Behind the Scenes | 2013 Recap

A lot of photographers do this at the end of the year - put up pictures of themselves at work, taken on the job by their assistants. I thought it would be fun to join in this year since I actually have some of those photos - not just to be like everybody else, but because I genuinely enjoy seeing other's behind-the-scenes photos! Most of these pictures will be from weddings, since I don't generally have a second shooter for engagements and portrait sessions.

This year has been the biggest year of growth for me in my photography. I went from shooting my very first wedding last August to shooting 5 weddings this year (plus second/third shooting 2 more), and the most sessions (engagements, portraits, etc.) that I've had to date. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me in my business this year and I'm so excited for what 2014 will bring!

Ready to take on a wedding!

Despite what appearances might suggest, I do know what I'm doing. :-)

The wonderful Abbe Powers, mastermind of the styled shoot, with our lovely "bride" Christie!

And our wonderful team of ladies who pulled it all off so wonderfully!

One of the highlights of the year was assisting/third shooting with the fabulous Jessica Shae (and her second shooter Lauren). Jessica is one of the photographers who has inspired me from the get-go, so it was lovely to work with her in person!

Photo from Lauren's iPhone ;-)

Knowing how to pin boutonnieres is an essential skill all wedding photographers should acquire. Most groomsmen are hopeless at it. This was a prank pulled on me when I pinned Ashton's boutonniere and he pretended I stabbed him in the heart with the pin… I'm easily startled so it was pretty convincing for .75 seconds… ;-) (as you can see, he thought he was hilarious)

"I get to touch the car!!! AHHHH!"

This was probably one of the top 10 best moments of my life. LOL!

Photo credits to Laura LaPrise & Wendy Elise - second shooters extraordinaire!

Sweet | Snowflake Sugar Cookies

You all have met Grace on this blog before… she's the one who makes you drool around here. Whenever she visits she always brings some kind of delicious concoction; and it's never enough to just be delicious. It has to be ridiculously cute into the bargain.

This time around we got a cookie collection, among which are (er… were. After being photographed the devouring began) these adorable snowflake sugar cookies. Almost too cute to eat (emphasis on "almost"). Thanks, Grace!!! :-)

Joseph & Sheri | Engagement

All right folks… get ready for a fairly photo heavy post. :-) I met Joseph & Sheri in Lake Geneva in late October for their engagement photos, and OH my goodness, it was freezing! I don't know if it was literally below 32ºF, but it was that sharp, biting, chill-you-to-the-bone kind of wind - and right on the lakefront too! Since we were there, we decided to just go ahead and do the shoot, not thinking we'd last for a whole hour and a half. Amazingly, we did, though coffee was in order afterward! They were troopers and managed to look fabulous in spite of the fact that they were practically becoming human popsicles! You'd never know it to look at the pictures.

But, since it really wasn't the most fun experience in the world to feel completely numb during your engagement pictures, they asked if I'd mind doing a second engagement shoot for them on a warmer day. Of course I said yes, especially when I heard it involved fire trucks and ambulances… :-)

I loved shooting with these too and I'm excited for their wedding coming up in March!! Enjoy!

One of my favorites!

Love!

Ok, here's where I really felt like a legit photographer. ;-) Joseph is a fireman, so we went to the fire station and they pulled the truck out for us!

That ring… so pretty!!

Next we headed to the rescue base. They are both EMTs and that's how they met! And we got the ambulance out to shoot with! These are my kind of props, people! :-) It's so fun when couples incorporate something that's really them in their shoot!