Why should we take engagement photos?

There are many reasons it is important to take engagement photos once you have become engaged. It's one of the best ways to prepare yourself for your wedding day photos, in a more relaxed, fun, setting. As a couple who has never likely been photographed professionally before ( or sometimes not even by anyone else... how many pictures have you taken a photo of  the two by holding the camera over your head?) the engagement session is a valuable tool. And it's the best way for you and I to get to know each other.

Getting to know each other means that during a 1-2hr. photo session, I learn your preferences, how you interact together, your individual personalities,what makes you laugh, and the best way to use that knowledge for fantastic photos. Getting to know each other also means, you get to know me and how I work with you. By the day of the wedding, you will feel way more relaxed around me because you have gotten a chance to know me a bit. And you will have had a "practice run" that will make portraits on wedding day go more smoothly and stress-free

Julie and Luke use their profession as a prop for photos that persoanlize their engagement session.

Have your engagement photos taken at a location that is important, or has some meaning to the two of you. This could be the scene of a first date, where you like to spend time or things you like to do together. I have had clients dress in their favorite team jerseys, the town where they met, a carnival, to the lake.These images will mean more to you.

Luke and Julie are both in the medical profession. So we talked about "wouldn't it be fun" to put them in their scrubs for the first few photos? And it was. This really shows their interests and their personality.

I usually ask people if they prefer a more urban or natural setting if they don't have a specific place in mind. Julie and Luke were both. So we finished the session in and around Frederick with green and street scenes.

Baker Park in Frederick provides beautiful settings to capture your relationship in images.

The other benefit is seeing how you photograph ahead of the wedding date. Then if you see certain poses you like or you dislike of yourself and the two of you together, you can let me know and we can keep that in mind for the wedding day photos. Luke is very tall and Julie is average height. So we spent some time discussing how to bring them closer together in their images. With some clever posing techniques, it was no problem.

Justin's family had a small cabin at Deep Creek Lake where he and fiance Erin enjoyed spending time.
Justin also had many fond memories of the area and we made some images adapted to their fun-loving personalities and the interesting surroundings of the lake.

You gotta love a photo session where you get to ride on a boat!

One of my all time favorite engagement photos!

I told the couple they had broken several records for me. The longest distance travelled to an engagment session, the most clothing changes, and the most unusual places for the photograph. But their session is uniquely theirs and not only garnered good photographs but will become a memory in their life's journey together.

 

I think the most important benefit of having professional images taken of your engagement is that you are able to move and laugh and play... be yourself and have it all captured beautifully. 

 Sean and Amy live in and are getting married in downtown Baltimore. So we made the most of a wonderfully diverse Fell's Point for their session. I can't wait to photograph them on the Inner Harbor for the big day!

Once you have your engagement photos, there are many things you can do with them. They can be given as gifst to friends and family. You can have a small album made or a guest book for your wedding day. Use them for save the date cards, announcements, signature frames and wall portraits for your home. 

With some packages, I create a video slideshow of the images and one couple used that during their wedding to show guests as they had their first dance! 

Whatever you choose to do, get creative, have some fun and let's get to know each other. In the end, you are the ones who win. Knowing and liking your vendors, especially the photographer, is significant in the success of your wedding.

When the food is eaten, the dress is boxed, the flowers are faded, you will have your photographs and your memories. Give them every opportunity to be the best they can be.

The Wedding of Justin and Erin

Just married and ecstatic about it.

Justin and Erin wanted a ceremony like no other and they accomplished just that. From the unique venue for their ceremony, overlooking Carroll Creek, to the reception site at the The Faux School, to the amazing food and "sushi" cake and the serious dancing that followed, this wedding was one of a kind! Congratulations to a couple so obviously in love with each other and with life!

I just love the way Erin was stroking Justin's  hair as they were having their first dance.

My favorite photos are of joy.

A high five from son to mother on the dance floor.

A sweet moment on a pedicab and a beautiful night sky on Carroll Creek just before the storm chased us inside. Thanks to Macfawn's Green Rides.

A video slideshow of their day.

Lexi, High School Senior

In the last couple of years, I have the had the pleasure of photographing my friends' children, as they become high school seniors. It's so amazing to see these incredible people, no longer children, and their unique beauty inside and out. Lexi was no exception. The daughter of one of my dearest and oldest friends, she did a fantastic job finding her inner diva. With her mother Kim at the ready with a reflector or a joke, we had a fun evening and created some beautiful images. Congratulations Lexi!

The wedding of Marianne and Wayne

Wayne and Marianne were married on a hot, hot Friday in July at Stone Manor in Middletown. Despite the record temperatures, the outdoor wedding was lovely! Lots of family, friends and fun. Thank you to the Johnson and Mullinix families for inviting me to capture the big day!

Love this little guy's expression!

Beautiful!

I'm a big fan of joy!

There's a first time for everything and this photo on a bale of hay was one of those firsts!

What I love about Stone Manor, is for every season, we get a different backdrop for photos. I love this one in the vineyard.

This was one of Wayne and Marianne's favorite spots at Stone Manor.

A beautiful end to a beautiful day.

Caroline's first year!

Betsy and Rob were one of my first Maryland wedding clients and Caroline, one of my first baby plan participants. What a joy to see Caroline as she transformed. Little hands, little feet, serious looks and coaxed smiles to a large personality and equally large smiles with it. She just beamed as a bathing beauty and a bubble catcher at her one year session and she is definitely the strongest at standing of any one year old I know!
Thank you Betsy and Rob, for inviting me into your life and introducing me to your daughter. Caroline is so precious and loved.

