Marisa + Marc’s Torrey Pines California engagement session!

This beautiful SoCal engagement session was all about freezing a moment in time. Marc and Marisa needed some engagement photos to celebrate their upcoming marriage. But another big reason they booked their photos when they did is that they are about to move from San Diego back to New York.

Because of this, Marisa and Marc wanted to use their engagement session to commemorate their time living in SoCal. I hope these photos from their Torrey Pines California engagement session will help them cherish the memories they made here. This photoshoot will let them keep a little piece of San Diego with them even as they move back and get married in New York.

I was in town visiting my sister for a few days while I worked on this and two other SoCal couple sessions. My session with Sofia and Seth at Laguna Beach was my first time shooting at that location, but I’d had my eye on it for a while. Likewise, this session location was new to me. However, unlike Laguna Beach, I hadn’t heard of Torrey Pines before Marc and Marisa told me about it. So, I brought my sister along and scouted it out before the session.

This coastal nature reserve is really beautiful. The ocean views from atop the big cliffs along the coastline are stunning. There are ways you can get down to the beach, too. But driving down there for this shoot would have risked losing the prettiest light of the day. So, to make the most of Marc and Marisa’s Torrey Pines California engagement session, we decided to stay up top for the whole shoot.

These two each chose two outfits for their session. We started with one look during golden hour, then they changed, and we finished the session. The orange dress that Marisa began the shoot in worked perfectly with the golden light of sunset. Then, Marc’s blue jeans and white T really complimented the ocean background at the end.

This Torrey Pines California engagement session was a little extra fun because we included Nala, Marisa and Marc’s sweet pup! These two were super smart about bringing their pet. A couple of friends came along to watch Nala when she wasn’t in front of the camera. So, we got all the fun of taking photos with the couple’s adorable dog without the pressure to keep her safe or entertained while we got the rest of Marc and Marisa’s photos.

Marc, Marisa, and Nala were great subjects, and I loved the playful, authentic photos we captured just after the sunset. Those photos in the blue, glowy light were some of my favorite images of the whole shoot. All in all, this Torrey Pines California couple session was a pleasure to work on!