Bailey and Tanner Engagements

I don't remember the last time I worked with such a happy, playful, beautiful couple.  They say (whoever "they" is) that smiles are contagious.  I wholeheartedly agree - authentic smiles are contagious.  :)  How could you not smile looking at these two?

 

We started at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon, then worked our way past Sundance and through the Alpine Loop.  One of my all-time favorite places during the fall season.   If you have the chance, the Alpine Loop is even better by motorcycle!

To cheese or not to cheese?  I spent many years of my life trying to be sophisticated, mature, and avoiding cheesy at all costs.  But the older I get, the more I smile when people embrace the cheesy, sappy, silly, playful, ridiculous part of life and relationships.  It's fun.  So, with that in mind, we had to throw the leaves in the air.

 

That's all, folks!

Click here to see more of Bailey and Tanner's engagements

Engagements: Natalie and Steven

Another Engagement session!  Yes, 'tis the season of Spring love.

I like to tell the engaged couple that our session is just "supervised flirting" and they are responsible for being playful and making each other laugh.   Natalie and Steven were quite cute with it. They flirted and played all throughout City Creek and the Gallivan Center downtown.  And it was a beautiful, beautiful day.

 

  

Going through so many engagement sessions this month, we plan to announce a special tomorrow!  Keep your eyes open, we will have an 80% discount for engagement sessions scheduled for the week of May 18!  Only those 7 days.  We will have lots of playful photos, and we are excited for this whirlwind week.  Check back tomorrow for details :)

And congratulations Natalie and Steven!

Engagements - Downtown Salt Lake

I had a lot of fun working with Kenzie and Alex.  It was the evening after our most recent bridal show, so an extremely long day.  We were sleep deprived and completely drained of energy from talking to people all day.  But what an INCREDIBLE day!  Then Kenzie and Alex show up with these beautiful smiling faces and all the energy came back!  It was a whirlwind hour full of enthusiasm, we just ran around downtown (started at the Capitol  and ended at the Gallivan Center).

 

One of my favorite things about shooting downtown is that it's no problem if we go past sunset!  There are plenty of other lights to play with.  We bring off camera flashes, of course, but it's the lights in the background that make the night photos interesting.

Click here to check out more of Kenzie and Alex's engagement photos

Engagements - Becca and Todd

Engagements at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and surrounding areas.  Becca and Todd were delightful - they were dancing and laughing... made me smile throughout the whole session.  If we can all be happy, photoshoots are fun!  It doesn't even feel like work.

 

Here's a fun story:  These two met online (rather common for many of the couples I come across these days!) and there first date was ... wait for it ... to the DMV.  They renewed their licenses together at the start of the relationship.  I think that's kind of adorable!

 

2013 Comes to a Close... Weddings in Review

  The clock struck midnight and everyone cheered, kissed, danced, hugged...  My phone buzzed with messages of gratitude,  messages of well wishes for future, and  messages of love, friendship, reflection.  I had a few moments to sit and reflect as well.  While there's nothing particularly different about the moment of midnight December 31st than any other moment, I still like to join everyone in reflection - what made this year great?  Another 365 days of life.  What do I want next year to be like?   Reflections and Resolutions.   I am grateful for 2013, for the challenges, the growth, the learning, and the many people who have impacted my life.  I've photographed some beautiful moments and worked with many beautiful, loving people.  That's why I like to photograph weddings:  There's very little more rewarding than seeing the way a bride and groom look at each other, recognizing TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES.  I believe this is true every day, but I love capturing the moments when people are so aware of it.  It's inspiring.

As I stated at the beginning of the year, we were only going to accept 10 weddings in 2013.   We aren't keeping the same limit for 2014, but I'm glad we did this.  We stayed true to the limit, though I did take a few photos at my older brother's wedding (I couldn't help myself!).  That was a special day.  Such a unique, emotional experience!  Sometimes I think it's easier to hide behind the camera so no one knows how sentimental I am - They might not be able to see the tears that way :)

Here's my brother and his wife, Nathan and Liz: Ceremony and reception at South Padre Beach, Texas

I want to thank each couple for contributing to my year.  Thank you for inviting me to be there to witness and capture such monumental moments in your lives.  I feel incredibly humbled and grateful that my job includes opportunities like this.  Here's a photo-review of each wedding day in celebration of you!

1. Mattie and Carston

Ceremony: Bountiful Utah LDS Temple

Reception: Wight House, Bountiful UT

 

 

2. Kiera and Brandon - Los Angeles California LDS Temple

 

3. Michelle and Sam - Salt Lake City LDS Temple

 

4. Kathryn and Merrick - Timpanogos LDS Temple

 

5. Britney and Taylor

Ceremony: Salt Lake City LDS Temple

Luncheon: Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Reception: Huntington Beach, California

 

6. Jordyn and Colton

Ceremony: Timpanogos LDS Temple

Reception: Sleepy Ridge Reception Center (Orem, UT)

 

 

7. Sarah and Brady  -   Ceremony and Reception: Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

 

 

And yes!! They had a life-sized Jenga game :):):)

8. Alexis and Bret - Ceremony and Reception at Noah's Reception Center

  

9. Melissa and Nathan - Ceremony and Reception at the Alpine Arts Center, Utah

 

 

10. Angela and James

Ceremony: Salt Lake City Temple

Reception: Bella Vista Reception Center

 

Thank you all for a wonderful year.  Congratulations at this exciting stage of life!  We are looking forward to the future and welcoming in 2014.  As a good friend of mine said, "A book of 365 blank pages starts today.  What are you going to create each day... each moment?"

Happy New Year to all!

1000 Stock Photos Downloaded!!

  Today is a day for celebration :)

I have been an istockphoto contributor since November 2011 and yesterday, my 1000th photo was downloaded!

The 1000th image purchased happens to be one of my most popular, and coincidentally it's also a wedding-themed photo.

Also, I will be looking for istock models each week for variety of shoots.  You will get a free 8x10 if you want to participate, please leave a comment here or email me at whitneylewisphotography@gmail.com and I will put you on the list!!

  We're excited to see what the next 2 years for stock photography will bring.

Lexi & Brett Formals

Lexi is one of the most incredible people I know.  And she's worked as an assistant for me this summer, so it was extra exciting to do the photoshoots of her and her wonder Brett :).  This was one crazy day, though, because the weather acted up last minute and we had to change our plans for location.  There was a 10 minute break without rain, so luckily we got a few beautiful outdoor photos too!

 

I always encourage my clients to add something to their shoot to make it more personal.  Lexi brought the most beautiful "something" possible - her little daughter.  The three of them interact together had some really precious moments.  *Spoiler alert* - little Lindy actually joined them for their first dance at the wedding reception.  So sweet.

 

 

 

 

I don't remember what the story behind this last photo was - maybe "my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, Whitney!" - but I love it!

Temple Square Formals - Katherine & Shane

 

 

 

Lexi & Brett Engagements

  There are not words to express what it was like to do the wedding photos for this couple.  Lexi is a dear friend, an amazing person, a super-mom, and I couldn't be happier to see her with Brett, who is an equally outstanding human!  And the personality of Lexi's little girl... well, it doesn't get more adorable than her.  I'll let the photos do the talking now: