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

Another Fall Engagement - Julie and Mike

I feel like a giddy little girl every time I drive through the fall leaves!  With Julie and Mike, we started at the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon with the intention of shooting up at the top, by Brighton.  But, being overwhelmed with the beautiful surroundings, I, pulled the car to the side of the road about a dozen times before finally getting to the top!  Everywhere I turned was stunning.  The colors, the light, the water...  Big Cottonwood was perfect for photos!

Julie and Mike were great also.  (And didn't call me crazy when I'd stop for a moment and exclaim "Holy crap!  Look at this beautiful place.  This is Utah!  I get to live here."

 

There are several stages to a photoshoot:

1. The planning.  Choosing a location, a time, a day, etc.

2. The preparation.  Being ready for the location, the weather, and any emergencies that might come up.

3. Taking the pictures.  This is the first step that I get really excited about.  As soon as I have a camera in hand, and we are walking through our location, laughing, playing, and shooting, I am happy.  There is nowhere I'd rather be.

4. Importing and sorting the photos.  I usually pass this job on to my assistant, as it is my least favorite part.  He goes through the 600 or so files, finds the best of the set, and rejects any that are duplicates or out of focus.  That leaves me with about 100 to edit.

5. The editing.  This is my Zen place.  I can practically edit while sleeping.  It's some part of my brain that will work in any situation - even if I'm sick, tired, unhappy, or if I'm double tasking and watching a movie!  Editing takes a long time.  And I enjoy it.

6. Social media and blog.  This is when the excitement from step 3 comes back into play.  I'm remembering the moments, the personalities, and the emotions.  I'm sharing the stories, finding the highlights.  As I am writing this blog post I wanted to share the steps and the process with you.  I am exhausted, but as I sit here and relive the experience of Julie and Mike's shoot, I have a huge smile on my face.  My words may not always be eloquent, but I try to share what is behind the photos too - the heart.

And what amazing people these two are!  My favorite part of my job, once again, is getting to meet and have my life influenced by so many different people.

 

A Wedding With a Style of Their Own

Every wedding is different.  I have said this from the beginning and I will say it again in the future.  They are unique people, with a unique relationship, unique style.  Some couples value tradition, and if that represents their relationship, then wonderful!  Sometimes, a couple will be so much pressure to do "what you're supposed to do" at the wedding that they will have a wedding cake when they don't even like cake.  I applaud Emily and Cody for bringing in such a unique style, I can't help but smile looking through these photos.  

With their two year old daughter :)

 

Emily sewed the majority of the two dresses, I am beyond impressed!

This is at the Train Station in Ogden - The Union Station, where they will be getting married today!

When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall

 

Love is in the air!  As a photographer, there is never a season that makes me more excited than just at the end of summer with the first hint of fall.  The sun is shining and there are speckles of yellows and oranges up in Park City.  A perfect day for an engagement shoot.

I love this sequence below!  No, this is not the photo they would put on their announcement, but these are the photos that show life, relationship - MOMENTS.

 

 

 

And the shoes, of course :)

 

Now, we actually had an audience for the Park City Main Street photos.  A group stood behind me trying to figure out how the lights were working and how we could get a decent photo when it was so dark, and another group cheered when they dipped in the middle.  I think it's always fun - and Geoffrey and Lauren seem to be perfect models, they can handle the paparazzi, the attention - makes my job easy!

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 - 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!

 

Britney and Taylor - Engagements in Park City

Engagement sessions are often my favorite.  There's something fascinating about meeting clients in Park City and getting to know them through the process of the photo session.  I've often gone to dinner with the bride to sign a contract, but we don't really get to know each other (and I've usually never even met the groom) until I pull out the camera.  So, here on Park City main St, I have a record of how I got to know Britney and Taylor.

These two have such contagious smiles, every time I look at this photo, I can't help but smile also!

istockphoto - Family at the Park

One of my highest selling photos on istock is of an adorable red-headed preschooler playing on a playground.  I was thrilled to spend an hour with little Collin and his siblings at Sugarhouse Park to do a second shoot last week!  Such happy happy kids.  And beyond that, I think this session proved to me that winter was over.  An hour at the park with the sun shining down... It's going to be an amazing couple of months!

Here's the best photo from last year:

And here are some of the photos from this recent session:

 

 

  

  

 

Salt Lake Engagement Photos - Kiera & Brandon

  A walk around downtown Salt Lake City with Kiera and Brandon!  I always recommend each couple brings a few outfits, and with each outfit change  I got more and more impressed.  I secretly wish that I could own wearing those pants!  ...and the yellow skirt... and the purple shoes...  But at least Kiera looked amazing in them!

I love how sweetly they were looking at each other here:

And it was a cold day!  Seriously guys, I was wearing a pea coat.  But these two just kept smiling, you can't even tell from the photos.  I keep thinking I should set a soundtrack to each photoshoot I do.  This one would definitely be "I've got my love to keep me warm" by Billie Holiday

 

I want to put this photo in a magazine somewhere.  Or maybe on my wall.  We could do that too!

 

Purple shoes... awesome, right???

I hope these two keep smiling like this for the rest of their lives!  Oh, how I love working with happy people.  And we'll be shooting the wedding in a couple weeks in Los Angeles! California, here we come.