Lauren and Dan's Engagement Session at the Greenhouses at Wellesley College
A few weeks ago I put out a call on my Instagram for a couple in a committed relationship in the Boston area that couple be models and test subjects for an hour or two. I was taking a super fun online natural portrait class alongside my good friend and fellow wedding photographer Kelly, and we wanted to solidify our new knowledge with a fun couple. I was thrilled when Jill, whose wedding we photographed back in 2015, recommended her newly-engaged sister Lauren, and her fiancé, Dan. They met us at the balmy Wellesley Greenhouses and we spent the next hour and a half laughing and traipsing around the tropical wonderland. We knew things were a success when Lauren wrote the both of us later in the day to express how much fun they had.
As much as candid photos are the bulk of what Jeff and I do, we spend a good amount of time photographing portraits of our couples, whether it be during engagement sessions or during the wedding day. In our consultations before sessions, many couples confess that they're awkward or nervous for portrait sessions. We totally get that. 99.9 percent of people in the world (including the both of us) are not born models, nor do they go to modeling school to learn how to be.
So how do we bring out the best in our couples, making them feel and look natural?
Over the years Jeff and I have created practices that make portrait sessions fun and not awkward, focusing on how you love rather than how you look. This session helped add more practices to that list, making things even more fun not only for our couples, but for us as well.