It's kind of funny how last weekend, during the blizzard, all Shawn and I wanted to do was be snuggled up in PJs and drink hot cocoa. But this weekend all we wanted to do was be outdoors, bundled up, and snowboard. We traveled to Snowshoe, West Virginia on Friday and met up with my best friend, Christy, and her husband, Nate. Christy and Nate live in Charlotte, North Carolina, so the last time we got to see them was for their wedding last April. This weekend trip was something Christy and I had been super excited about since we started talking about it in September. Snowshoe is a very interesting mountain with its hotels, shops, and restaurants being located at the very top. Everything we needed was all in one spot, with a spectacular view. It was - quite literally - the top of the world. The evening we arrived was right before sunset and (except for Turks and Caicos) this mountain had one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've seen. It was also super windy so I almost ended up with a frozen hand because of my need for pictures XD. The four of us got to hang out, play board games, spend most of Saturday snowboarding, and drink fruity drinks :P. A quick tip: if you are going to play Dead of Winter - the best theme for a game being stuck up on a snowy mountain - be sure to read the instruction manual at least...

Since I've been stuck indoors for the past 4 days, I've done a lot of thinking about engagement sessions. Weird? Maybe. But engagement season is here and, soon enough, the weather will be gorgeous, the sun will be warm, and the snow will be not trapping everyone to their house. Ahhh, a beautiful day-dream, haha. The main thing on my mind is getting clients to recognize the benefit of a professional engagement session. It may be tempting to overlook engagement photos. The benefits of these sessions are amazing, not just for you as the couple, but also for Shawn and I as the photographers. I've taken note of the 5 main reasons to do an engagement session with your wedding photographer and I'm really looking forward to going over them: 1.) The biggest benefit is getting to know your photographer and their style. Every photographer is different between their shooting and editing style. My shooting style is relaxed, romantic, and fun with a huge focus on your natural interactions rather than looking at me and cheesy smiling. That's not something that couples can necessarily see just by looking at photos on my blog.   2.) You get to have real and true stress-free fun! There are so many things when it comes to wedding planning that get you into a hectic mood, but when you prepare for your session with your photographer you should feel at ease with the images from their portfolio and know that...

I have a feeling this year is going to be a big traveling year for Shawn and me. Between conferences for Shawn and me just tagging along for the room service, I just know we are going to be able to experience some really, really beautiful places together. Our first trip of the new year was to Providence, Rhode Island. Shawn had a research meeting up at Brown, and when he asked me if I would want to go with him and make a weekend of it, I jumped at the chance. I love whenever we get to escape and spend time in a new city together. Since neither of us had ever been to Providence, it sounded like a great time to go and explore. When we arrived we found out that winter in Providence wasn't the greatest tourist time, which kind of makes sense because of the cold, but it was still super creepy to be in an empty city. Seriously, we ate at a restaurant for a couple hours and were the only patrons. I imagine that our presence was pretty exciting to our waitress (and the bartender), haha! Shawn had his meeting on Friday, so while he was gone I stayed in the hotel room and worked on developing a new venture that I am really excited for. Currently, it's still in the development stages and I'm searching for designers for logos, so I'm staying very hush about it for now (sorry :P)! That night we...

Hello everyone! This is the first in a new series that will be presented by a not-so-new face. My husband, Shawn, has been a huge inspiration for me and Britney Clause Photography. He's helped me build it from day one, and has been an integral part of everything I do. His monthly series should provide a different perspective from what I usually share, including a different opinion and more technical insight to things. Enjoy! ~ Britney After Britney started doing photography right after college (while we were dating) my responsibilities were very simple. I would go with her to shoots as another set of eyes and hands. I would be there to carry her bag , swap lenses, hold up a background blanket, throw leaves in the air, and other tasks trivial for people with four arms. Sometimes, I had the luxury of being the model myself (free professional headshots for life!) I've always tried to support her business and fill any needs she had. It's only natural that she would soon start teaching me how to use a camera, what to look for in a shot, how to adjust for lighting, and all the other various intricacies of photography. It made it much easier that I spent years looking at her photos, giving and listening to her input on how to shoot. Fast forward several months through a training montage, and Britney eventually trusted me as a second shooter at a wedding. It went very well, and even though...