A few years ago, Erick and I gifted each other a camera to photograph our life; sunrises, hikes, beach walks. This spurred into my love of taking photos and styling projects for this blog. We both enjoy being behind the camera, but having photos taken of us? Not so much. When we got engaged I didn’t think we’d have a formal engagement photo session. It just didn’t seem to fit us as a couple. As the weeks went on and we started the planning process I began to change my mind. We currently live in Jersey City, NJ. This is where we shared our first apartment, our relationship grew and we got engaged. We both know we won’t be here forever, so I thought it would be memorable to take some photos here.
Once I decided I wanted the photos done (and was able to convince Erick it was a good idea) we needed a photographer. Immediately I thought of my eldest brother, Chris. I’d say he’s been unofficially dubbed our family’s photographer. Starting back with our annual Christmas card photos where our family would pile on the stairs of the front porch, Chris would set up the tripod, adjust the settings, take a test photo, adjust the settings, continue to adjust the settings, set the timer and sprint into the photo. The cards always came out great. He continued to sharpen his skill and is still the one snapping pictures at family functions. When we threw out this idea he graciously accepted the challenge right away. So on one hot and windy June day, Chris paid us a visit and followed us around Jersey City for the afternoon.
If this photo session taught us anything, it’s that Erick and I are terribly awkward in front of the camera. But aside from that we quickly learned that it’s best to avoid taking outdoor photos in extremely bright sunlight. It you must, make sure the photographer has an assistant to handle a reflective card to bounce the sunlight.
Chris – thanks for spending the afternoon with us. We promise to repay you in beer and unlimited babysitting!
Enjoy!
Meghan
