Los Angeles
From the moment I met Koye, I got really excited to photograph their wedding. Koye has a vibrant, artistic personality, and Mitch is a quieter teddy bear. Listening to them speak about their wedding photography, their venue, and their relationship, I was reminded of why I’ve grown to love wedding photography.
I love doing engagement photography for cute couples. And the thing about my idea of a cute couple is that you don’t have to be particularly attractive, young, or thin in order to be a cute couple. To be a cute couple, you have to be in love. You look at each other with that little mix of adoration and let everything else (including my presence) slip away. Be willing to look stupid and try funny things because some lady with a camera told you to. Giggle, tickle, and be ready to tell your significant other what they mean.
The thing about photos is that they don’t say a lot about the person’s soul. Their inner being. Because although this girl is beautiful on the outside, her soul is amazing. Although this started out being a hike with a friend, I have a thing for photographing redheads. So I brought an epic skirt and made her run around in the foothills at sunset in it. The varied scenery had so much to offer, and the gentle undulations of the hills are a fashion photographer’s dream.
I love photographing simple weddings. It’s one reason I still offer budget photography packages in Los Angeles. It’s a lot less pressure and sometimes you get to meet amazing, adorable couples like Brenna and Matt. These two tied the knot at Alpine Ponds Event Center. I’d never photographed there before and it’s a beautiful, unassuming location outside of Eagle. Well, it’s 2am and I’m exhausted, so going to sleep now. 🙂
So it seems like I met these two ages ago. We went on a grand adventure taking beautiful engagement photos in the mountains, and then met periodically until their wedding, which was last weekend. These two are so beautiful together. They obviously love each other so much and were ready to be married. Everyone was amazing at the wedding and we got family photos done in record time. It was beautiful.
So I’ve known this beautiful soul since we were kids. In an attempt to be a semi-normal friend, we decided to hang out. But in typical Mercy fashion, I wanted to photograph her. There’s something special about adventuring with someone and taking their photo. You get to see different sides of them. It gives you something to do and talk about as you wander around and re-acquaint yourselves with each other.
So this year, I was determined to get a few sessions when the orchards were in full bloom. Most people think of these gorgeous pink blossoms as cherry blossoms, but these are actually peaches. They’re pink now, then they turn purple and the leaves start to grow. This cute couple contacted me and soon revealed that they had just been engaged and were looking for engagement photography in the Boise area. Immediately thinking of the orchard blossoms, we booked and agreed to meet at Hell’s Canyon Winery out near Caldwell. I grew up in that area and knew the area was in full bloom. The weather cooperated (despite threatening rain all day) and the photos turned out amazing!
Everyone wants to wear cowgirl boots. Nobody wants to wake up at 6am to break the ice on the trough. I love capturing daily life in photography. In a way, it’s a form of unique family photos. More accurate photos. I love giving people memories that they can look back on later and see, “oh yeah! Life was like that!” It gives us perspective, and helps us remember how far we’ve come. That’s why it’s been on my list for awhile to go out and capture morning chores with my big sister, Faith. She and I have always been close. We were the teammates who conquered the outside chores. She was just a little over a year older than me, and we had similar interests in many ways.
Today’s guest post is from a very cool wedding planner, Anna. She runs Fancy That Event Planning out of Boise. I’ve done wedding photography for her events before, and she always does her best to work within parameters to put together the best wedding she can plan.
Normally during a wedding there’s time set aside to take posed “looking-at-the-camera” family and bridal party photos. While bridal party photos are usually really straight-forward, family photos can be an organizing mess. So here are a few things we can do ahead of time to make picture time go fast on your wedding day!
