Serenbe Couples Photography Session – Kristy + Sam!
You might remember my blog post from when I covered the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure event in Atlanta. Kristy had hired me to be there to document the day and it was the first time I met her, as well as her boyfriend Sam. He was driving safety routes that day and I had the pleasure of riding along with him and hanging my camera out the passenger window to document the riders in action.
They wanted to make photographs for their holiday card, which ended up becoming a New Year’s card.
Our first date got rained out and so we ended up meeting at Serenbe farms shortly before Christmas on a frigidly cold day.
These two were fantastic.
They didn’t complain about the cold or the fact that I was heavily bundled up for winter while they wore clothes perfect for a warm fall day.
There were so many phenomenal places around Serenbe within a short walking distance of their farmhouse that made for THE most excellent backdrops for these two.
There was even sun out, which was a truly rare occurrence for Atlanta in the month of December.
We were continually walking and stopping. Tying up the puppies and then bringing them back in with Kristy + Sam to ensure we’d have a great variety of photographs with and without these cuties.
LOVED this location right next to the little pond!
We found this spot with the grass still growing wild and tall. I was glad they brought along blankets not just to wrap up in, but also to sit on because the ground was still a bit wet.
We had the kissing conversation that I have with all of my couples. There is how we kiss our partners in real life. And then there is a kiss for in front of the camera so it’s not this awkward looking pucker-up smooch. I am hopeful that this knowledge will change many weddings days for my people with romantic kissing photographs.
Graeme and Zoie were so good at looking at the camera!
And I loved the tall pine trees surrounding us in this field.
Kristy had ideas about photographs she wanted us to make together. I LOVE when my people come with ideas and their session is a true collaboration of ideas to make the moments photographs they will cherish for a lifetime!
Some ideas worked fabulously, like running through the fields with the puppies and catching the sun just right.
And others, like romantically twirling your sweetheart around to make her dress flare out and be all girly…
Requires careful hand placement and dress holding to make sure we maintain modesty and no one gets flashed.
These two. They were constantly laughing. Throughout this session.
And for the most part, I was photographing them while they paid attention to each and forgot about me to the point they worried I didn’t have many photographs of them looking at the camera.
I think we got an excellent mixture of candid and camera-aware photographs.
Kristy bought a new candy cane shaped toy for Graeme specifically for their session with the intent of making this photograph.
We ended where we started, at the end of a tree lined path.
And then I saw this spot with the long, low wall and the big trees and a spot in the middle and I begged and pleaded and said, “I know you’re so incredibly cold, but I would love if you guys came over here with the puppies for one more.”
And in photographer terms, one more means two. Or ten. And sometimes fifty more. Because when the location is so fantastic and the light is shining gorgeously and the puppies are behaving, it becomes a physical need of a photographer to make more photographs.
In this case, I kept it under ten. My people were freezing and I was cold just looking at them knowing they needed more layers. But they were professionals in front of my camera and were intent on making these photographs together. And they managed to do it without red noses. Who can do that when the thermometer reads in the 30s, but the windchill puts it in the low 20s? These two can.
Well done, you two. I think you have super powers when it comes to staying warm, taking care of others in need, and making everyone around you feel valued.
And while Graeme was a sweet spaz of a boy, Zoie was on point.