Every now and again, you just gotta step out of your comfort zone.
It's no secret that I don't often photograph couples.
It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm pretty comfortable in the "kids and family" realm where everything is silly, and fun-loving, and farts are still common topics of conversation.
Having a brood of my own babies has made me really familiar photographing within that genre. Baby butts, tiny hands, goofy expressions: It just seems to fit for me.
I've yet to breach the realm of serious wedding photography. It's intimidating, really. Couples put up a lot of money to have you photograph their special day. Brides spend hours pouring over photographer websites to land on "the one" that fits their dream aesthetic. There's a whole lot of pressure and expectation involved. And then there's the posing of couples and how to effortlessly capture intimate, once-in-a-lifetime moments without making it awkward. EEK! Just a lot.
So I've just happily nestled into photographing babies and mamas and families.
But in recent months, I got a special request to photograph a pretty special couple.
See, one of my cousins is a very talented photographer himself. His portfolio spans a variety of genres but he's particularly well known in the Pittsburgh wedding scene (www.coreytaylorphotography.com...check him out!). To top it off, his lovely fiancee ALSO works in the wedding industry as an event planner. So to say they've seen some gorgeous wedding and engagement photography would be an understatement.
Corey approached me this past winter about photographing their engagement session and upcoming wedding. While I was SUPER excited (and honored) to be asked, I was also equally as nervous (I've literally been googling "couples posing ideas" for months now...).
We met for their engagement session on a hot and sunny 87-degree day at a sweet little field spot with a little bit of everything: Buttercups and lush grasses and winding roads and glowy sunsets. Corey and Shannon were literally the BEST couple. They willingly tried out all of my posing prompts; they laughed and joked through the session with me, and they never batted an eye as I ran them up and down hills, all over God's great creation (in the heat...and bugs...and slugs!) to chase the sun.
And our session? I think it turned out pretty great!
Just a perfect reminder that sometimes it's a good idea to stretch your abilities and try something new now and again!
To be continued: November 2024...
