Amanda and Cole came in knowing one thing: they wanted to have fun. No specific vision, no mood board, no list of shots. Just two people and their dog in the Presidio in March, when the eucalyptus trees are doing exactly what eucalyptus trees do and the light through the canopy is genuinely something.

That kind of ease is rarer than people think. Some couples who say they want to be natural get stiff the moment the camera comes up. Amanda and Cole did not. I would ask them to do something and they would do it in this completely unguarded, loose way that made me want to keep shooting.

The dog helped. It always does. An animal in the frame reminds everyone that nobody is performing.