When one of your childhood best friends asks how you feel about doing engagement photos on her backyard lake in a canoe, what do you say?
I’ll tell you what you say. The answer is yes. It’s always a resounding YES. At least, that’s what my answer was when Ally first approached me about doing her beach engagement photos in Saginaw, Michigan!
I have known Ally since the fourth grade. We went to elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college together. She was my partner in doubles tennis. We grew up within walking distance of each other, and throughout the years, we have shared many memories. And now, I am so happy that we were able to share this experience together, too, along with Ally’s soon-to-be husband Rob.
It’s been a few years since I first met Rob, but because life is life, I am still getting to know him. From the interactions we have had together though, I can tell he is kind. He is good to Ally, and Ally’s family loves him.
When they first started dating, Ally was fixing up her first house with her father. They were taking on huge projects together to turn the house into a home. After her father passed away, Rob helped Ally finish these projects and bring Ally and her father’s visions to life. I think that speaks volumes to who Rob is as a person. He brings peace and happiness to Ally, both of which I think are evident in their engagement photos.
All of this to say, I am so happy for the two of them. They have already created such a beautiful space for themselves to grow and live. I can only imagine how abundant and colorful their life together as husband and wife will be too.
their beach engagement photos
Ally and Rob chose to have their engagement photos taken at their home in Saginaw, Michigan. Their home is such a peaceful place with big open windows, plants galore, and a backyard beach. It was truly the perfect choice for their engagement photos, as they have put so much love and care into their home and enjoy their lake thoroughly. In fact, Ally’s Instagram is almost entirely devoted to the views on their lake!
Even more special, Ally and Rob spiced things up by borrowing a canoe from a friend! Guys, when I tell you I was excited for this session…. I was EXCITED. We started Ally and Rob’s lakeside engagement photos about an hour and a half before sunset with the plan being to take advantage of their comfortable living room’s stunning light, move on to beach and golden hour photos, and then attempt some low light photos as the sun sunk below the horizon. Basically, this beach engagement photo session had all of the dream elements: cozy, lifestyle moments, golden hour light, water reflections, and room for extra creativity!
The engagement photo package that Ally and Rob selected provided an outfit change. In preparation for their session, Ally texted me several photos of clothes she had picked out from their closets to see what my thoughts were. While I offered her my opinion and had provided my session style guide that comes with each of my packages, I don’t think she needed either of them! Both while in person and while editing their gallery, I was blown away by how perfectly they coordinated their clothes for their engagement photos!
Just over half of their session was spent in their first outfit: jeans and coordinating shirts. These outfits were perfect for the cuddly indoor photos and for their time in the canoe. When we first pulled the canoe into the water, the sky was golden, and I was able to catch some stunning sun flares!
Ally and Rob were hesitant to move around too much in the canoe for fear of tipping it, so we stuck to a few simple photos that required much more movement on my part than theirs. It was so much fun! Once they settled into a pose, I would begin taking photos of them from all sorts of angles while the canoe drifted away from me. The water was fairly still, so it was impressive just how much the canoe required me to chase after it.
Going into their session, I have to admit that I was a little fearful to be standing in the water as they sat in the canoe. Ally and Rob had told me several times prior to their session that the fish in their lake had a reputation for nibbling on legs and feet: something that I definitely did not want to experience! Lucky for me though, the canoe moved quick enough that I did not stay still for more than a minute at a time. However, when I had Ally and Rob stand still for some sunset photos, Ally gasped and giggled as the fish swam into her.
At this point in the evening, her and Rob had changed into their second outfits. For Rob, this meant khakis and a button down long-sleeve shirt. For Ally, a floral maxi dress perfect for the fish to swim into!
I was surprised by just how much I loved Ally’s dress for photos, as I usually recommend that my models stay away from heavily patterned clothing. Ally selected the perfect dress though! Not only did she look radiant in it, but the dress also had colors that coordinated so well with the sunset, water, and most importantly, Rob. On top of this, the dress contained the perfect contrasts for black and white photos (which, if you have worked with me or have been following for a while, you know I LOVE).
As I said before, this beach engagement session came with so much room for creativity. In addition to this session providing me with great opportunities to try new things (see all CANOE(!!) photos and above sunset silhouette photo), but it also gave me room to practice double exposures! For those that do not know, a double exposure is when you stack two or more photos on top of each other to blend them together. This is something that can be done directly on your camera if you own a Nikon (perhaps other brands too). Normally, this is the way I try to create a double exposure. For this engagement session though, I chose to make the double exposures in Photoshop where not only can you stack the photos on top of each other, but you can also choose where to place said photos on top of each other, erase parts of photos you do not want visible in the double exposure, and adjust the opacity of the photos!
I’m always so grateful to have clients, models, and friends like Ally and Rob. They are such lovely people and a great team to work with. Ally has always encouraged me to take this journey in the photography industry, inspiring me and supporting me in the creation of my annual nature calendars. Both her and Rob were patient and trusting as I took their engagement photos in Saginaw, knowing I had not used a canoe as a prop before. I can’t wait to see how their story continues to unfold, and I am so blessed to know that I will be able to witness their love grow not only as a photographer, but as a close friend too!
A few of my typical side notes:
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View Kaylee + Jeff's engagement photos on the blog.
2022 nature calendar is in the works! More will be announced towards the end of October /beginning of November.