It’s always odd to shoot the engagement session of someone you’ve never met… I can’t lie, there are a lot of questions that go through my mind as I drive to the shoot. Will they be supermodel gorgeous, or hideously deformed? Will they be outgoing and zany, or will they be shy and introverted? Will they be comfortable in front of the camera, or awkward and stiff? Will he be two feet taller than her, or the other way around? Although I can work with any couple, it’s still comforting to know what you’re getting yourself into a little earlier than, say, five seconds before you start shooting! Luckily, Kelly and Alma were quite the pleasant surprise. They’re so comfortable with each other, comfortable in front of the camera, fun to be around, totally photogenic, and just good people in general. Here are some of my favorites from their session at the fantastic (and HUGE) River Legacy Park in Arlington:
Sometimes being a little delayed on my blog postings is a blessing in disguise.. In this case, I’m currently shooting 3-4 sessions a week, and unfortunately, because of the cold weather most of them have a kind of dark, bare, wintery feel to them. It was such a breath of fresh air to relive Jamie and Garrett’s engagement session, which is about as sunny and happy and summery as it gets. I absolutely love the feel of this session, which was held at Discovery Green park in the midst of downtown Houston. You just can’t look at all these bright colors and the big bold balloons and their adorable dog and not smile! I also love that Jamie has quite possibly the most beautiful skin I’ve ever seen – flawless, people! – and that they were both brave enough to jump in the splash park at the end of the session! Here are a few of my favorites from their shoot:
13 Comments
- Hey I love that place! When ever I do seniors I always seem to search that area for a good "new" spot to take pictures at. It's such a pretty spot of Houston! Great pictures!
- Ooooh, I LOVE these! The colors, the balloons, the puppy.... and the water fight? Yes, please. Well done.
- what a beautiful and fun shoot! So much variety of shots too, the ending looks like it was a blast!
- EACH and EVERY single photo is delicious. Seriously. You catch people so naturally. You are soooo talented. I'm jealous.
- Beautiful job once again. I especially like the water shots, fabulous!! I love it when people will do whatever. I am a huge fan and am addicted to your site.
- love the locations! great session.
- gorgeous & fun! and I love the dog!!
- WOW! I love your work! I'll be checking your blog regularly!
- Great job Stacy! Enjoy your time off and have a blessed Christmas!
- Those tall grass shots are stunning! My favorite is the large colored one. Nice work!
- This session looks like a lot of FUN! I love these pictures, you're amazing!
- ....This is a terrific session! You can never go wrong with Balloons and Discovery Green
- Beautiful Set.. I love the colors~
It’s pretty much common sense for any business person to never do business with their friends and family.. Well, apparently I didn’t get that memo because my favorite weddings to shoot are the ones I do for people I have known for years. It seems like the photos come out so much better when you know so many members of the wedding party and everyone feels comfortable having you around. I already know Lisa and Grant’s wedding is going to be exactly like that – it will practically be a T-Camp reunion! T-Camp was an organization at our alma mater, Texas A&M, that helped incoming transfer students learn about the traditions and culture in Aggieland. One year not too long ago, Lisa and I were counselors in Camp Stratta, and Grant was one of our venerable co-chairs. When you spend so much time together, you’re bound to have a few love connections, and sure enough, Lisa and Grant got hooked on each other! I have so many great memories with these guys, not the least of which was the nickname that plagued me for months – Steakballs – so I’m super excited to be a part of their wedding day!!
I’d been wanting to do a session in Wal-Mart, but I wasn’t sure that I could get a couple to agree to it.. Then along came Grant and Lisa, who are totally chill and fun and always up for anything, so they agreed to be my guinea pigs! I also can’t go in a Wal-Mart without hearing Lisa’s voice in my head yelling “Iiiiiii knoooooow!!” in a thick Southern drawl (part of an old Camp Stratta skit), so it’s somewhat fitting. Lisa and Grant, thanks so much for volunteering to try some new and crazy things out with me, and for being great friends. Can’t wait for the wedding!
28 Comments
- that's fantastic. how did you guys not get kicked out? maybe you did ;-)
- Excellent series of images Stacy - well done!!
- I didn't know Walmart can be that fun... Great work Stacy, keep it up.
- I KNOW her! Somehow...I think my friend Rowdy met Lisa at T-Camp. Red headed Rowdy Patterson...? VERY COOL to see her engagement pics. Thanks! Sarah *still waiting for Stacy and JM's wedding. soooo anxious!
- Oh my gosh... I looooooove it! Did any Wal-mart employees give you flack about it?
- Theirs is coming up soon, I promise!! It's the next wedding on the list!
- We avoided all the employees.. Mostly shot in back aisles where no one could see us.. Pretty sure we would have gotten kicked out if we were discovered!
- @stacyreeves - "shot in back aisles"... LOVE IT. :)
- Funny! My husband can't stay out of Walmart and I kept joking we should do our e-session there.
- So did you get permission to shoot there? Just curious on how stores react to such an event. :) and if they did, ok, even if they didn't could you talk about your lighting technique or approach?
- Everything was shot with natural light so as to not attract much attention. We basically just stayed in areas of the store that didn't have a lot of people, and any time we saw an employee we just acted like we were normal shoppers. We saved the more out-there stuff (such as the shopping cart photos) for last, because we figured we'd get kicked out after that.
- At first I thought "WalMart? Really?" And then the pictures were awesome. So Fun! I tried to take a picture of a child once in a Target store and got kicked out... they had video cameras everywhere! I'm glad you were successful!
- I'm so impressed you didn't get kicked out! During all of our journalism classes, my classmates got kicked out left and right, even with point n shoots. I love the shopping cart images.
