Carly & Justin // Stanford Couples Session

I met Carly & Justin in Arizona about a year and a half ago, and knew they were special from the start. They have an energy together that I’ve rarely experienced—one of calmness, radiance, and warmth. You seriously start to smile more & feel good just being around these two.

I kept in touch with Carly over the past couple of years & even got to work alongside her at a wedding (she is a dope hair + makeup artist!) When I knew I would be in Palo Alto for a wedding, I immediately reached out to Carly to see if we could get together. “How about a shoot?!” she quickly suggested, and off we went to plan a fun photo session at Stanford, about a mile away from where this beautiful couple lives! We debated doing the shoot on roller blades—Carly & Justin’s #1 hobby is rolling around town—but I realized maybe I should get back into photographing on my LEGS before I add WHEELS.

When I arrived at Justin & Carly’s abode, I was not surprised to find dozens of small crystal balls hanging in their living room windows, creating RAINBOWS cast on all the walls. These two are as fun & funky as it gets, and I knew our shoot would be a blast.

We had a little picnic dinner & then drove over to the Arizona Garden at Stanford around sunset. For the next hour, we spent time exploring (carefully, lots of prickly things) around the rows of beautiful cacti and succulents, and got lost among the tall trees. Justin & Carly were as natural & effortless as could be in front of the camera, and it was just a total joy to get the opportunity to shoot photos again! Their session was my first in a few months since life shut down due to COVID, and I was giddy to get to spend the evening with them.

I hope to keep up with them and have more fun shoots like this in the future, or MAYBE one day photograph their real-life wedding!