Being new to the professional photography world has been exciting and also terrifying. There is so much to think about leading up to and during the photoshoot that it can feel overwhelming. I have been consuming as much content about posing, lighting, composition, and exposure as I can in order to grow myself as a photographer and also give my clients the best experience possible.
Lori and Kent are my third photoshoot since taking on this new adventure and I genuinely could not have asked for a better couple. They were so much fun, so kind, so patient, and so understanding. They were also an incredible couple and you could absolutely feel the love and friendship they share with one another.
We shot all of their session at the Quemahoning Reservoir in Somerset County, PA. It is an incredibly meaningful place for them as they often go fishing together there and know the area well.
We started off their shoot on a side road where I was able to play with diffused backlighting. I had been doing a bunch of research on the best lighting and this road offered secondary lighting, a natural reflector, and diffused backlighting through the trees.
They were so amazing and walked up and down this road at least a dozen times as we got warmed up and ready for a long and physically demanding shoot.
We then began to walk along the main road surrounding the reservoir trying to find spots with the best lighting. We came across this little field with some intense direct backlighting but I decided to try it out and see if it would make for a dreamy glowing background. I am so grateful we took the time because it turned out to be a beautiful location!
I always want to make my sessions fun for the clients since I am not interested in stiff curated poses and I am more interested in capturing authentic photojournalistic moments. I also want my clients to have a good experience where they can feel comfortable and maybe even have a little fun. With that in mind I took this moment to have them run back and forth together and even play a game of tag. They had a lot of fun and I think it was in this moment they realized their fears of awkward poses and forced smiles melted away.
As we began to walk some more we came across these beautiful bushes with white flowers and I knew we had to stop and incorporate them into the image. I knew I wanted to have them in the foreground since I am obsessed with playing around with composition. I also wanted the images to feel more intimate, as if I was peeking in on them having a quiet moment together.
I did find out the hard way that these beautiful white flowers came with lots of thorns. Thankfully no blood was shed and I was happy to get a little pricked for the sake of the shot!
Since I was unsure of how the direct backlighting images were going to come out I had Lori and Kent running back and forth some more at this beautiful new location we discovered. We did all kinds of variations of running and playing tag. My favorite prompt was asking them to hold hands and pretend like they were running away together at the end of a cheesy romcom. I loved giving the extra context because I truly believe it changes posture and body language.
We then came across one of my favorite locations of the shoot. It was a little parking area with beautiful greenery in the background and a pile of gravel that I definitely climbed up on at one point (and managed to not fall off of).
Here is where we did a prompt that I have done with all three of my clients so far to varying degrees of success. I have them take turns sneaking up on each other and giving surprise hugs, kisses, or whatever they feel comfortable doing. It makes for some fun and genuine photos but there is also the risk of falling over or being choked accidentally so...use with caution.
I also used this location to take one of the two photos that Lori had requested during our intake process. She wanted the pose from the back of Kent's head with her hands around him and a close up of the ring. In this moment I was absolutely standing on a pile of gravel to get a better angle and give her the best version of that pose I could.
With the sun getting lower in the sky I knew we were approaching golden hour and we needed to head back to the reservoir to get some shots beside the water. This was another pose that Lori had requested so I wanted to make sure we made it happen. We found this beautiful location right by the water where the sun was dreamy and warm.
It was time to get in the water and Lori and Kent were amazing. We had to work quickly because it was getting late and there was an employee going around and telling everyone this part of the reservoir was closing down for the night. We were given permission to keep shooting but we didn't want to take too much time out of respect.
Despite rushing we had an absolute blast shooting these images in the water. It was absolutely gorgeous and together they truly made my job easy by this point.
With the sun setting fast it was time for a quick outfit change and we walked to the dock. It was so important to incorporate some fishing poses in for them because it is something they bond over together. By this point several people camping nearby would stop to ask how many fish they had caught and it was so lovely to see this community come together. Unfortunately they weren't actually fishing so they had caught zero fish and at one point a large fish splashed in the water right next to them as if to taunt them.
Lori and Kent were such beautiful people and I am so grateful they reached out and trusted me to take their engagement photos. I am so excited to work with them again in the future and hopefully down the road I will be able to talk about shooting their wedding!
