The Dance

Meet Anna and Andrew. While attending high school together, even though the stunningly beautiful Anna sported a giant crush on Andrew, the sparks just didn’t fly. Fast forward to college, where they once again ended up on the same campus and wouldn’t you know, sparks didn’t just fly…they cosmically exploded in one of those divine moments where the timing of two hearts are just right and they suddenly come into perfect sync with each other.

I am blessed to have the opportunity to share in Anna and Andrew’s upcoming July 31st wedding, which is sure to be the celebration of the century as two people, wholly and unabashedly devoted to each other, finally come together in an everlasting union that has been a long time coming!

This is the stuff fairy tales are made of.

I had the great pleasure of planning some time to shoot Anna and Andrew together at the nearby Oak Grove Park. They had already had engagement shots done off at college, but we planned a special day anyways. Not only to give them some fresh new looks, but to more importantly give us an opportunity to spend some time together and get to know each other before the “big day.” As an aside, whenever this opportunity is presented to you as a photographer, TAKE IT. There is nothing more helpful than time when trying to find the best way to help someone warm up to the camera to produce captivating images that truly highlight their personality and emotions. To say this time with Anna and Andrew ended up being a total luxury to me doesn’t quite adequately describe it.

These two love birds are just mad about each other. Absolutely 100% head over heels twitterpated. And they don’t care who knows it! They were willing to be creative, try different ideas and poses, different spots that we trekked through the park wilderness to explore (constant tick checks, ah!!), but most importantly, there was not one ounce of hesitation in showing me how much they loved each other. Their chemistry is palpable, out of this world, if not to say utterly overwhelming. I found myself entirely speechless, barely giving any direction as they just enjoyed being near each other. So sweet, so simple, so real. At one point, as I was excitedly oohing and ahhing over the playbacks in the camera, Andrew said “You are having way too much fun here! Is it really that hard sometimes?” To which I answered a resounding “YES.”

Our greatest challenge as a photographer is what I think of as the dance. You casually tip toe around each other, eyeing cautiously, unsure, trying to find the rhythm (Where do I put my hands?! Sorry…I couldn’t resist. Focus Katy.). It’s all about trust. Getting to the point where a client trusts you enough to take a breath and really, truly smile in that way they do every other day when no one is looking can be challenging! Downright impossible it seems at times. But that’s our job. To get the pictures that reflect exactly who your client is and what they are feeling. To tell the world how beautiful and crazy unique they are. To share their sense of humor, their pensive thoughtfulness, their heart and lifeblood. Anna and Andrew made this so simple. They met me halfway by just being themselves. And their pictures show it. Sure, I managed the exposure and the composition and did the edits, but they truly made these pictures powerful. By just being Anna and Andrew who love each other and are getting married and can’t wait to start the rest of their forever together!