mt. rainier engagement session inspiration peek

Ugh, you guys, this shoot.  K, so not only did we get to do a really fun hike in a gorgeous area, but we also got to take photos along the way and the end?  That view?  I die.  Oh and Kristina's Free People dress? Pretty much drooling over it.  Huge props to Kristina + Craig who were so game for the 2+ hour drive, plus an hour hike to make these images.  This is just a little peek at the shoot, head over to the studio blog to see the rest of it.  This shoot is going in the books as one of my all time favorites!

ENGAGED // adam + candace's rattlesnake ridge engagement session

t the beginning of May I met up with Adam and Candace at Rattlesnake Lake for their engagement shoot.  This time of year it's a little hit and miss when it comes to weather, and so scheduling outdoor shoots months in advance can be stressful, hoping for good weather when the shoot day comes around.  We ended up with an absolutely perfect day, which was great, but for anyone who knows rattlesnake recreation area, that means it's totally packed, but we managed just fine.  I actually love doing hikes for engagement shoots because it gives me lots of time to get to know the couple, which is really nice and helps ease the awkwardness of getting photos taken.  Candace and Adam were awesome and we had a ton of fun hiking up and chatting about the wedding, how they met, and life in general.  We were talking about the hike, and about my last time going up to the ridge, which was for Jackson + Jessica's engagement shoot last summer.  As we're talking and hiking, I looked up the trail and saw a girl with pink hair and I was like, "Is that... Lauren?!?"who's my little brother's girlfriend.  And then I notice the rest of the group: Lauren, Matthew (my brother), Jackson + Jessica, and their two good friends, Melissa and Corey, who just got engaged!  Lauren, who is also a photographer, was shooting Melissa and Corey's engagement photos at Rattlesnake Ridge and were all on their way down, and the funny part is, Matthew and Lauren live in Portland, so not only was it crazy to see them there since they don't even live anywhere nearby, but Candace, Adam, and I were just talking about Jackson + Jessica's Rattlesnake Ridge photo shoot... and then there they are!  It was one of the weirdest things that's ever happened to me, and most definitely the weirdest thing that's happened on a photo shoot!

These two are seriously a blast.  I'm so excited to shoot their wedding this summer.  I had so much fun shooting these images.  They're getting married out at a ranch lodge near a river, which is, like, so totally dreamy, am I right?  It's going to be magical.   Usually I try to edit these engagement shoot posts down to like 15 images, but I loved so many of them, so start scrolling!

 
 



 





 




 

ENGAGED // abby + ricky's seattle ferry boat engagement shoot

 couple weekends ago I met up with these two lovebirds up in Seattle for a fun evening ferry ride for their engagement shoot!  We ended up with an absolutely gorgeous day, which made the ride so much fun.  We hopped on the Bainbridge ferry for a round trip ride and on our way over we lucked out and the entire upper car deck was totally empty!  We took full advantage and frolicked around the empty space until the ferry workers kicked us out when we arrived at Bainbridge.  It turned out to be the perfect spot for photos because the top deck was packed with people (because of the beautiful weather) and it was crazy windy up there!  Looking windswept is romantic, but not so much looking like you're in wind tunnel.  Abby and Ricky are getting married this August and I can't wait to shoot their wedding!  




 


 



I've got a few wedding dates still available this summer for any of you last minute brides, and I'm already booking dates next year, so 2016 brides I'm ready for ya!  Check out my portfolio and get more info on my wedding, engagement, and boudoir packages here!

ENGAGED // bryan + rachel's downtown tacoma engagement shoot

I've been shooting more clients this year and I wanted to share some of my shoots here on the blog!  I've posted a few of my sessions in the past but haven't blogged most of them so in addition to sharing newer sessions I want to share a few of my favorite sessions from years past.

I'd shot some portraits of Bryan and Rachel in the past so when Bryan was planning to propose to Rachel he asked me to shoot the actual proposal!  A couple weeks after the proposal we got together again to do some more formal engagement shots downtown. We met at Anthem's downtown coffee shop, which was perfect because their first date was at the Anthem in Puyallup (and that's where Bryan proposed).  Keeping things in the Anthem family!

Their wedding was this January and they've already got a little bun in the oven set to arrive in January of 2015, so maybe some new family portraits will be in order after they add their new member to the family!

 


 

ENGAGED // jackson + jessica's rattlesnake ridge engagement shoot

 couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of getting to photograph these lovely folks for their engagement photos!  Jackson and Jessica are actually getting married in just four short weeks and I'll be shooting their wedding down in Oregon as well, which I'm super stoked about.   I was really excited for this shoot because I had mentioned wanting to do a more outdoorsy shoot and they totally jumped at the idea.  We picked a hike that had an amazing view at the summit, Rattlesnake Ridge, and met up out at the trailhead in the evening to make the hike.  None of us had ever hiked Rattlesnake Ridge before, so it was fun getting to not only make some amazing photos for them, but also get to go on an amazing hike in the process!  I would love to do more hike shoots.  It's combining two of my favorite activities, so what could be better?   The hike turned out to be the perfect time to chat about wedding details and catch up, too!
The hike itself was pretty easy, two miles in, two miles out.  It's a very popular hike and the lake below also draws a crowd, especially during the summer, so it was pretty busy.  When we got to the lookout at the ridge we actually had to wait a good ten minutes to be able to shoot at the spot we wanted to because there was a group of high school kids there with a bong and a veritable cornucopia of munchies taking in the scenery.  Luckily they didn't linger too long and we were able to do our shoot. 

 

The next few months are going to be a whirlwind of photo shoots and weddings. I have three weddings within about a month, plus a bunch of portrait and family sessions, so I'll be shooting up a storm.  It'll be good.  Keep me busy.  Tomorrow I'll be shooting Tacoma's craft beer and blues festival, Brew Five Three, here in town, which should be a blast.  Great music and great local brews?  Sounds like a recipe for awesome.  

In other news, I'm not thrilled with how everyone is talking about fall's immanent arrival.  Also, the back to school stuff can go away please.  Don't remind me that the fall is coming!  I'm sure once all the fun holiday stuff starts getting into full swing I'll be ready for it, but I'm just so in love with how many hours of sunlight there are and how much I can get done before it starts getting dark.  We did this shoot around 7 pm and in just a couple months it will have been dark for hours by that time.  I sure do love these summer days that drag on till well into the evenings.  I wish I could do like five more shoots like this before the summer evenings are gone till next year.