My approach to engagement sessions is pretty simple: create an environment that feels so relaxed that couples forget I’m there and just act like they’re on a date! Mark and Tegen had so much fun cuddling and enjoying this “almost-alone” time, at one point Tegen looked at me and asked “do all couples kiss this much?” I laughed and said it does happen quite a bit! I try not to prompt kissing anymore unless the couple is a little more shy, then I might suggest it once or twice, but I really want people to be authentic in front of my lens, so I mostly just let people be themselves and capture that.
We did this session at Nuremberg Gardens on Lake Minnetonka. I had only photographed there once before, and I found it to be a very inspiring location! The evening light was just beautiful. I feel like I fall in love with the beauty of Minnesota more and more every year.
Here’s what Tegen said about our session:
“Hi Shelley – this is so exciting, we love the way the photos turned out! Nice job!!! I really like the one’s in front of the pink flowers and the ones under the wooden trellis . I can’t wait to see what you do for our wedding!”
Me either! :)
Photographer’s Note: When shooting backlit portraits like the one above, I expose for the faces. Most of the time, I underexpose their faces just a little and then lighten them up in my post-processing. The goal when shooting is to get the most out of my raw files, so that may mean that the image doesn’t come out the camera perfectly exposed, but with the most information to work with to create the final image I have in mind.
