ZAC + LAUREN = MODEL COUPLE EXTRAORDINAIRE!
So many new things happening here... and it's only fitting that my first post is of this awesome couple. I asked Zac and Lauren if they would be up for taking some engagement pictures styled like a Gap ad in terms of a simple backdrop and a more classic look for photos.
... and I was so excited that they were not only up for it but fit the part so incredibly well. I mean look at these models!!
So I have this UBER love for clean backgrounds. I know most people don't love studio looks and it is rare person that asks to have engagement or portrait sessions done with grey or white backdrops, but when I walk into Gap or JCrew and see the awesome photos or read TIME magazine and see black and white portraits of celebrities, I am a looking at people art. People photography crack. Here's why I like it: I love that it draws attention to the person. The person's face and hands and wrinkles, sometimes. I love the simplicity of it (I could say that a million times and still not really get to how MUCH i love that). I like that it takes some of the trendiness out of photographs in terms of locations (don't get me wrong, I love me some fields and sun flare but sometimes it feels like everyone's looking for the next great prop or Pinterest idea and it's exhausting to keep up with!). That being said, I did think it would be fun to get Zac and Lauren to bring something that is significant to them as a couple to add a personal element to the shoot. They love reading and spend lots of time at Barnes and Noble, so they brought some books and we incorporated them into their pictures.
Originally I had intended all of these pictures to be black and white, but then after looking at them in color I decided the colors were so vibrant that I had to mix it up. The next series of shots were meant to be more intimate and sweet. I did throw in the idea of a pillow fight, but then came to realize my pillows happen to be the cheap kind not filled with feathers but stuffing... But just for fun Zac and Lauren had a pillow stuffing fight and then made some fun faces with the remnants. They are a fun couple so I felt like it captured their personality while the others showed more of their awesomeness as a artistic people. Side note: Zac is a musician and Lauren is a photographer. And they both could be models!
so basically I love these shots. I love the movement and simplicity and the attention it draws to the relationship. We did take some pictures in a nearby field (I know, right after I said how fields are done all the time- but they are used so much because they are beautiful)- and the lighting was magic. I want to post a separate entry with those to not mix up the aesthetics of the two types of pictures. You guys are the cutest, and I think Gap should call you and give you free clothes to wear around town to advertise for them. And maybe I can convince people to try a different type of engagement shoot option through your pictures! Thank you guys for being awesome to photograph- and for being really good people, too:) A field and sun flare to come!!!
I met Emma when she was around 7 years old, so when Ingrid (Emma's mom) contacted me about senior pictures I had a hard time believing that Emma was a senior in high school!! As I was going through these pictures I just kept saying, "She is so beautiful!" Emma has this serious stare/look at the camera that is killer. When I make that face my mouth starts to quiver and then I break into a not so attractive laugh but Emma looked like the most natural model I've ever seen. I keep magazines to use as inspiration for photo shoots, and she is straight out of the Anthropologie catalog. Or better yet (because she loves it...) Urban Outfitters. I promise I'll stop after this but I just love her awesome long curly hair and her wide eyes. Emma is such a total package- pretty and smart and she loves God. YOU ARE LOVELY EMMA!!
