Talk about surprises. I got home from a long wedding one Saturday night and notice that someone had filled out my contact form from this blog. When I opened the email, I saw that a ‘Gene Higa’ was contacting me for a portrait session in San Francisco.
First thing that came to mind was “Wow, what are the odds that someone has the EXACT same name as the internationally renowned wedding photographer , Gene Higa?” After reading the email further, it WAS really Gene Higa himself that’s contacting me! I was so stoked that I woke Giao up to tell her about it (she wasn’t very happy but got over it after I told her the news)!
For anyone in the wedding industry, Gene needs no introduction. But for everyone else, here’s a quick synopsis:
- One of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World – American Photo Magazine
- One of the Top 5 Photographers in Asia – Marie Claire, China
- The Knot Magazine Best of Northern California 2007, 2008 and 2009
- 2009 Best of Business Award – Small Business Commerce Association
- Gene Higa Photography published several times in Photo District News
To be honest, I thought it was some elaborate prank but when I met Gene for dinner one night, all doubt was gone. We talked about business and personal stuff. To say that he is incredibly generous and easy going is an understatement.
I found out that Braja Mandala (Gene’s beautiful girlfriend) is also a talented photographer based in the San Diego.
Yep, that’s right. I have 2 amazing photographers for clients now. The pressure is on! I love it.
Braja and Gene are dream clients. They were so chill with everything and willing to do anything that was asked. The only requirement for the portrait session that they had was to make sure that I capture the parts of San Francisco that have deep, sentimental meaning to them both. This San Francisco session is one of my top five favorite session ever!
Somehow, 4 hours passed and we ended up at Bakers Beach shooting with the sunset as a backdrop. What an incredible day.
Thank you Braja and Gene for such a wonderful time and opportunity!!
Here are some pix and a slideshow from their session. Enjoy




















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