I’ve said before how awesome I think it is when a couple (or family) chooses a location for their session that means something to them. When Mary Elizabeth and I set up the time for her and Robert’s engagement session, she mentioned wanting to shoot in a part of town that is special to them. Robert lives nearby and they have spent a lot of their time on this particular stretch of shops and restaurants. As the session grew closer, she began to second guess the decision and asked if there was anywhere I recommended. I could have taken the easy road and suggested the gardens or a popular spot downtown, but I liked the idea of having our session right on top of their stomping grounds. I assured her we would make it work, and I am SO GLAD that we stuck to the plan. I enjoyed hearing the stories of their favorite shops as we walked around town, and their engagement photos are so uniquely them.
We started in front of their favorite little Mexican joint. It was early in the morning and traffic was beginning to pick up. I have to admit I felt a little awkward being out in the middle of the street as people made their way to work, but Mary Elizabeth and Robert didn’t seem to care at all!
They were up for anything, which I love.
Anyone else love some good subtle irony?
These two are super cute together. Mary Elizabeth has the best expressions and such a fun little laugh.
Shooting in the morning was a little strange for me. Besides being 100% NOT a morning person, I wasn’t thinking about the sun working backwards… What I mean is that the sun was barely, barely starting to peek over the top of the building behind them. Normally that means I could hang out here as long as I wanted as the sun continued to set. But within just a minute or two, the sun was in full force behind them, and we were off to a new location. This full series (including what you don’t see here) is one of my favorites.
The best thing about the location they chose was the variety of places to shoot. We went from industrial to homey to alley in a matter of steps. And Mary Elizabeth and Robert adapted seemlessly with each change up.
Oooh — these are more of my favs. I told them that we were getting a shot of her ring without their faces in the shot (which I did!). But then I lied and started secretly shooting the cute faces they were making at each other.
We ended right where we began… in front of their favorite Mexican joint. There is no way we would have gotten a shot like this at some cookie cutter location!
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by Amanda
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