I am so so lucky that besides being a mom and blogger, I get the chance to photograph beautiful couples, families, and children on the side. I take on a very limited amount of sessions a year, and when Kyle and Amanda contacted me, I knew their pictures would be beautiful because they are a stunning couple. I was even more excited when Amanda was willing to spontaneously jump into a canoe in a strangers backyard in her wedding dress for some beautiful, romantic lake shots. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves of the gorgeous couple, and read more at the bottom about getting the most out of any photoshoot location.
I wanted to share this wedding not only because of the beautiful pictures but also to show that you don’t need an amazing location to get great pictures. Kyle and Amanda had asked me to get some quick shots of them and the bridesmaids and groomsmen before their reception (they had been married a few weeks earlier and already had pictures from the wedding, this was a hometown reception). We planned on just taking them at the reception location due to time constraints, but the lighting was really bad and you couldn’t see the lake. When I saw the hammock in a nearby backyard, I knew we had to use it. Simply knocking on the people’s door, and we then had permission to use their entire backyard, including the canoe. I’ve always wanted to shoot a couple in a canoe, so this was a dream come true for me, especially because Amanda was so willing to get in, even with the chance her dress might get wet!
We spent over an hour just in these nice peoples backyard. It was not amazingly landscaped, and most of the leaves had already fallen, but with good angles, you can get great pictures anywhere. If there’s a bad background, get closer to your subject, like in the hammock pictures. The hammock made for some really fun, relaxed pictures of the bridesmaids, and beautiful, cozy pictures of the bride and groom. We grabbed the mason jar cups and blanket from the reception hall, which adds interest and depth to the photographs as well, props are great in moderation. The canoe was the best prop of all though, I love how romantic it all seems.
Have you ever gotten to a photoshoot and the location was terrible? What did you do?
Leave a Reply