These two were just all smiles! I can't get over the absolute joy these two share when they are around each other, perfect blissful giddiness. You can FEEL it in the pictures, and imagine how it will be on their wedding day! I can not wait to capture these two exchange their vows.
October - Personal 10
Its October and wedding season is coming to an end, and while it has been one of the most rewarding, tiring, emotional, whirlwind there will be one thing I don't miss; the comparison game. Every Sunday as I uploaded my images onto Instagram, dozens of other photographers did the same, and honestly it has been exhausting. At first I thought it would be inspiring, seeing everyones perfectly crafted couples, but it all started to feel similar. Everyone just racing for the most likes out of their square.
Then I took The Art of the Unexpected through The Define School and it was exactly what I needed. Studying historically influential artists and truly moving art, I was reminded to quit creating for others, wrestle up against tough and challenging artistic concepts, and create something that moves my heart.
And the mood of the fall season has completely enveloped me; moody color palettes, wind blown leaves, and cozy evenings spent sipping warm drinks. Creating impressions of fall has been a breath of fresh air. My grainy picture of coffee cups and house plants may not generate as much attention as a perfectly crafted latte, and maybe these abstract leaf images don't cause you to pause and spend time with them as they do for me. But it doesn't matter, because these images were created from a place where I was free.
Rebecca & Alec | In-home Engagement Session
Perhaps I tend to over-romanticize the simple things. I am recalling a time when Rich said "Jess, sometimes a picture of me brushing my teeth is JUST a picture of me brushing my teeth." But I can't help it! That is what photography does. It freezes a seemingly normal everyday exchange and forces us to experience it slower, with emotion. The nostalgia is built right in.
Rebecca and Alec wanted to ride their bikes around the lake by their house, bring a blanket and seek out some changing leaves. The moment they mentioned staying close to home I pictured a cozy fall evening, hot chocolate and arms wrapped around each other.
Why? Because when Rich's parents chat with us about those first years together, they tell us about the small apartment, being completely poor, covering cardboard boxes with sheets to use as nightstands and spending their last dime on a fancy date night dinner; and you FEEL it. Because my friend Katie didn't clean up all the toys or apologize for a lack of space when I came to visit, but hugged and played and loved on her baby all morning. Because I have a little wooden box on our shelves that I am filling with images from our home, because I already know I will miss our little quirky apartment and the stories we are creating there.
And because Rebecca and Alec don't need to be on a mountaintop to proclaim their love. They love each other right up close, and this session was about the spaces that fills.