What a great smile!

Where have I been?

I knew it had been a long time since I posted. but until I got on to update, I didn't realize how long. In the interim, I have photographed many a cute baby, happy families, newly engaged couples and a wedding. I took some really fun images and I will have to post some of those in an update.
    
     I also spent nearly the whole month of July out of town. The first week was work and was dedicated to photographing the fourth in a series of children's book I have been working on with friend and writer, Rebecca Long Chaney. The Chaney series is a look at agriculture through the eyes of her twin 7 year-old daughters, my goddaughters, Rianna and Sheridan.(www.rebeccalongchaney.com to see more about the books) 

     For this fourth book, we decided to leave their farm and show ranch life in Nebraska. We stayed with the Loos family who were wonderful hosts. Not only were they completely comfortable in front of the camera, they took a lot of time and effort to show us their life on a ranch.I think it's going to be a great addition to the series.
    I'm putting up this sneak peek photo of the twins, the Loos girls and my son, Brady heading in to the sunset. I need to keep the rest under wraps until book publication.


 When we were almost finished working on the books, our husbands and friends Heidi and Michael came to join us on the farm and for other parts of our Wild West adventure.Before we left Nebraska we were invited to go "tanking" down the Middle Platte River (I think) Tanking is when you take a water tank used for cattle, put in the plug, add some chairs, drinks, snacks and a good strong branch to push you off of the sandy parts, and float peacefully down the river. Thanks to Linda and Doug Hodorff for hosting our trip.

Returning from our two hour trip tanking down the river.

Cody, Wyoming

We logged many miles traveling through "old west towns, like Cody, Wyoming and Cheyenne and eventually arrived at Yellowstone National Park, which  was our major destination. You know when people say something is "breathtaking?" well, Yellowstone will literally take your breath away. The beauty, the light... it is indescribable. And the wildlife!! We were so fortunate to see all the animals that we did. Some, just for a fleeting moment, like the black wolf that crossed in front of our vehicle. And some, we saw so many of that we became spoiled and began saying, "oh, just another bison." and would drive right by.  No one really wants to look at your vacation photos, although they politely say they do. So I'm only posting a very few of our two week adventure below.

Our first animal sighting before we got into the park, Moose.

Elk.

Searching for the Grizzly Bear and cub way off in the distance.

This photo makes me laugh. In a face off, who do you think would win? This bison is about as large as the SUV.

Coyotes playing along the river.

On our way around a thermal site in the park, we were joined by a herd of bison.

This looks like a landscape from the moon rather part of this earthly thermal area.

Brady, my son, took this one. We had parked here and had dinner with a million dollar view.

A little tussle between bison.

The kids play ball with the Tetons for a backdrop.

We attended a very large PowWow in Wind River, Wyoming. I love this photo for it's joy.  These girls are laughing over the small dog they are carrying and could be teens almost anywhere in this moment. No matter different we are, we are very much the same. 

 

 And finally, with one week break in between, Becky and I traveled to Bozeman, Montana for Cowgirl Yoga Camp with Big Sky Yoga Retreats http://www.bigskyyogaretreats.com/retreats/pages/main.html.
It was an amazing week of yoga and horseback riding and doing yoga on horseback, eating great food, getting in touch with nature and our horses.
We met some amazing women and I was sad to leave at the end of the week. It was an extraordinary experience that I won't soon forget.

Who saved who?

     I swear, I could fill a pillow with the hair shedding off this dog!  This dog, this smelly, hairy, amazing, intuitive, nearly perfect dog! Whenever I freak out about all the hair, I look at his sweet face and know that he is the best thing we have done as a family in a long time.
     Last September, we decided it was time to take the plunge and get a dog. We visited several shelters and viewed the online websites of shelters and rescues for months, looking for the perfect dog... the right fit. My husband found a skinny, stray, black Lab that the Washington County Humane Society had named "Sir Lancelot".
     I have to give a shout out to those folks. They really do their homework on the animals, running them through a series of "tests" so that they can tell you any quirks the animal might have. After walking him and talking with the staff, we all decided he was "the one". Well, my husband and son decided, I was still not completely convinced but, if they liked him, then I was good with it. I was honestly thinking to myself, I could live without a dog for the rest of my life because I'm the one who's going to feed him and walk him and clean up his messes and figure out who he stays with when we go away and worry about staying somewhere too long because I have to go home and let the dog out.
     Well, can I tell you.... I'm in love. We renamed him Boomer and he has been a friend to everyone in the family. He wakes my son in the morning, giving him a tongue bath on his face, the only thing peeking from underneath the covers. He calms my husband, who comes home stressed from work to an excited welcoming, tail wagging, hand licking friend. And the two of them proceed to tug on either side of a frisbee until one wins and my husbands stresses are forgotten. I will frequently find Boomer lounged out next to one of them on the couch or laying on their feet under the table.
    He keeps me company, has given me unconditional love, gets me walking in the morning and makes me laugh. 

Civil War Boomer, dressed in my son's civil war hat.

Sleeping in.

There's always room for one more on the couch.

Fighting for the frisbee.

BFFs

What a pretty boy!

     All those little inconveniences don't mean a thing compared to the friendship and joy he has brought to our lives. We saved him but he saved us as well. 
     I'm giving him a scratch right now.... oh, man, will you look at all this hair on the floor!!!