In mid 2018 I had just branched out from photographing weddings for another company and started my own brand. I knew I had the skills and know-how to make good images if only I could find the right clients! This is the age old dilemma with photographers and I’m assuming most other types of business as well, finding people who value what you do and are willing to trust you to do your part when all they have to go off of is your word and maybe some startup marketing materials.

~Enter Mary and Jeremey~

I decided that in order to bring in those ideal clients, I was going to do something unheard of. I was going to do a few adventure engagement sessions for free *GASP*. This is frowned upon by some in the photography community but after reading this you’ll see that giving away this and a few other sessions gave me the ability to grow my business. So I spent countless hours (about 2 maybe?) creating the perfect wording for a Facebook ad that would undoubtedly have engaged couples knocking down my door to be photographed. And I was right. But after speaking with so many of them, I just knew that these were not my ideal clients and kindly diverted them.

Until I spoke with Mary and Jeremey that is. They were super interested in being somewhere a little off the beaten path for their engagement session and not only that, but they were completely trusting in my vision! I had hit the jackpot! We went through a few options before deciding on Looking Glass Falls as an ideal location for their session. We met as the sun was just poking through the trees and chatted as we walked down to the lookout over the falls. Once we got to the overlook, the sun was in the perfect spot to cast some awesome light rays through the mist coming off the waterfall so we made the most of it and took some of our favorite shots in the first 5 minutes of being together!

After that initial burst of images, we worked our way down to the rocks in the river for some more romantic and creative shots which turned out super dreamy. We were here in late Summer so as the morning drew on more and more people began showing up and swimming in the natural pool at the base of the falls. So we crossed right over to the other side where I spotted an epic cairn and some beautiful green moss that made Mary’s red dress really pop! Eventually, our time together came to a close and we began to cross back to the cars. But not before a little dip to cool off after all that hard work modeling!

After having a blast together and after seeing their photos, they decided to hire me on to photograph both Mary’s bridal portraits and their wedding!