And the Award of Best Actress goes to....

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you had to put on the performance of a lifetime to be a sneaky little ninja, and get what you wanted? I think we all have... like when you were eight years old sneaking a lollipop that was hidden in the pencil drawer only to get caught. And than, out of desperation not to get into trouble, try to lie your socks off just to realize that your moral compass points North-West and you just don't have it in you to be deceiving. (please tell me I'm not the only one.) Well I had to do it again; only this time I lied for a "good" reason, and I did NOT get caught....and yes, there is a lollipop in this story too.

This story involves a lovely couple name Jesse and Vanessa, and the setting was in Pismo Beach, CA; right next to the pier.

Jesse contacted me early February 2020, to ask if I could capture the moment he proposes to his girlfriend.... so I figured I could do this one of two ways. I could hide under some near-by seaweed like a sniper under a gillie suit, or I could do it the more efficient (and less smelly) way, which was to pretend I was a heavier version of Naomi Watts and go for the best actress award. So Jesse an I came up with a plan and on February 22nd we got to put it into action.

Jesse and Vanessa were staying at a nearby hotel that was located on the beach, and he planned a night out on the town. Their plan was to go for a walk on the beach into the town of Pismo where they were going to have a nice dinner at the Oyster Loft which was recommended by a "friend" (me), because the steaks literally melt in your mouth and the oyster shooters are really good! (Unlike other places that buy the wrong type of oysters which only taste like salty sea-snot. ( I won't name any names.))

I waited by the pier for them to get near-by and began walking their direction; my plan was to walk by them, and than stop them and ask for a "huge favor", but as I was walking by, Jesse beat me to the punch and asked,"Are you a local?" I said yes, and he began asking me to help solve a dilemma he and his girlfriend were having about whether the posts of the pier were metal or wood before they remodeled it.. (For those who don't know, the answer is wood) We than start chatting about where they were from, and if they've been to Pismo before (which I already knew the answers to. So had to act clueless, thankfully years of training helped me with this....just kidding...kind of) Than I ask them for that "huge favor". I tell them that I was supposed to have an engagement session that day but they canceled at the last minute because of fear of rain, I than ask if they would be willing to model for me quickly so that I could use their images for my social media, and in return I would give them their images for free.

Thankfully Vanessa agreed to it saying it would be fun. And we began our photo session. We started with some simple poses under the pier;

and worked our way out to the receding surf, to create a "special pose I've been wanting to do for a while." So I had Vanessa walk towards me wile Jesse stayed behind.

I than tell her to continue facing the same direction as I go to the side, and on the count of 5 he would turn and run to Jesse who would "sweep her off of her feet." I had instructed Jesse confidentially to actually spin her around the first time just in case my settings on my camera weren't correct. (this practice run would allow me to capture the real moment perfectly) But Jesse was afraid of the ring falling out of his pocket; so what was supposed to be a graceful spin, turned into a humerus crash.

We try this again, this time Jesse is really ready to sweep Vanessa off of her feet.

(For those who are still wondering, "where does the lollipop come in?" This is it.)

He proposed with a ring pop!! Now before you get judgmental, Jesse and Vanessa watched a movie a few years ago, where someone was proposed to with a ring pop, and Vanessa swooned over the idea. So HUGE props to Jesse who recreated this for Vanessa. And Vanessa of course said "yes" and loved her ring pop.

Than of course he gave Vanessa her real ring......and safely tucked the ring pop back into the box for safe keeping (the ring pop was cherry flavored, her favorite.)

How adorable is this proposal?! Congratulations Jesse and Vanessa! An thank you for asking me to capture this; it is in my top 5 favorite photo sessions ever!!!