Category: Couples

Raleigh Engagement Photographer: Becky+Jake

Becky and Jake originally weren’t going to do an engagement session, but I am super glad they changed their minds. :) They are a ton of fun and one of those couples that love and appreciate photography (Jake does some photo work himself!). They were all game and didn’t give me any weird looks when I requested strange things of them, and Jake, in turn, requested a few shots in the Kudzu jungle of Raleigh. Becky works at NC State doing sciencey stuff, and Jake works at IBM doing computer stuff (clearly I am not in a computer or science related field)! They’re going to be married at CAM next year, and their wedding pictures there will be stellar. You’re allowed to shoot inside CAM, which is pretty cool seeing as how we couldn’t shoot inside Artspace for our wedding. But since they’re allowed to take pictures inside there, we did a lot of their engagement photos around CAM in the warehouse district where it’s pretty industrial and funky. We were all set to do photos outside with our 30% chance of rain, which then became “30% chance of rain; rain stopping at 3pm”, which then became “70% chance of rain the entire evening” which translated to “it rained the entire time and was super dark and overcast.” It didn’t pour though, so we toughed it out! And to accompany us through the remainder of the session was Hobbit… whose breed is “crusty old Labrador” according to Becky, and who is adorable but totally not interested in me. “Hey Hobbit”s and “Pssst, Hobbit”s just made him look further away. He wore his little bandanna with pride and was the cutest crusty old Lab I’ve ever seen. :)

Raleigh Engagement Photographer: Keena+Dink

Keena and Dink are a great couple whom I had the pleasure of meeting through the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. They are super into downtown Raleigh and both live and work there. As Keena told me, “It’s our whole world.” There were a few specific places Keena and Dink wanted to go, and they toted me around in their car to them. :) They wanted to go to the places that they usually frequent in order to get a sense in the pictures of their happy lives that they live downtown. They’re a huge fan of the local restaurants and the Boylan Bridge Brewpub, so we went up there toward the end so I could photograph them inside one of their favorite places. :) Dink is a bankruptcy lawyer and Keena is in legal marketing. They both conveniently work in the same building! They’re having a small ceremony downtown in May, and then they’re heading to Las Vegas with family and friends to celebrate with another ceremony (but no Elvis). ;) Enjoy!

Raleigh Engagement Photographer: Kelsey+Drew

Let this be an incredible example of how having the super giggles in your picture can work in your favor. Whether you’re nervous, cold, had a few shots before the session, or just plain giggly… it really makes everything better. Trust me – I know that some of the poses we put you in can be awkward, but they’ll only look awkward if you can’t shake off your tenseness… and there’s only so many cheesy jokes I can tell. ;) I also know that it’s awkward having a camera shoved in your face by someone you barely know, but try try try not to take it too seriously. It’s funny! The whole situation is kind of ridiculous. So have the giggles… it makes everything better. :)

Our wonderfully giggly girl here is Kelsey and her sharply dressed guy is Drew. Kelsey is a pediatric nurse at Duke and Drew is in the Navy Reserve. Joining them is their fantasticly happy dog, Miley…goofy and wonderful as can be. Interesting location story! Kelsey and Drew like baseball. They wanted to do their session at the Durham Bulls stadium, but the owners typically don’t let you do full sessions there or allow you to go on the field unless you have an insider. So we tried the old Durham Bulls stadium, but they were having practice that night, and then an event. So I’d been e-mailing Kelsey and Drew back and forth… and thinking… and we weren’t sure about what to do. Conveniently, Geoff had a baseball game that I attended a week or so later. He’s the catcher for the Wake Blue Sox… an adult team in the area. Where’s the game? Oh, just some guy’s random baseball field behind his house.

What?

So I went to his baseball game, saw this guy’s baseball field and the area surrounded it, and e-mailed Kelsey the next day. :) Thankfully, the owner was gracious enough to let us shoot on the field and the yard since Geoff plays baseball against their team, and it was awesome!!! Geoff wasn’t able to accompany me to this session, but was super happy with what I did when he saw it afterward… except for Kelsey and Drew’s Red Sox allegiance, anyway (Geoff’s a Yankees fan). ;) But I say, with a couple as super sweet and kind as Kelsey and Drew, they can be Red Sox fans any day! Also, don’t look too close or you might notice the name Geoff Brown on the baseball equipment. :P