Rustic & Refined: An Engagement Session

I have been trying to catch up from my back-to-back-to-back photo shoots. I must say that this shoot was pretty exciting! Normally, for an engagement shoot, I have a few styles of how I will shoot these. The first style would be more photojournalistic. For example, I would follow the couple and take photos from an organic standpoint (the event from my perspective mostly un-posed). The other style would be that I would take them to some place where I would pose them and get some stellar images. This shoot happened to be a blend of both. I try to set up a session that is harmonious to their lifestyle and interests, by that I mean if someone loves the ocean I’m not going to take them to the desert. When talking to Jenee, she expressed an interest in shooting something outdoors and more rustic. A note I would like to suggest is to ALWAYS scout their location before they go out. I like to drive places in my area and get a bit lost (just a little) so that I can find new things, places, and areas that I could shoot something worth photographing. We started a little before midday and went for a drive hitting three main locations. Typically I set apart the whole day for any photo shoot because I can’t stand being pressed for time even though i usually don’t use up the entire day! I will have to say my favorite part of the shoot was when we went out to a brook and took some shots that I think really made this particular shoot stand out from anything I’ve ever seen or done. It can be difficult to stay fresh and relevant, but I am always pushing myself to my limits so that continue learning and growing from every shoot. Oh! And I recently got Lightroom 3, which means that I was excited to try out a few new presets and concepts in this shoot!