- Stacy The Walmart section is SO cool... Well Done Mehul
- What a great session Stacy! It looks like you guys had a blast!
- OMG!!!! Too cute. What a crazy idea that nobody has ever tried. I don't know which one I liked better.....the cute lovable ones or the magazine one. Congrats to you two.
- Stacy, these are great engagement shots. The couple looks like they are having fun and they like to enjoy life! Kudos to you for coming up with some creative ideas for the shots to provide long lasting moments for the couple.
- those are fantastic!! what a great idea! they entire shoot is so much fun!!
- Love the shopping cart-kissing pic! Great work Stacy!!
- These are such fun photos! And the magazine shot is so cute! great job :)
- This is SOOOOOO CUTE! I love the Walmart idea :)
- I love looking at your blog. You do a great job!
- lol! Wow... defineately the most original e-session I've ever seen! They worked out well. I love the motion blur shopping cart. Way to think out of the box!
- I never would have thought photos in Walmart would turn out so cool. Very well done.
- I love how you just made Wal-Mart the ideal location! Congrats on some really excellent images!
- I had the same thought as (almost) everyone else: How did you avoid getting kicked out? But you make a fabulous point: Wal-Mart is so big, you can just avoid the employees. : ) Fantastic job on the photos! I love the hula-hoop shot, they're concentrating so hard! Wal-Mart is such a unique idea & there are props everywhere!
- Stacy Reeves does WalMart!! i love it. Just a brilliant idea!
- Brilliant and original! The lampshade one is hysterical and my fav!
Courtney and Brian are SERIOUS troopers for braving the bitter Dallas winter to hang out with me in historic downtown Plano. The weather was about as disgusting as it could get – overcast, windy, and freezing cold – but I don’t think that is evident at all from the photos below. We had a great time wandering around the old marketplace, and we even stumbled across a cool old barn tucked away behind the shopping center. Here are a few of my favorites from the session:
I just finished editing Courtney’s bridal session and HOLY COW is it awesome. I can’t tell you how much it kills me to have to hide it from the world until the wedding. Her dress is easily one of my favorites to date, and Courtney has an innate sense of how to pose and carry her body, which truly takes the photos to the next level. I can’t wait to show them off, and more importantly, I can’t wait for the wedding!
7 Comments
- Love me some downtown Plano.. I think it gets overlooked a lot! Great shots, and yes.. BRRR it's cold!
- Doing my regular blog stalking... :) Awesome shoot! Did you get a TS lens or is that PS?
- Kelly, it's neither.. just a normal 1.2 lens plus handy placement of foreground tree branches ;)
- OMG!!! I found your site about 3 weeks ago and I am HOOKED!! I love, love, LOVE, your work!! So creative... *sigh*, you're awesome amazing as my peeps like to say! lol Okay so I'll be regularly stalking your blog... hee hee. Thanks for the inspiration. Oh and I am now using Forbeyon thanks to you!! :-) Celina Gomez www.captivatingsimplicity.com
- Great shooting. Which 1.2? 50/85? I love your stream at flickr, but looks like you prefer the 50/1.4 in those shots.
- Nice shots! Pff, consider yourself lucky! In Canada it's up to -40 in the winter, can't shoot outside at all =(.
- Great locations. Hot couple. Awesome images.
I was starting to think that the weather gods had it out for Darby and Mark.. It seemed that every time we set a date for their engagement session, some sort of bad weather would pop up and force us to reschedule. Then the weather really took a turn for the worse, with strong winds, rain, and sub-30 temperatures, but with their wedding coming up quickly, we decided to tough it out and go ahead and shoot regardless. Fate must have taken pity on us, because not only did the clouds open up and give us a gorgeous, sunny two hour window to work with, I also got my new Canon 5D Mark II the day before their shoot! Darby and Mark were kind enough to let me try out a few new tricks on them, including the killer HD video option! I’m obviously no videographer, but having the HD video gave me a chance to put together a neat little mixed media slideshow for them. Check it out and let me know what you think! (Note: it takes awhile to load.. I suggest letting it load fully before viewing it)
Darby and Mark from Stacy Reeves on Vimeo.
If you’re like me and you love staring at beautiful people for hours on end, here are a few of my favorite images from the session:
8 Comments
- Oh YAH!! you rocked it - love, love, love it! So fun seeing them giggle & laugh & move!And your photos are beautiful as per usual :)
- Be sure to stop by the studio next time! :)
- I think these pictures are wonderful! I love your work! You are truly an inspiration. The video was fun too! :)
- That video is awesome!!!
- I love the video Stacy!! Darby and Mark look awesome!!
- Great work. Stay busy and keep on "keepin' on" ! Nice portfolio
- Fantastic job! I just got the Mark II as well and I'm doing an engagement shoot this week. I'm totally going to try a little video as well. Keep up the good work. I'm a fan :)
- Loved the shoot and the video, the 5DMII is a lot of fun; what are you using for video editing? Planning on making this a normal part of your flow? Love the style - great work!!!
Danielle - Gorgeous couple - and gorgeous work!! :-D
Camilla Photography - You are magic! Really really good Stacy!
Jess Cumbie - I wish we lived near TX and that we were getting married again!!! I <3 your work!
Manoela Carvalhais - So beautiful!! greetings from Brazil
Kia Gregory - Stacy Reeves...you da bomb. Love the light in every shot. Sigh.
Brian Hartman - Nice work, I love the running shot!
Erin - I love that tunnel of tree's, beautimas :D That b&w one is my favorite, all serious and perfect stance.