One of the biggest questions I get from clients: where should we do our engagement session? I can seriously pick locations for days. There are a ton of parks all around Maryland, and urban locations like Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington DC are all within 30-40 minutes. The thing I can't search for in a location, though, is a place that you will click with and love. That's the reason I always suggest that you and your other half find a spot that you can envision yourself being in together. Imagine the session you want -- not one that you found on Pinterest or Facebook -- but one that you truly think will capture you two as a couple. Think of the environment that you enjoy and pick out certain aspects from it. Is there a lot of green? Water? Maybe there are some different unique elements like stone buildings? (If I just described everything that you are seeing, then I can suggest your session being at Savage Mill or Ellicott City.) Figuring out certain details that you want in a location can help immensely with searching for that perfect spot. A great example of picking out a location is how Shawn and I narrowed down our own ideas for our engagement session. For starters, I had outfits picked out months prior: a lace salmon color dress for me and a maroon button down with khaki's for Shawn; then an outfit change into more casual jeans and sweaters for later...

Taking it back to Charleston! Last month I posted about my adventures in South Carolina for the Creative at Heart Conference. It was an amazing time learning more about running my business and how to appeal to new friends (and spoil the friends I already have ;P). What wasn't seen in that blog, though, was that fellow photo-friend, Marlayna (www.marlaynaphotography.com), and I had a little portrait session around this AH-mazing city! Charleston has so much to offer in terms of backdrops and perfect lighting. We spent about 30 minutes getting knocked around by the wind just so we could photograph the sun peeking through the trees. A truer #photographerproblems has never been spoken until just now, haha. The level of fun that we had while practicing our "posing" was hysterical. We both have plenty of goofball photos of each other to last a lifetime. I'm so happy to have spent a great day in a beautiful city that offered so much to us as photographers. It was even better that I got to spend it with a wonderful friend who is just as obsessed with buildings, trees, and sunlight as I am, haha! :D   ______________________________________________________________________________ Lols SUNNY TREE! ...

I had been looking forward to Kristy and Jonathan's engagement session since we first started planning it in June. We had some trouble finding a date that worked for everyone, but when we finally were able to meet, it ended up being one of the most beautiful days of the summer. Their session kicked off at St. John's College, which was an amazing location with tons of intimate and romantic spots. From there, we wandered around the streets of Annapolis taking advantage of the gardens and all the cute side streets. Kristy and Jonathan are a really amazing couple. They are so laid back and - as everyone will see - adorable together! They have such fun personalities, which became really apparent when Jonathan changed into a button-up taco shirt. How fantastic is that? Their engagement session got Shawn and I even more pumped for their September wedding. They were discussing some of the details with us during our downtown stroll and I just know it's going to be a wonderful day!   ...

I adore these photos. These two women are the best. It was so easy to photograph them because they just make each other so incredibly happy. I'm pretty sure all I did this whole session was smile after every click. Their session was my first one in DC and I do not think we could have had a better time. We didn't get chased off any monuments, we had a squirrel audience, and we checked out the Library of Congress - an all around fantastic first shoot in the city! The squirrel was literally the most entertaining animal I've ever seen - it was so interested in what we were doing that I thought for a second it was going to climb up Jenny's leg for a close-up view of their posing. Thank goodness that it didn't, but I did get some pretty funny shots to remember the moment by :P.   ______________________________________________________________________________ ...