“I love you without any notion of what love is or what loves means to love, but it comes easy as easy as breath.” – Atticus

Happy Saturday, friends! Today I am so excited to share with you our first engagement session of 2022. Usually, we only kick off our engagement sessions during the Spring; however, sometimes, we have to adjust to the busyness of the life of our clients. Winter engagement sessions are tricky where we’re located on the East Coast. Is it cold?…yes! Is it snowy? Sometimes…but rarely. This definitely leads to some challenges to work around as a photographer. We’re obviously are always searching for the most incredible locations when we location scout. Locations that coincide with the vision our clients have for their personalized experience.

Still, ones that won’t overshadow our beautiful couples…however, the lighting also has to be right. All our clients know what a light diva I tend to be; however, they love it. They know and trust that I won’t put them into a lighting situation that won’t do them justice. Whether it’s making sure there aren’t any unruly shadows on the face or for our blonde clients – making sure that the light is soft enough that it won’t blend their hair into the light too much that just completely blows them out. Does this mean we only shoot in during the “golden hour”? Absolutely not. It is absolutely possible to get beautiful lighting outside of that golden timeframe. Do we work with hazy light? Yes! However, we use it very strategically when we feel it is appropriate for the location, the couple, the pose, etc. The type of location we look for (at this time of year) when there is no snow present is architecture and any kind of green we can find. With these two foundations in our minds, we’re able to curate the location opportunities for our clients during their sessions. We stray away from empty trees & dead grass. This works for us and our style; other photography styles work great with bare trees setting; it’s just not for us.

Natalie & TC have an extraordinary connection to the Star Barn in Elizabethtown as her father was one of the stonemasons who worked on restoring this historic venue. As Natalie explained to me the amount of detail that each and every person involved in this project had, the term stone mason didn’t really seem to apply anymore….they appeared more like artisans in this regard. Natalie explained to me that her father and the team worked diligently to ensure that each stone was placed approximately in the exact same location it was placed upon the original build….can your mind even process this?! I’m incredibly detail-oriented and meticulous; however, this seemed even over the top for me. However, I have even more respect for the restoration of The Star Barn now, hearing that story. You can’t hear that and not recognize that dedication. It makes perfect sense that Natalie & TC chose this historic venue for their wedding.

Natalie & TC, thank you so much for bearing the chill for your session! I had the best time exploring the nooks and crannies of this significant place. I’m so excited for the Spring when we get together again to do more scouting when the leaves have filled in and, of course, to serve you on your wedding day. Thank you for your trust and a fantastic evening at The Star Barn. xx – April