Despite being born and raised in the “big city” of Dallas, I’ll always be a bit of a country girl at heart. Lately I’ve been shooting a lot in some more rural areas, and I have fallen in love with it. I love the huge, rolling fields and patches of trees and winding dirt roads and all of the beautiful animals and livestock you find out there. Photography has given me so much more of an appreciation for nature, and any chance I can get to go out and shoot beautiful people in beautiful natural places, I really enjoy. Photographing Jessica and Rawley’s engagement session at Jessica’s family ranch in Aubrey, TX and historic downtown Pilot Point was one of those opportunities. Here are some of my favorites from their session:
To see more images from their session, follow the link below:
Click to continue reading “Jessica and Rawley’s Rustic Ranch Engagement Session”
I love the title of this post, because I feel like it fits Abby perfectly. If I had to describe Abby’s style in two words, it would be “rustic couture.” On the surface, Abby is a typical Texas country girl. She owns a horse, she wears her cowboy boots regularly, she attended a university known for its agricultural history, she competed on an equestrian team, and I’m fairly sure she would feel right at home on a four-wheeler bumping down an old gravel road. That said, she’s also one of the most stylish brides I’ve ever had. She’s got a great sense of fashion and style, and put together a truly smoking hot look for her wedding day. She’s a great catch – a down home country girl who also knows how to work it in a pair of Louboutins! She also happens to be a real trooper when it comes to photos. Her bridal session was FREEEEEZING (and her Day After session in snowy Paris was even colder) but she never complained once. Here are a few of my faves:
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- I love the second and last photograph! Great job!
- Stunning super awesomeness.
- you do pretty amazing work stacy.
- YOU ARE AMAZING! Beautiful, Stacy! As always.
- Floored.
- Great job! These photos are beautiful ~ and right on the money w/ the idea 'rustic couture' :)
- Yay Abby!!! you look absolutely gorgeous!! you captured her perfectly, stacy!
- Wow, beautiful post Stacy. The photos in the woods are my faves.
- WOW! Beautiful bride and beautiful photos. I love your light, she just pops out of the photo!
- I love this shoot! The gorgeous diva+rustic background is a perfect combo!!
- beautiful!! i love the cold feel to the images and how bright she was, especially her purple bouquet. i like how you use the tilt shift(effect or lens) in the image (third one from the bottom). LOVE your work!
- Hello Stacy, I love the way you framed Abby at the bridge and the entrance way, like the poses, too!
- Ooh, Stacy! I was a rustic bride myself, and these are to die for. Nice work!
- That 2nd shot is my fav!! Great work Stacy!!
- Holy cow! These are incredible! All of them. Really great job!
- Completely amazing...you are such a talent Stacy.
- [...] Stacy’s website. There’s also a positively beautiful bridal portrait session right here {click}. The many looks of [...]
- I LOVE the one in the woods with the bouquet. Who knew that bridal gowns in the woods would look so fabulous? Stacey Reeves, I guess. :)
- FANTASTIC photo's!!
- Absolutely AMAZING bridal shots!!! Makes me wish I wasn't already married, so you could do my wedding! ;) Great work!
Between seniors, newborns, and maternity sessions, it seems like I have really been stretching my creative muscle lately! Gara is a good friend who I owed a huge debt to after she referred one of my all-time favorite weddings to me, Jenni and Cade’s gorgeous garden affair, not to mention all of her invaluable legal advice, so naturally I couldn’t turn down the chance to photograph her, her husband Brandon, and their beautiful unborn baby boy Travis (who has now joined us – welcome to the world little T-rav!). Gara loves photography as much as I do, so we had been planning for this session for weeks, and I hope it was everything she dreamed it would be! Here are some of my favorites from the session:
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- The couple looks so nice and really breathtakingly beautiful! wonderful photos as usual.
- Seriously, how great was this session? So many awesome ones!
- SO SO SO SO SO SO amazing. I actually enjoyed these even more than your weddings.
