The truth is, no matter how photogenic or in love or absolutely adorable a couple is, having your picture taken is uncomfortable. And awkward. And truth be told, as a photographer it’s my job to capture photos of you and your Love being you – completely comfortable. Over the past year I’ve struggled with how to create a calm and inviting atmosphere in which the amazing couples I get to work with can simply feel the freedom to be themselves. What I’ve found is that oftentimes the most nerve-racking part of a portrait session is the anticipation leading up to it. From speaking with past couples I’ve learned that outfit selections and session locations tend to cause a lot of unnecessary stress. My challenge? Find a way to show couples what their session could look like in a way that is completely unique and specific to their relationship. Kelsi + Matt’s engagement session was the first time I was able to work with a couple in creating an inspiration board. I knew, from endless Skype sessions of squeals and smiles, that Kelsi was wild about her orange buggy. What’s more is that Matt actually proposed on the hood of the car. I thought the bug would be a great place to start and I asked Kelsi if she would want to include VW in the shoot (to which she again squealed and said yes). I also knew that by getting married Matt + Kelsi would be merging two different countries and cultures. Including both of them in their session would be something meaningful. From here I had a base to start the inspiration board, but what I really needed was input from the couple. I sent out a brief email asking Kelsi and Matt to tell me a few different things that were important to their relationship – places or things they liked, together. When I heard back I was able to put those things together and come up with this…

The purpose of the board isn’t to tell couples what to do, it’s to give them an idea of the direction their session could head. After seeing the board it’s entirely up to the couple to decide on what clothes and props and locations to include. You can see that Kelsi and Matt’s pictures aren’t identical to their inspiration board - and that’s kind of the point! After all of this brainstorming, preparation, and hard work, Kelsi and Matt’s pictures ended up looking like this…

I think for the virgin trial of the inspiration board we did pretty good. And from speaking with Kelsi and Matt they seem to think it went alright as well! I'm excited to incorporate these into all of my upcoming engagement sessions and I can.not.wait to see the results of couples who are completely comfortable and completely them. I think that's something truly beautiful.

Happy Wednesday, Michelle

We finally made a Bucket List. Well, a hypothetical bucket list. One that sits in the back of our minds, asleep, until a long weekend, or an average weekend, or just a few spare minutes come around. The San Diego Zoo has been topping that list since its inauguration and a few weeks back we were finally able to check it off as completed. Hypothetically. Here are a few quick pictures from our Saturday afternoon adventure. My only must-sees were the giraffes and the tigers. And the lions. And the polar bears. But I think we did a pretty good job at seeing, well, everything.