An early bird engagement session « KL Phy Photography

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Friday, July 2nd, 2010

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An early bird engagement session

I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone around here lately about this heat--UGH!!! Seriously, with all the outdoor shooting I've been doing lately, it has honestly become almost a health issue. The last few Sundays after a wedding, I've found myself practically sick with what I can only guess is dehydration mixed with perhaps a bit of heat exhaustion. The funny thing is, I don't really notice it too much when I'm photographing the actual wedding, but boy, do I feel it the next day. I get so lost in my own little world behind the camera, that I almost have to set an alarm on my iPhone to remind me to get something to drink at proper intervals.

The timing of weddings I can't control, of course, and I'm happy and flexible to go with the flow and keep my subjects (bride and groom especially!) happy and comfortable, which means photographing the outdoor scenes as quickly as possible, or perhaps saving the bulk of the wedding party photographs and the bride and groom portraits until later in the evening, sneaking out of the reception when the light is better anyway, as well as the advantage of the temperature cooling off just a bit.

With my recent engagement sessions, however, I've taken a different approach. I am not generally a morning person, and I am totally, absolutely useless until I've had at least one cup of coffee. However, these extreme temperatures have called for extreme measures! I typically schedule engagement sessions for the evening hours, for that "golden hour" of light and also for the ease of schedule--clients usually have evenings free whether it be a weekday or perhaps a Sunday. With this weather, however, the evenings aren't offering much relief, as it just feels like the whole world has been baking (literally!) all day, and the heat still just radiates from the concrete and everything else.

So, what a crazy idea--why not start shooting engagement sessions waaaaay early in the morning? I was a bit worried at first that I might not be on top of my game, but the last two sessions I've shot in the mornings have dispelled that insecurity. And oh my goodness--the light, the light! It has been so long since I got up early and used the morning light instead of the evening, it was almost a completely new experience. The light is wonderful both in the morning and the evening, but there is something different about the quality of it, the color temperature, perhaps. The morning light has more of a crispness to it, a creamy beautiful yellow, whereas the evening produces more of a mellow light with orange-y tones. This has been another interesting discovery for me. I love constantly being able to learn new things (or just remember things I've forgotten over the years), and keep my style and technique fresh, and for me, exciting. In fact, it has been one of those things that happen occasionally that kind of brings you up out of a rut that you might not have even realized you were in. Anyone who knows me knows how crazy this sounds, but I absolutely can't wait for my next willing client who is game for getting up and starting a shoot between 6:30 and 7:00 am. So if that happens to be you, feel free to turn me down and think I'm crazy, but first have a look at the teaser photograph I'm posting here, and then the rest of the photos from this engagement session that will be posted this weekend.

So, I'm posting one teaser photo here from my first morning session, and as a bit of comic relief, I'm also posting some photos of me "at work", taken with my iPhone by my sweet little blonde-haired 6 year old assistant. Since his birthday is this month, I also took a few shots of him for his "official" 6 year old portrait, which I'm also including below. He's really becoming quite the wonderful little helper when he accompanies me. It's kind of nice to have someone to carry my bag (notice his particular way of carrying it in the photo), keep me company in the car, and it also makes me feel good that he enjoys it as well--quality time spent together, and what makes me happiest, he loves documenting me shooting and whatever he sees around him with my iPhone. So I'm including here a couple of photos he took of me, but I'll leave out the close-up he took of my rear end. He thinks that one is so funny--"Ha ha! I took a picture of your bootie, momma!" Yeah, ha ha :) :)

PS--I ended up using a few more photos of my little guy in this post than I intended, but I just couldn't choose among them. This may only be obvious to me, his mom, but even in the couple of photos below that look quite similar, just the tiniest variation in his facial expression says so much to me. Time to gush a bit here--he is just the sweetest little guy ever, and he has had to live with more heartbreak in his short life than any child should ever have to bear. I look at his eyes in these photos, and I can see right through to his soul--an old soul, at that. So indulge me, please--these photos are incredibly special to me :) (a smile with a few tears shining through as well...)