- OMG I L*O*V*E these!! The ones with the sheer fabric are absolutely ridiculous awesome. I think I stared at them for like 5 min each lol. WOW!
- I love the silhouette shot of them back to back.
- These are unbelievable - so beautiful.
I can’t say this enough – I LOVE DAY AFTER SESSIONS! They are easily my favorite thing to photograph. It is everything I love about bridal sessions, engagement sessions, and weddings all rolled up into one. I especially love it when a couple as much style and personality as Jenny and Casey. I could photograph these two all the live long day and never get sick of looking at their beautiful faces and how loving they are with each other. Posting this session actually makes me a little sad because I won’t have any excuse to put them back on the blog after this! Here are some of my favorites from their Day After session at the Old McKinney Cotton Mill.
There are so many benefits to doing a Day After session.. For starters, you don’t have to spend much/any time getting these photos on the wedding day, so you get to your reception faster and don’t have to leave your guests waiting for as long. You can also go to whatever location you want, and it gives me much more freedom to pose you because I don’t have to be so worried about getting dirt on the dress or the tux. We’re not rushed at all, so we can take time to try new and unique things and get a much more diverse collection of images for you to choose from. Even though the session is called a Day After session, I rarely do them on the actual day after the wedding. Jenny and Casey’s session was done a week after their wedding, and many couples choose to wait until after they return from their honeymoon and have had time to relax and unwind from the flurry of wedding activity. I’ve even had a few couples choose to do their Day After session during their honeymoon – this January I’ll be traveling with one of my couples to Paris and Venice to do their session! If you’re interested in getting gorgeous images of you and your spouse-to-be, let me know!
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- WOW! LOVE this shoot! The location, the lighting, everything...just gorgeous! Perhaps one of my favorites of yours. And the empty warehouse...did you sneak in? What a fun place to take some photos!
- You use the locations so well Stacy...! Another great series, congratulations.
- I love your work!! These pics are so romantic and sweet. The feet shot is great and I love your use of the flare in the last shot!
- i LOVE this session, SO much!! it's romantic, beautiful....just perfect!
- I love the last pic Stacy, very serene and romantic. Kudos!
- Stacy, you say you don't use grey card to set your camera to the right white balance. How do you get it just right then? Is it experience and you just simply know what K you need for the particular light situation or you use AWB and fix it up in Photoshop later? Thanks :) P.s.: Your work is still a big motivation kick and thank you for that! :)
- I shoot in RAW so it would be pointless for me to set the white balance as it just resets to the default in Lightroom anyway. But even if I didn't, I would likely use AWB because the lighting during a wedding can change dramatically in a matter of seconds, and if I were busy always shooting my grey card and changing the WB, I would miss out on a lot of great moments.
- I LOVE this shoot! Especially the photo of them in the middle of the barn when Casey has his cowboy hat on and they're kissing... love!
- This is my favorite session ever - of anyone - EVER. :) Your skills are amazing, am totally digging your style. Ahhhh, the tones!!
- Oh my goodness...I am just in love with your work! You are a true artist =) The last one is my absolute fave--sooo romantic!!
- I can tell why Day After Sessions are your favorite! These are gorgeous images! You are a master at backlighting - inpirational!
I know I say this pretty much every time I post a bridal session, but I really truly mean it this time… this one is one of my all-time favorites. There were so many things that went right with this session. The weather was perfect – sunny with a nice breeze, blue skies filled with pretty, fluffy clouds. Leah looked beautiful as always, her asymmetrical gown gave her the perfect curves no matter what angle she stood at, and the halter neckline meant that I wasn’t limited on body movement (as I am with many strapless dresses). Leah and I were completely on the same wavelength when it came to locations: my favorite place to shoot is in a forest or garden surrounded by blooming natural trees, tall grass, and flowers, and Leah wanted to wander around The Woodlands (which got its name for a good reason) and just pull over at some random pretty spots for photos. It was also one of my longer bridal sessions, because we were having so much fun and finding so many interesting locations that I completely lost track of time! Normally after about an hour most brides are so tired of being in their dress already that they just want to call it a day, but Leah was such a trooper and was so into trying new things that we kept going for a good 3-4 hours!
