I love quirky, whimsical portraits. This fantastic couple was up for anything - laying on the grass, riding a kid's bike with a banana seat AND jumping over one-another. Why not? I did their photo mid-day in full sun, so it was more about action and emotion than catching good light.

This photo was taken right before sunset. I had never photographed Emily before this day but was delighted by her enthusiasm to try any of my ideas and techniques. Her friends would call her "little cute Emily" all the time and I wanted to show a different, more dramatic side to her that I knew she had. I felt this was achieved by placing her in front of the setting sun and lighting her directly from the side with an off camera flash. The hard light was exactly what I wanted. I got down low on the sand to give her more power. It took very little prompting to get the expression I wanted from her. The result: another side of Emily that most people overlook.

This shot was totally unposed, other than letting the bride know I would be photographing her descending the stairs. My love of fine art photography influenced my composition to include the architectural elements. I saw how light from a front window was illuminating the area where the bride is positioned, so I knew to take several quick shots at that moment. This is the one I preferred, and was also a favorite of the bride and groom.

This photo was taken at a bride’s residence moments before she walked down the isle. She was sitting there sweeping her leg--up and down... her jaw line and shoulders were stunning as is. Now add in her posture and that gorgeous red chair, you've got yourself a stunning situation. I shoot with a photojournalistic approach. It was a pleasant experience to photograph a stunning bride who has the disposition and personality of a best friend.

This photo was the last photo of the day. We saw the sprinkler going into the park earlier and thought if we had enough time before the park closed that we would cool off. We came back at sunset with little light left. We were hot, tired but the couple remained playful for this shot. It was my favorite from this session. The groom was on a 48 hour leave from the military and we hoped that the weather would cooperate. He is now in Iraq. This couple was just so sweet and in love.

I had the liberty to work with this cool couple on their engagement session. He did a spectacular jumps during that session, so I knew what he is capable of. I also like to reveal the personality or character of my clients. So, I asked him do to jump again. The rest is history.