This Sonoma County surprise proposal was captured for Andy and his now fiancé Selena. We captured the proposal on the bluffs above the beach in early May a couple hours before sunset.
We timed the surprise proposal to take advantage of the best light of the day, capturing the heartfelt moment as it happened and engagement photos after until the sun dropped below the horizon.
Surprise Proposal Photos
These Sonoma County surprise proposal photos were captured at Duncan’s Landing overlook 2 hours before sunset. This timing provided good lighting for the proposal and even better light later for their engagement photos.
Engagement Photos at The Beach
Sonoma County engagement photos at the beach I captured for Andy and Selena after he proposed.
Sunset Couple’s Portraits
These sunset couple’s portraits were captured roughly an hour before sunset until the sun dropped below the horizon. This last hour of light is called golden hour and is the best light of the day.
The beautiful thing about timing a session like this is the first hour is great for capturing the authentic proposal and practice in front of the camera. By the second hour, right as the light got nice, most couples look noticeably more comfortable. This is exactly what happened with Andy and Selena.
I tried to capture a healthy mix of what I call plandid (planned candid shots) and posed portraits to capture beautiful memories for them.
Client Review
After I delivered Andy and Selena’s photos, he sent me the following note about what this session meant for them:
“Thank you so much, Jason!! My now Fiancé reached out to you and you were able to help capture all the sweet moments of the surprise proposal! Our photos turned out absolutely amazing!
We’re so happy we had the chance to meet and work with Jason, you’re truly talented at what you do. One thing we can’t stop thinking about is how Jason gave us such a meaningful experience, allowing us the space to be present with each other and share our feelings while capturing it all so beautifully.
He took his time to find the best lighting for us and made sure every shot felt intentional and natural. From the very beginning, his warmth and calm presence made us feel so comfortable. We’ve always been a little nervous in front of the camera, but he immediately put us at ease and really took the time to make sure we felt good throughout the entire experience.
This will always be a core memory for us, not just of our engagement, but of our relationship as a whole.
Jason’s work didn’t just give us stunning photos, it gave us moments we’ll never forget and a foundation that feels so special. We genuinely love every part of what he created for us.
I feel incredibly lucky to have found the perfect photographer.”
– Selena Luong
How We Planned This Proposal
Andy first contacted me after finding my work on Google. He had seen the surprise proposals and engagement photos I’d captured for other couples and got in touch because he wanted to propose to his girlfriend and capture it on camera.
They both enjoy camping and planned to be camping in the Bodega Bay area in the coming weeks. So on a day when they planned to be out, we set the time and location that he would propose.
Using the other sessions I’ve captured at this location as reference, I instructed him to have her face the direction of the sun when he proposed. We planned this intentionally so that the light on her face would be flattering as we captured her reaction.
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More Sonoma County Engagement Sessions
If you enjoyed this Sonoma County surprise proposal, you might also enjoy these other engagement sessions.
