiful engagement session locations or maybe it’s just some thing about sunset, but my couples seem to have no problem stepping into the moment of incredible romance with me as a third wheel.
We had such beautiful weather on this day, and it just looked incredibly cinematic and dreamy, with Ivana being dipped down like a scene out of the notebook on the top of the dunes for a romantic beach engagement photo. They’re such a fun couple, so free spirited, and so open to taking direction and just really enjoying each other and this beautiful day- we had so much fun running through the waves, and exploring the gorgeous nature of the Central Coast.
If you’re interested in talking about your own ideas for an engagement session here in San Luis Obispo, I would love to talk to you- just reach out right here! I have some amazing ideas for beach engagement sessions that I want to do this year and I can’t wait to get going on them so hit me up today and we can start talking about your amazing best engagement session ideas ever.
Santa Barbara based wedding photographer and videographer.
Leana Myra combines a narrative style with a film aesthetic, preserving genuine emotions and connections in stunning imagery that tells each couple's unique love story.