Sammy+Kristyn Engagement | Hudson Valley, New York Wedding Photographer,

I did an engagement session for Samuel and Kristyn, whose wedding I'm shooting this fall (insert happy dance, wooohooo! ). The location for this engagement session was at a camp site in Port Jervis, NY. For it I had to travel 1 hr plus from my job in New Jersey to upstate NY. Just the trip to the site alone felt like I was travelling to another country. It's amazing how things change around you as you go north. Homes are not on top of each other, they get bigger and bigger, and you start seeing a lot of road kill.

The Camp was amazing, tall trees and a beautiful lake all surrounded by little rustic camp houses. . They showed me the clothing they were thinking of wearing and did a little bit of a fashion show for me. Kristyn, to be honest, would look great if she was wearing a potato sack! I'm serious, this girl looks like a modeland I have photographed models before, so I know what I'm talking about. Sammy was trying too hard, so I told him just wear something you will feel comfortable in.. They started showing me around the camp and I could visualize different images for the photo shoot in my head. The place was truly beautiful and romantic. There was even a stable with some beautiful horses; you can't get more romantic then that.

With this session, I dismissed most of the mental catalog of poses I had planned in my head. These two love birds were so good and natural; they took me by surprise with their gestures and fun interaction with each other. This is the kind of photography I enjoy the best, just taking a step back and let the couples be themselves.

Enjoy!

Bear Mountain, New York Engagement Photographer

I live in the woods .. I mean the suburbs, on the Hudson valley in New York, because I'm so familiar with Bear mountain state park, I suggested this location to my friends James and Katrina. It had been a while since I've been to the park during a holiday weekend, since I usually got there during the week or the fall and spring, as I get to the parking lot, I realized I was in big trouble. There were masses of people, there was hardly any patch of grass not covered with people's picnic tables and kids running everywhere. Clearly not the romantic setting I had in mind, on top of that  the couple had already told me they were not the best at taking photos, which usually means they get nervous about getting their pictures taken, so this setting was not going to help me. But I enjoy a challenge and  I had to work with what I had, and decided to just try to make them feel comfortable by talking to them, making jokes,at one point I even "attempted" to flash them,  (I never said my techniques were conventional). As the shoot progress, their walls came down, and I was able to get some really great shots along with some good laughs. Enjoy!