As summer came to a close, Jacob and Shelby planned their engagement session. Whenever I begin the engagement session planning, I like to leave it up to the couple first in case there is a place that is special to them. The session took place on Shelby’s grandparents’ ground which is a place that has meaning to both Jacob and Shelby as this is a location that they spent one of their first dates together. I love this! Whether it’s family ground or downtown in a city that holds meaning to a couple, I love photographing couples in locations that have meaning to them. It makes the session a little more special. This location was pretty amazing. We had originally planned on a couple of locations, but after spending some time at her grandparents’ property, it quickly became clear that this place was too amazing to leave for someone that might not be quite as good. It had everything from open pastures, a creek, woods, and even some tall grass areas. Even better, it was all in the shade. My favorite! Shade makes things so much better for pictures. They also wanted to use the truck in some of their pictures. Shelby and Jacob are both outdoors people. They love spending time outside enjoying nature and what’s better than hanging out in the bed of a truck… in nature? I’ll answer my own questions, not much. Plus, photographing a vehicle is one of my first subjects I photographed when I learned I had a love of photography. It was usually my car after a fresh wash and wax. Being able to incorporate this style of photography into my sessions today takes me back to my roots and I’m such a fan! Near the end of the session, we did in fact decide to go to a second location to get a pond in the pictures, plus the sun was setting and while her grandparents’ ground was perfect, it was set down lower behind a tree line so we couldn’t really see the sunset. We went out to Ballard Nature Center to capture the sunset and I couldn’t be happier with how the images turned out! I loved working with Jacob and Shelby and cannot wait for their big day!
