Their romance may have started when Herman was invited to attend an art exhibition where he met Melissa. It makes perfect sense as both are creative artist in their own right. And it also makes perfect sense to start their engagement session at the De Young fine art museum in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Melissa and Herman are so cute together. It would be the first time I get to meet Melissa and Herman but I didn’t have a hard time figuring out which of the park’s many visiting couple simply by the way they walked hand in hand.

We packed our gear light and went inside the museum for some shots before heading outside to explore the park’s grounds. Somehow we managed not to get kicked out while shooting inside the museum. But as we were shooting on the grounds outside the museum entrance, a lady kindly let us know that we are not allow to have professional photography in that area as it was an art exhibit in itself. Ooops and thank you for noticing we were professionals. :)

Loving this wall and sequence inside the museum.

I usually tell my client that Spring is my favorite time to shoot. Everything is buzzing with life anew. The flowering trees are starting to flower and makes for awesome backdrop.

We found this tunnel and set up the remote flash. Because we were trying to keep it on the down low in the museum, I left the Pocket Wizards in the car and toss a couple of the smaller ebay triggers in my pocket instead. We had a difficult time getting the trigger to fire consistently when blocked by Melissa and Herman’s body, but it was worth the hassle as it allow for one of my favorite shot of the day.

The sky was overcast most of the day but the sun did come out for a few minutes to give this scene nice contrast and depth.

Herman did his best to keep Melissa warm when the wind blew, and when Melissa’s feet hurt from walking on heels, Herman carried her instead.

Their outfit match the tones of this house perfectly.

Melissa and Herman – thanks for spending the afternoon with us. We had a blast exploring the museum and location scout in the Mission district. I especially enjoyed the ride to and from the area, including getting lost on the tilted and confusing streets of San Francisco. If I didn’t have to make my flight, it would have been especially cool to just hop out of the car and document that. We can’t wait to experience your wedding day with you two later this year. Until then, enjoy more images in the slideshow below.