Love, Your Photographer | Advice

This is my first "Love, Your Photographer" post. The purpose behind these posts is to share with my clients things that might be helpful, for their wedding day or engagement session.  

Today we are talking about light! And why it should be important to you! 
 

Hands down I look for amazing light over the background. I can shoot with a tight crop, and a wide open aperture and make even a parking lot look soft and romantic. But bad light is bad light, and its hard to change that. 

Instead, I plan my sessions around the time of the day that will give me the best light, so I don't have to compromise on location or light. 

The best time of day tends to be an hour before sunrise and 1-2 hours before sunset. 

Why does this matter to you? I'm a natural light photographer. I adore soft, glowy, romantic light. It wraps around you in the most magical way. 

When we are picking the time to start our shoot, this is my biggest focus! If a day doesn't work for you to get there to allow maximum golden light shooting, I recommend we pick a better day. I  have yet to have a client say they don't want to shoot during golden hour! Its just so perfect! 

When planning your wedding timeline, consult with your photographer. That way we can help you maximize the best photos, at the right time and flow with the rest of your day. 

But my wedding is mid-day and not a cloud in the sky! 
Fear not! There are many ways to combat the harshness of direct sunlight during the day. I often look for open shade. Maybe from buildings, or trees (not right under them or you will look very green), or position you in such a way that the sun is behind you and I'm exposing for shadows. 

Of course this does depend on the time of year, and if it's cloudy out! Fear not, cloudy its a good thing too! It acts like a soft box. Gentle diffuse light. No bad angles, or shadows! I still get gorgeous photos on a cloudy day, in a totally different way. 

The most important thing to remember is its about you two. Your love for one another. That will come through regardless of the light situation! (But pretty light never hurt anyone!) 

Below are some of my favorite light soaked photos! 

Love, 
Your Photographer

A+M | Portrait Session

Do you see the family resemblance? All my siblings and I look very much alike (so much so that if you haven't seen us in years, you still know we must be related-strong genes I suppose).  Abby was on the blog a few weeks ago, and now it's Amanda's turn. Abby and Amanda used to be asked all the time if they were twins (close in age, and those strong family genes) but now I really think it's Amanda and I who look most alike. (We all are mismatched-I have dark hair and skin coloring like Abby, but facial features similar to Amanda. Abby and Mike have similar facial features but Amanda and Mike are the same coloring) 
OKAY-THAT WAS WAY TOO LONG WINDED. I got sidetracked. I write like I speak (my English teachers in school used to hate that, not formal enough) I DIGRESS AGAIN. 

SO. With much less explaining, Amanda and her sweetie are on the blog this beautiful summer morning! We took pictures at The Shrine of St. Anthony. The grounds of this Friary are beautiful. (So much so that we had hoped to have our wedding ceremony here, but alas they don't do weddings. Womp). It's easy to see why they wanted their pictures there. 
Fun was had by all. And the pictures, well I think you can tell these two are each other's lobster (Friends, anyone??). Also-the last picture showcases their personalities quite well. Mike just scooped Amanda up and I started snapping away. Not exactly art, but it was totally them.