An LA love story: Ben & Rob’s engagement shoot.

The happy energy jumping through Ben and Rob’s downtown Los Angeles engagement session is contagious!

Featured in Love Inc Mag., Ben and Rob’s styled engagement photo shoot in Downtown Los Angeles showcases the couple’s outgoing and whimsical personalities while exploring some of the city’s iconic institutions, local cuisine, and art. This fun-loving couple enjoyed adventuring through the city they fell in love with AND fell in love with each other in. LA has a piece of their hearts and is woven into the fabric of their forever love story. Full of colorful quirkiness, this shoot has love, food, and plenty of costume changes. It’s truly an LA love story!

We started our session on a ride at the iconic Angels Flight Railway. This landmark and petite (2ft 6in narrow gauge) funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles opened in 1901 and was used as a mode of transportation for business people working in DTLA.

From there, over to Grand Central Market to enjoy the delicious eats, sights, and sounds that the market has to offer. This DTLA emporium has been hosting prepared food vendors, butchers, produce stalls, florists, and promoting local businesses since 1917. If you have never been, it’s time to check it out! Because of the couple’s love of the arts and theatre, the next stop was The Walt Disney concert hall, designed by Frank Gehry, followed by wall murals by local artists, and then finishing out the evening with some sunset shots overlooking the city of angels.

While it was hard to narrow down our favorite shots from this shoot captured by Peterson Design & Photography, because they were ALL so amazing, we loved how Rob and Ben were relaxed, playful, and totally themselves from start to finish. They weren’t trying to be too serious or formal, but rather, just enjoying spending time together doing some of their favorite things while exploring the city. Here is to more engaged couple’s being less precious and delicate about their engagement shoots and having more fun (and food!).

Eat your heart out.

Pro tip: Don’t forget to take some individual headshots during your engagement sessions as well. While untraditional, Rob and Ben’s LinkedIn profile photos just got way more fabulous!

So often, couples are under the impression their engagement photos have to be serious or reflect a perfectly polished version of themselves. Not true! As you can see from this joyous gallery, being yourself, letting your guard down, and enjoying your engagement photo experience are what help the camera capture the essence of who you are as a couple. I encourage more couples to think outside the box and push the pressure of “being perfect” aside so that the realness of your love can shine through. Hair, makeup, and some expert planning never hurt either.