Photographing with Andrew and Dyana over at Lands End in San Francisco was such a moody and beautiful treat. Across town it was sunny and warm, but over in the city near the coast, it was overcast and downright chilly. Dru used to be my desk-mate way back in the day at an ad agency in Seattle. And by chance we all moved to San Francisco close to the same time and I got super lucky and they trusted me to shoot their engagement photos and their wedding (in wine country, omg). Now, they’ve put down Bay Area roots and brought little Grey into the world. He just turned 2 and he was running around like a lightning bolt during our entire session. As any parent with a toddler knows, getting them to be still for a millisecond is not a thing. For me, a non-parent, it is an entertaining challenge to be presented with to say the least. How do you capture moments when the moment is streaking past you at the speed of light? Or worse, refusing to come near you at all. Thankfully, there are tricks and lots of them. Trick #1, bring a diversion (or twelve) in the form of bubbles and toys or anything that will hold their attention for even a fraction of a second (shutter speeds y’all, that’s all you need). Trick #2, have incredible and chill parents that know letting their kid loose in a park will keep him the most happy. Trick #3, high fives and flowers forever. There’s no simpler way I’ve found to get a little one to engage with you than to have them pick a flower for you or give you a high five. It works 99.9% of the time! I can’t express how fun it is to watch friends go through life phases and to be alongside to help capture the memories just makes me one of the luckiest peeps around. Thank you amazing Lovold family. Love you guys.