Leo Carrillo State Beach Engagement Photography - Malibu, CA | Justina & Ryan

JUSTINA + RYAN

Location: Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu, CA

Date: 09.16.2020

Wedding & Engagement Photographer: Mike Federis Photography

So exciting when you connect with old friends back in the day. Justina is a good friend all the way from high school. Her sister referred me and I didn’t even realize she was engaged. Luckily, she didn’t have a wedding photographer yet. Once I contacted her and chatted about our lives and her upcoming wedding plans, she gave me the green light and it was a go.

We immediately started discussing plans for an engagement session. I always encourage my couples to have an engagement session with me. The engagement session is a great time to meet the couples face to face and get to experience my work flow. In addition, we can also chat about any questions or concerns they may have on the wedding day. Ultimately, this helps the couple become comfortable in front of the camera since I will be with the couple for 6 to 8 hours on a wedding day.

Justina and Ryan actually met at a coffee shop, which is absolutely adorable. I love how coffee connects people together. What is even more interesting, Justina and Ryan lives on a boat at the Oxnard Harbor. This gave me the perfect idea to photograph them on the boat and maybe even take a trip to Channel Islands. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it due to the inclement weather.

We decided to just go with a beach session at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu. This is one of the best engagement locations in Malibu. My top 2 reasons for choosing this location is less crowds and parking availability. Weekends do get busy, but there is usually plenty of parking available on PCH compared to the other Malibu beaches.

Justina and Ryan are so easy to work with, I love their positive attitude and easy going vibes. They were absolutely down for anything. There was a couple times they got splashed by a fairly large waves, but they were so cool about.

Check out their engagement photos below! Thank you again Ryan and Justina, so looking forward to your wedding in 2021.

Leo Carrillo State Beach Engagement Photography | Erika + Christian | Mike Federis Wedding Photography

ERIKA + CHRISTIAN

Location: Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu, CA

Date: 09.16.2020

Wedding & Engagement Photographer: Mike Federis Photography

Erika contacted me just months shy from her wedding because she wanted engagement photos prior to her big day. She recently purchased a home and wanted to fill the house with some photos of her and her soon to be husband Christian. I was more than excited to capture some amazing photos of them at Leo Carrillo State Beach. I recommended this location since it’s one of the most beautiful beaches in North Malibu. Leo Carrillo has a a bit of everything which makes it a great location for engagement sessions. I love the lookout point which provides a great perspective of the seascape of shore. If you want to really be creative and daring, there are some crazy looking cliffs and rock formations at this beach.

Erika and Christian were amazing to work with! They were so easy going and down to earth couple. Even with the unexpected winds and Erika’s hair flying all over the place, she just went with the flow and we were able to capture tons of beautiful photos. They are also both super fit, make sure you scroll down to the last few photos and check out the BONUS pic!

Thank you Erika and Christian for allowing my trusting me to capture your engagement photos!

Yelp Review from Erika: Last minute I decided I wanted engagement pictures after seeing some of Mike's recent shoots.  I Messaged Mike and he responded promptly and we were able to figure out our schedules to make it work.  My fiancé and I had such a fun experience getting our photos taken, didn't feel awkward or weird, and Mike made us feel comfortable in front of the camera.  I received our photos within almost 2 days and was absolutely in love!  Mike did a great job of capturing our "spirit" and I love that it didn't look forced or staged.  I highly recommend Mike and we'll probably use him, if only I booked him for our wedding!