Post Elopement Reception
Today I decided to peruse my blog and then I realized – Oh! MY! Am I ever behind in my session blogging! I will try my hardest to catch up, give a few tidbits, and stay up with the sessions from now on! I solemnly pinky swear!
One of my very good friends decided to elope to a tropical island and get married. She is a very special lady with a heart of gold. We met in one of my soirees in education. The adventure we took together was cosmetology. Oddly enough this is where I learned that I had quite a natural talent and didn’t need another degree under my belt to take photos. So she and I stood next to each other wrapping perm rods, braiding hair, and cutting split ends while laughing, telling stories, and keeping sane. Cosmetology is not for the weak of heart I tell you. When I left cosmetology after a few months we still kept in touch and hung out. She was one of the three people in the hospital room when I gave birth to my daughter (heart of gold I tell you – I had no family within a 6 hour drive – she did a great job as stand in family). God bless her soul, she may never want to have children after that!
So back to the reception. Only the closest of close family members were invited. I truly think this idea is so very special and cool. I was not on this list, but I was right on the list to go to their post elopement reception (which didn’t hurt my feelings in the least, I was happy to be on the second list). They even asked me to come and photograph the reception. The idea was to capture family photos, document the day, and sneak in a bridal session before. Sweet!
I showed up at the family farm a few hours before the reception was to start. My friends were about ready to go. He was cool as a cucumber and she beautiful as I’ve ever seen her. They led me to a hidden pond where they thought I could get some good shots. I wasn’t too keen on the pond as it was 2pm and in direct sunlight. If you are not a photographer, take note – this can be some of the fussiest light to work with. This is where creativity and experience are helpful. I immediately looked for the nearest shaded areas. We took a few images under a tree to ease the two in front of the camera just in time for a golf cart full of relatives to come a ogle/haggle my friends from the background. They did a wonderful job of trying to ignore/embrace our onlookers. I took a few in a shade of treeline by the pond and then I found a beautiful willow tree to shoot under. This is one of my all-time favorite trees to shoot under/in front of. The texture of the branches combined with the nearly weightlessness of the leaves makes for very romantic and moving images. To their surprise I asked them to stand in what looked to be a farm truck path. The lighting was right and I just loved the ruts from years of being driven over and the trees arching around it. I wish for a driveway like this one day (I’d also like many outhouses all made of different materials, but handcrafted in the early 1900’s with a gorgeous house full of character and modernized for a great kitchen – not too much to ask right?). Sometimes the best images are taken in the most unexpected areas. The key to picking a portrait location is light. The direction, how strong, how harsh, or how amazing. When using the same location for multiple shoots, I may not be able to use the same spot twice as the light moves, changes, and can make every session unique.
After taking a few images for her grandpa we went to the reception, which was small, quaint, and lovely. They entertained me with eating cake and a first dance. We snuck outside to get family portraits. Back inside to talk. It was a great night. Thank you my awesome friends.
