Cathy and Todd

I think maybe we should start defining "Fall" differently around Buffalo, because Fall is supposed to be mild, pretty and require just a sweater - and it is NOT mild outside our studio right now (think 40 mph winds - it sounds like it did when we had a storm window blow completely off the house last year - yeah, that was awesome) and I have a space heater cranked next to the editing console.

Anyway, I'm rambling...because it may be nasty outside, but we're still shooting amazing, beautiful couples all the time. This past week we got to see Cathy and Todd again and went to Glen Falls for some shots. They were really excited to get them done, and so we all tried to ignore the cold the best we could and make some killer frames.

Did I mention that Todd and Cathy are a really good looking couple? The biggest key to a beautiful, successful photo of a couple isn't the pose or the aperture or the post-processing - it's the two people in the frame loving each other and letting go.

I like taking tightly-cropped frames of what parts of a peoples' body are doing when other things are going on. A lot of times Alyssa will be working a particular pose (she's great at it and I'm...well, not so much with the modeling poses) and I'll shoot the in-between, "other" stuff, which is why I noticed Cathy and Todd's hands. It's like they couldn't possibly hold each other any tighter, yet there they are, trying to find new purchase and tugging at each other with a longing that you only see in the most in-love couples. It's not the best photo from the day, but I think the way a couple holds hands says a lot about who they are together.

Do not let that beautiful rock distract you from the eyes!

The biggest reason we shoot engagement photos for every couple who books us is that Alyssa and I feel it's so important to get to know our couples better. The more you know someone's personalities and their traits (how they hold their head, or how the bridge of their nose wrinkles up when they smile), the better prepared you are to tackle a wedding day and nail photos that show who they really are and visually translate what they're feeling.

Alyssa shot this just as Todd was telling us about the time he played Captain Planet and totally saved a duck in the pond at Glen Falls from a snapping turtle's crushing maw. It may seem like just a story about a duck - but it also shows the kind, caring (and selfless?) man that Cathy loves....so that's why the ducks :).

Definitely my favorite shot of Alyssa's :

And this is my favorite, with the happy couple among the leaves :

Thanks again, guys, for working with us on the coldest outdoor day yet (not that it isn't going to get more and more brutal from here on in). We're really, really looking forward to your wedding next year!