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.

 

Spring Engagements - Maria and Todd

As a photographer, I have a rule about wedding days - I am not allowed to go to sleep until every photo from the day is imported and organized on my computer.  So, here I am at 4:30 am with a smile on my face, importing 150 GB of photos from an amazing wedding day!  Maria and Todd were married today in Wanship, a beautiful little hidden community tucked away in the canyon just past Park City.  I was in heaven.  A wedding day with an incredibly picturesque landscape, filled with Swedish food, dancing around the maypole, and drinking song!   So many photos, I'm excited to go through them!

For now, here's a few highlights from Maria & Todd's engagements this spring.  These two were so sweet, I love how Maria never stops smiling!

 

We did the photos up Provo canyon, in the Alpine loop - Sundance, Aspen Grove, Timpanogos Trailhead, and wherever we could find to stop on the side of the road!

 

Congratulations to Maria & Todd!

Downtown Salt Lake Engagements - Jordyn & Colton

 

This photo with the blue wall looked AMAZING printed on metal!  I feel like they should be fashion models here...  Adorable :)

 

City Creek was a really fun environment to shoot!  There was a cute old security guard who insisted we needed to stick around an extra 15 minutes because there was going to be FIRE coming out of the fountain.  (you can see in the photo above that it wasn't that exciting...  but it made me smile!)

This photo above is one of my favorites because I feel like I caught Jordyn and Colton on a date, not just a photoshoot.  Like they happened to be enjoying the atmosphere around City Creek, and they look like they were having fun.  I like to tell my clients that engagement photos are just supervised flirting.  Yes, I will give some direction, but mostly if you can just make each other laugh and enjoy the evening, everyone will be happier! I love seeing moments like these :)

 

I think this is the first engagement shoot I've ever done with a videographer there, but I've got to tell you - I would trust Chris McClain with my life.  Or my camera.  Or photos... Something like that!  It was wonderful to work as a team, his energy was so encouraging and positive.  Some photographers have horror stories about the video guy getting in the way, but in all the times I've worked with Chris, he's been amazing.

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!

Diamonds are this girl's best friend

I love being a photographer.  I get to meet new people, hear their stories, and find a way to best portray their personalities through the photos.  It's a challenge, and it's always something new.  

When planning engagement ideas with Danica, she had no doubt in her mind that we'd need some on a baseball diamond.  Both she and her fiance are devout followers of this American game.  Ryan said "think of the most baseball obsessed guy you've ever met, then think of the biggest Red Sox fan.  Combine those two and you've got me."

So on the shoot, I was searching for ways to perfectly show this part of their relationship.  And I got it.  Literally screamed for joy when I got this photo.  Between the sky, the lights, their pose... it was perfect.  So I had to share right away!  You can look forward to a post with the rest of their photos next week.

BreAnn & Joseph- Engagements in Utah County

BreAnn and Joseph are getting married in Washington DC, but they are both out here in Utah going to school.  We shot their engagement photos around in and around American Fork, and had a great time.

I was really excited with some of the results that we got using some variations on the lighting setup we do.  Lighting can make for such an awesome, dynamic element in the photo, and can really help create that super romantic mood.

I loved the interaction between these two.  In every photo, you can totally see the sweetness Joseph shows BreAnn and just how comfortable their relationship is.  Take a look at their full gallery here.

Tara and Chris Pt 2

As promised, here are some of the finished set from Tara and Chris' engagement session in Park City. I love working with these two- they both are so sweet and are happy to do whatever it takes to get the photo. Even if it means wading through a hip-deep snow drift to get to the fence! :)