Another sunrise session! Have I mentioned how much I ADORE families and couples that are open to catching that early morning golden hour? After seeing images from one of my other morning sessions, Alex actually requested a morning session, and I was totally game!
This session was actually a two-part session, including Billy and his sons to start, and then just Alex & Billy for the second half. We started by photographing the boys so that we could get it knocked out while they were cooperative, and then we sent them to go play with their tablets so they didn't have to watch all the lovey-dovey couples stuff. For the sake of this blog, I am going to focus just on the sweetheart session, which I absolutely ADORED (but I assure you, it is not for lack of the father/son portion turning out, because they are super cute as well!)
For this sweetheart session, we began with your traditional "stand next to each other and smile at the camera", because believe it or not, I have had one session where I was so caught up in the cute interaction stuff I totally forgot to do that part. *whoops*. So, now we always get that out of the way at the beginning, and it allow us all to get comfortable with one another and shake off the stiffness that can come with portrait sessions! But, the reality is, that's not what you came here to see, and nor is it what they came to me for either. The magic is all in the interaction.
We took full advantage of the sun coming up and peeking through the trees, and I captured a few of them walking and holding hands. I loved the light leaks coming in the right side of the lens and it felt like it added a little magic to their pictures.
P.S. that is just one of the reasons why I think I will always prefer outdoor sessions. I did YEARS of studio photography--in fact, that is how my photography career began, yet I always find myself back outside enjoying the everchanging conditions and the beauty that you can only find outdoors in nature. There is something really special about capturing you interacting with your surroundings, exploring with your family, and the peace and serenity that comes with it...even if you have to work around the weather at times. Plus the GLOW....now that's something you really can't fake!
While they were walking, I had them stop and take a minute to dance a little, because how can you not slow dance when you have a big open field all to yourself?
After that, it was onto a few of them sitting together, just for some variety in poses. Capturing their genuine loving looks at one another made this photographer's heart *sing*
Then, back to standing to finish out their session. I already had SO many good ones, but I wasn't quite ready to send them on their way yet. I told him to grab her face and slowly bring her in for a kiss. And Billy (and the sun) did NOT disappoint. The first images I shot looked like they had too much sun flare when I looked on the back of the camera, so I redid them in a slightly different spot, but once I looked at them on my computer I realized the first ones were truly MAGICAL.
Sure, they may not be "technically" perfect, but that's the beauty of art. It doesn't have to be! To be honest, I think this made for my favorite image of the entire session. But, I am still glad I did a few more, just to get it right technically!
Then, we wrapped up our session by playing a game of what I like to call "Slingshot". They ran side by side and tried to launch the other ahead. It created such a playful interaction and I just love the results.
And to think the couples portion of this session took less than 10 minutes total (no joke, I just looked at the time stamps to verify). All this to say, you really don't need hours and hours to capture a good variety of poses/looks and to tell the story of your relationship.
It really only takes a few minutes to capture memories that will last a life time. So, what are you waiting for?
XOXO,
Delaney