This one is going to be a two-parter, but you’ll find out why soon.. For now, here are some of my faves from the “normal” part of the session:
This image is so quintessentially Leah.. She’s always laughing, always having a great time. You can’t really be around Leah for more than five seconds and not smile!
I have this thing about “signature images”… I’m always looking for images that encompass everything that I want my brand and my style to be about. For me, these two images are the embodiment of my brand. Southern, romantic, vintage, timeless, soft, elegant, fashion-inspired, relaxed, fun.. These two images represent all of it!
Stay tuned later this week for part two of this session, with a fun twist (that will also function as a T4B – Tips for Brides post!).
18 Comments
- These are all gorgeous. Love the location, the processing and what a beautiful bride.
- She has beautiful forever-long eyelashes! I love the one with the veil of her laughing. Great job!
- I definitely have to say this is some of my favorite bridal work from you. The images are so wistful and romantic. I love the soft, cross-processed look. Superbly done.
- Truly inspiring and beautiful images! I love your work!
- Beautiful session! I love the mix of elegance and playfulness. Great work! :)
- This is my all-time favorite as well. Gorgeous.
- Awesome work, as usual, Stacy! I really like adjectives you chose in describing your signature images :). My favourite image from this set is the one just before your two signature images, for it's magnificently framed and the light there is spectacular (especially in the background)!
- this is such a beautiful session. The brise looks amazing, and your processing is awsome. GREAT JOB!
- Gorgeous photos! You really capture the Bride stunningly. Can't wait to see part two.
- she is so beautiful! and you took fabulous, spectacular, and stunning photos, as usual. can't wait to see the next post.
- I love your processing on these...adds such a great deal to the already wonderful images! Great work!
- These are breathtaking! Really beautiful :)
- absolutely stunning - as usual. you are incredible with these brides!
- Beautiful photos.
- Just want to say that you are my favorite wedding photographer. No other take pictures like this!!! Keep it up:) Photo-hug Martin Doshé
- What gorgeous pictures and the scenery and bride are elegant!
- GORGEOUS! Oh these are just dreamy Stacy!
- [...] darned cute! To see more of the shoot, head on over to Stacy’s blog {part one}, {part two-the headpieces}. Stacy also provides a really good list of resources for finding unique [...]
Shandra - Fabulous! You are extremely talented!
Jeremy Gilliam - Great work Stacy! So many pretty photos. Cool walls on the buildings out there too.
"G" - The first picture on the left looks like it should be in a magazine. I love the post processing on it. ^_^
Nessa K - I loved all of the awesome vintage signs in the background. What a cool spot to take photos! And your photos are always so lovely. Love love love.
geneoh - Awesome processing, Stacy!
Rae - Stace you really are the queen of posing :)
Chantal Brown Photography - I love how you're able to work with natural light and make the pictures beautiful. I'm such a blog stalker! I love all your pictures!
charles - Really you have done an excellent job.
Porter Watkins - LOVE love love the one of them on the stairs, immediately followed by the 1st BW in the field, and that last shot is seriously adorable. stacy, youre my favorite.
Luke Carrangis - Fantastic images and posing. You are the queen of posing! I love it.
Nikole - Stacy - why are you always so amazing? These photos are gorgeous. This couple is beautiful and they look so in love. And it is always awesome when puppies are involved.
brooke - I always lose track of "my favorites are..." when I'm checking out your blog - stunning, all of them :)
Abby - I love the Paint Horse, of course! :-) These are so great.
fotograf lublin - Magic colours, nice shoots!!
Cheshire wedding photographer - Very nice lighting throughout. Great use of surroundings and composition!