Dan & Leslie - Engaged

Well, this past shoot was definitely a learning experience for me. I have never shot a couple in the city before; it's always been in some kind of woods and nature setting. So I was very excited for the challenge! But while I was there, I was so frustrated with myself--there were so many exciting spots around me, but for some reason I wasn't quite capturing what I knew could be there. Dan and Leslie were wonderful and very patient with me, but I couldn't figure out what my problem was. Last night I came home and was doing my regular sweep through my favorite photography blogs and came across this great post all about using line in your photographs on Katelyn James' blog. Suddenly it hit me! In a city setting where lines (good ones and bad ones) are literally everywhere, I'd completely forgotten about this! It was like a lightbulb moment. And the humiliating thing is, it's not like I didn't know this before--"leading lines" is one of the first things you learn about at places like photography camp or yearbook class. But I had gotten so caught up in finding cute poses and "pretty spots" that I'd forgotten the basics. When I look back through this shoot, I can see the complete disregard for the lines all around me! Photography is humbling work.

So, all that to say, don't be surprised if some posts come soon from my experiments with lines. :)

Thanks Katelyn for the great post! And thanks Dan and Leslie for managing to be completely adorable despite my issues. Enjoy this sweet engagement shoot! (Fun fact: Dan and Leslie are high school sweethearts who dated all through college--at separate colleges! You only have to spend about 5 minutes with them to see what good friends they are and what a great married couple they will make.)









I loved how comfortable they were with each other...I would be changing lenses or testing light and saying "Ok, just give me a sec," but they didn't even notice. They were busy talking and laughing away. Which is just fine with me, because lots of times secretly I really was taking pictures of them. Teehee. :)

















We got classy and took some pictures by The Jefferson...I kept expecting us to get kicked off the property. Well, at least me. Leslie and Dan were pulling off the rich look pretty well.





Bling!











Fierce.




Dan and Leslie, thanks for a fun time. :)