From Westport to the Family Farm

Wow! What a fun, engaging, sweet couple?! Max and Molly are both so gentle, outgoing, funny, and kind and it was an absolute pleasure working with them. My first memory of hanging out with these two is when we first met to discuss their wedding photography and see if we would be a good fit to work together in capturing their lives from engagement through their wedding day. Our son, Asher, was sick at home with the flu and I received a panicked call from Katherine who had inadvertently given him a double dose of medicine. I'm pretty sure I ended up excusing myself from the room at least twice as Katherine and I figured out what to do. Turns out, it wasn't that big of a deal and everything worked out fine, and it's now a memory that sort of makes me smile.

Anyhow, back to the shoot. I LOVE shooting sessions like this. I love those real life moments that emerge when a couple is hanging out in an environment that they're used to and one that they're comfortable with. I love capturing the raw emotions and authentic interactions that result from a couple engaging in the things that they naturally love to do in their normal (not in front of a camera) lives. Max and Mollie lived right around the corner from one of their favorite coffee shops, Broadway Coffee. Although the staff seemed a little, hmmm... too cool for school, they were gracious enough to let us shoot there (tip: always make it a point to ask permission before you start shooting away... and always leave a generous tip). From there we headed accross the street to their favorite record store (yes, they do still exist :). The staff there was much more amiable and we were able to get some great shots there as well. Our third location was were Max kept his horse. We decided to try and get a few shots with the horse in the hopes that we could get at least something. Shooting with animals doesn't always work, but in this case it worked great! And I was so happy that they suggested it. Last, but not least, we headed out to Max's family farm. Acres and acres to choose from and we found some great spots. This is another one of my favorite types of locations to shoot. So much space lends to those shots of epic proportion where you can really begin to maniuplate perspective. Using natural shapes and landscapes as one of the primary subjects of your photographs opens things up to a whole different way of shooting and, creatively, I just love that!

Okay.. enough talk. Scroll down and take a look :)

Side note: if anyone can spot the theme that runs through all of these locations, I'll buy you a drink ;)

two hands holding two cups of coffee
couple enjoying a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop
couple kissing over table through a window at a local coffee shop
couple looking through records at a Kansas City record store
couple looking through records at a KC record store
man pulling out a Neil Young record at a local record store
Couple kissing beside their horse in front of a pond and a field
man and woman look at their horse
couple smiling and walking with their horse in the country
couple kissing by their horse in front of an old fence in the country