Engagement sessions have always been a fun experience for us.   It’s a great way to start the relationship with our couples with camera in hand.  It’s one thing to have great conversations in the studio about wedding plans and photography, but it’s something entirely different once the shutter starts to click.  So, it’s our job to help ease that transition, keep things light, and get the laughter going.  In the end, what we hope for is natural smiles, funny moments, and a great set of images.  For Alex and Paul, we’d had a great time in planning and talking about the wedding, but Alex was decidedly nervous about the idea of being photographed.  If I’d handed her the camera and asked her to photograph me and Paul, I’m pretty sure she would have taken me up on it.  But, as we moved our way through the shoot, indeed the laughter started and we had a blast.  But, enough chatting…

Sitting here watching the cold wind roll in to town and the wet ground slowly dry makes it hard to remember that we actually had a little springtime last week.  VCU in the Final Four certainly blunts the depression over the temperatures a bit, and so does looking at these pictures of Shannon and Zach.  I want everyone to send Shannon a little love (blog remarks or happy thoughts…either are fine), because she was so sure her nervousness about being in front of the camera would show through.  I think you’ll agree she did just fine 🙂  (You were OK, too, Zach)

Enjoy!

Washington, D.C. is easily one of my favorite cities in the world.  For such a busy and crowded city, I’m always amazed by how little I feel hurried when I’m walking through it mid-day.  Also, it has some of the best architecture and public spaces you can find without a flight across the Atlantic.  So, when Jenny called to ask if I’d like to photograph their engagement session there I was thrilled.  From Eastern Market to Adams-Morgan and everything in-between, I could shoot for 2 days straight and not run out of backgrounds and fun things to interact with.  The three of us had a blast and I even found a new angle to the Capitol I’d never quite seen.  Definitely a good day.  Enjoy!

Ahh, spring in Richmond.  The weather is so lovely and predictable that we decided to have two sessions!  Rain throughout our first session kept things inside and to the side quite a bit.  While we still had fun with umbrellas and puddles, we thought it would be best to come back and do a little sunny side-session.  So, a few weeks later we moved from Shockoe Bottom over to the river and the Tredegar Iron Works.  Tommy and Kathleen were such good sports and a bunch of fun to be around.  Can’t wait for your wedding in October, you two!  Enjoy.

The first problem with shooting an engagement session in Manhattan is deciding which places, among the thousands, you should spend your time.  The second problem is when you have a couple as fun as these two it’s hard to not want to take them to all of them.  Leah, Dimitri and I literally spent the day together wandering through the city.  Lunch at Aubergine in Woodside, Queens (great chili, better coffee) kicked things off with stops in Grand Central, Bryant Park, and through the southern stretch of Central Park.  At last, we ended up back across the river with a great nighttime view of Midtown.  Can’t wait to see these two back in Richmond this summer for their wedding celebration.  Enjoy.

Kristen and Travis joined me for a Sunday morning engagement session in downtown Richmond where there’s just no shortage of great places to walk and enjoy the views.  So, the spring weather decided to hold off a little longer than expected, but the sunshine did make an appearance to heat things up a bit.  These two braved the chilly winds and managed to keep warm smiles and laughter flowing while we traveled past the flood wall and through the tobacco lofts of Richmond’s River District.  Enjoy!

Ok…finally!  First post of the new year and it’s already late January.  Who gets the slack award?  (all fingers pointing squarely at me).

Let’s kick it off with a snow session here in Richmond.  Jamie and Chris came down from Manhattan and decided to spend a not-as-cold-as-you’d-think snowy Sunday with us to get an engagement session in.  Alas, they’re jetting off to Napa Valley for their wedding day so there won’t be any follow up wedding pictures (no jealousy there, Jamie.  Seriously.  None at all.)  Good luck in everything you two and can’t wait to see you again when you’re back on the better coast 🙂

The mountains of VA are, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth.  So, you can imagine how thrilled we were when Tom and Amy invited us out to Lexington, VA to be a part of their wedding weekend at the House Mountain Inn.  The Alphin family farm was destination #1 for a great little rehearsal dinner (interrupted by a last-minute engagement session!).  Day 2 brought us back to the Inn for a mountain wedding that was simply a joy to be a part of.  Thank you, Amy and Tom.  Everyone, enjoy!

I love discovering new locations when it comes to sessions, so it was a pleasant surprise when Audra and Ryan suggested two locations I hadn’t photographed before:  the Douglas Baird House and the Fulton Gas Works.  They were engaged at the former and the latter is just, by repuation, a very cool Richmond historical spot.  You can see the Baird house is a neat little location, right next to the famous Beauregard’s with some neat little nooks and crannies within a short walk.  Fulton Gas Works…well that proved to be a very cool historical spot surrounded by “No Trespassing” signs 🙂  Not wanting to end the session with a ticket from Richmond’s finest, we went around the corner to the old ship lock…very cool indeed and worthy replacement.  All in all, a pretty cool adventure (and Audra and Ryan were fantastic…but you can see that).  Enjoy!

Brad and Melissa decided to return to the site of the proposal for their engagement session; the fountain lake at Richmond’s Byrd Park.  Being a proud resident of the park, I was more than happy to oblige them.  But first, we had a little fun in-studio before heading out in to the very sunny afternoon.  Thanks for a fun session, you two!