Nestled between the neighborhoods of Presidio Heights and the Marina is the charming storefront studio of photographer Ann Hamilton. Ann shares the studio with her colleague, and oftentimes shooting partner, Gene Higa. Their work, shown on a large flat-screen monitor, is visible through their store window. It happens often that passers-by will stop and watch the show of their fabulous local or destination weddings.

A former newspaper journalist and, later, public relations specialist working for a dot com company, Ann was approached in the spring of 2000 by a reporter from US News & World Report magazine about her experience working for a dot com. It was during that interview that Ann realized her true passion was photography. By the fall of that same year, Ann had shot her first wedding on a bluff overlooking the Mendocino Coast. That was the day, she fondly recalls, that she fell in love with wedding photography.

Looking at her work, you easily detect her passion. Ann's pictures come from the heart, they are honest pictures perceived by an artist's eyes. Her work is simple and natural, and is always beautifully composed. "I shoot full frame, there is hardly any cropping afterward," she told me. Ann also has the natural ability of anticipating a moment. One of my favorite photographs shows a bride in front of a church window. The light of the afternoon sun shines through the stained glass and paints colorful patterns on her veil. "Her work is just so elegant," Gene notes it with admiration. Ann prefers to use natural light as much as possible because of the mood it often conveys. She pays close attention to detail and has a keen sensitivity to people and their emotions. Next to weddings, Ann loves to photograph dogs and babies in her studio, and finds that her relationship with her clients extends well beyond the wedding day.

She made the transition from film to digital in 2003 and has never looked back. Digital allows her artistic freedom and the ability to offer her clients more options. She presents her work in handmade Japanese silk and leather-bound albums, and matted presentation boxes. Custom-designed coffee table books are available, too.

Ann's work has been featured in several books on digital wedding photography and almost all currently popular bridal magazines. Ann's blog shows recent work, and of course, pictures of her little pug dog, Bogie.