Proposal Photo Silhouette

Austin & Mikayla | San Diego Proposal Photography

Of all the proposals I’ve photographed, this one ranked right up there with the most nerve-wracking but also the most exciting!

First of all, Austin is a special person in our family, and I’ve known him since WAY before he was born and was actually at the hospital when he WAS born. When he asked me to show up last night on the beach when he proposed to Mikayla, I was up for it!

He sent me a map, so I felt like I was good. I could definitely find them with a map, I thought, and I would be there right on schedule. I was early. I made videos of the sky and my progress across the sand and sent them to his mom and grandma. And my mom and dad. Okay, and my sister. And our other friend. Anyway.

Finally, it was time for me to find them, and they were nowhere.

Honestly, I was sweating it! I walked from lifeguard tower to lifeguard tower, checking out all the cute couples, and NOTHING. I started wondering if Austin had grown a beard or something . . . worrying I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him! Eventually he emailed me (because we didn’t think to exchange text numbers) and said, “We’re by a big ditch.” I recalled passing a ditch, so I headed back that way, and lo and behold . . . there they were.

I stumbled upon them and did my very best acting job of being surprised to see them there. I also lied and pretended to have a brand new lens that I was just testing out. Without a subject, you know. On the beach at sunset. Hm.

I took some starter photos like this:

Austin kisses Mikayla on the cheek as they embrace on a San Diego beach

Then I said (wink, wink), “Austin, do you have any poses you’d like to do?”

He did not.

Turns out the ring was not on his person and was hiding in a bag on the towel they had been sitting on. I guess he didn’t expect me to make them stand up and model.

I figured this out and had them sit back down on the towel for some “looking out to sea” images. When I was certain Austin had what he needed, we stood back up and I took pictures of Mikayla by herself for a bit.

That’s when things got serious.

Man and woman stand facing each other on San Diego beach with city skyline visible
Man proposes to woman by kneeling in shallow water on a San Diego beach at sunset
Austin kneels in the sand proposing to Mikayla, who reacts with emotion and surprise
Austin proposes to Mikayla on one knee, looking up at her on the San Diego beach
Mikayla gazes at her engagement ring while Austin watches on the San Diego beach
Austin and Mikayla embrace closely on the San Diego beach during their proposal
Couple posing during engagement photo session on San Diego beach at golden hour
Austin lifts Mikayla in the air on the San Diego beach with city skyline behind them
Austin and Mikayla embrace and kiss on the San Diego beach with city views in background
Close-up of Mikayla's hands holding the engagement ring with Austin's blue shirt visible
Mikayla hugs Austin from behind, her engagement ring glowing in the golden sunset light
Detail of Mikayla's hands as she hugs Austin during sunset engagement photos on the beach
Silhouette of man kneeling to propose to woman on wet sand with golden light reflection
Austin lifts Mikayla in the shallow water at sunset on a San Diego beach
Austin swings Mikayla around on the wet sand with San Diego skyline visible behind
Mikayla spins with her legs up in the air on the sandy San Diego beach at sunset
Austin and Mikayla hold hands on the wet sand, their reflections visible on San Diego beach
Austin and Mikayla press foreheads together during a tender moment on the San Diego beach
Mikayla touches Austin's face while they hug at sunset on the San Diego beach
Mikayla and Austin share an intimate moment with their foreheads together on the beach
Austin and Mikayla stand together on wet sand during golden hour on a San Diego beach
Austin and Mikayla kiss on the wet sand with golden sunset light on the San Diego beach
Couple silhouetted against dramatic sunset sky during proposal on San Diego beach

And that’s it! From our first image to the very last one before we all headed out to Miguel’s for chips and white sauce, NINE MINUTES elapsed. Turns out it’s pretty easy to photograph a proposal when the sky and tides are perfect and your subjects are in love. Congratulations Austin & Mikayla!! I’m so excited for you both!!

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