Favorite Photos from 2012 - Lifestyle

Gathering photos for our end of the year recap is not an easy task. It involves searching through each and every shoot, wedding and personal folder to gather some of our favorite images. When I first started, I had gathered over 700 images. Narrowing down from there was not an easy task, so rather than relentlessly selecting *just the right photos* I decided to adopt the mantra "done is better than perfect." So, you'll be getting not one, not two but THREE separate blog posts today categorized into three types: Lifestyle (see above), Engagement and Wedding. We'll post all three today - so get ready for a lot of photos! It's been an incredible year filled with photography, so we hope you enjoy a small recap of the hundreds of thousands of times we clicked our shutter this year. The above photos include many personal projects (from Paris to Guatemala to the Badlands of South Dakota) and also a few snippets from the senior, family, baby and head shot clients we get the honor of photographing each year. The majority of these photos were taken on film, which is our preferred method of taking personal photos since it forces you to slow down and think carefully before you take the photo - something you don't always get the luxury of on a wedding day. We hope these photos make you as happy as they make us!

Savannah

We met up with Savannah in August when we were shooting a midwest wedding. The nice thing about engagement sessions and senior photo sessions (compared to weddings) is that you can reschedule the shoot if the weather is less than ideal. In southern South Dakota, the thought of the slight chance of rain was not at all in our minds because of the hot, dry summer they had this year. I mean really hot. And really dry. We found a time amongst our busy schedules to shoot at 6:00am on a Saturday morning and what happens? It rains. Pours in fact. We met up bright and early, hoping to the rain to pass, but it didn't. Trying not to let the weather dampen our spirits too much, we found a different time that day and met up again later in the afternoon. I don't know about you, but we believe that everything happens for a reason. And boy were we happy to stumble upon the locations and light we did with Savannah! There is no way we would have had such luck if we had tried to do the shoot in the morning, so while we were tired and bummed that our first effort didn't go through, the way the session turned out was truly meant to be. Savannah is an extremely talented dancer and beautiful person inside and out, so she made the session a breeze. We're so happy we were able to capture her senior year and know she has a bright future in store. Enjoy your last year of high school, Savannah!

Zoe

I love senior photo sessions. I truly do. There is something so special about capturing young adults as they transition from childhood to adulthood. Zoe's senior session was a blast since it was clear that she is truly ready to spread her wings and do amazing things in the world. Her energy was bursting with excitement and joy, and let me tell you, the best guarantee for good photographs is JOY. Zoe lives in Texas but we were able to meet up in South Dakota while we were traveling in June to shoot her session. I never get tired of shooting in South Dakota. Many photographers say the light is best in Southern California, but I think the flat prairie does pretty well for itself. The vast expanse of fields and farms makes for a stunning backdrop and can we just talk for a second about the HORSES in her photos?! As we were brainstorming ideas for Zoe's session, I kept returning to a vision of photographing her around horses (she does ride after all). I casually mentioned it to my Dad, who simply called up some friends of his and asked if we could swing by to take some photos with their horses. I kid you not, they said "Of course! See you in an hour!" And just like that, we jumped in the car and met Rosie, the supporting star of Zoe's session. A *huge* thank you to Jim and MaryAnn for their generosity on last minute notice to use their horses in this shoot. They represent the type of people that make the community I grew up in so wonderful.

Lindsey

I remember the day Lindsey was born. I was eight years old, playing baseball in the yard with my brother, and my mom came outside and said, “It’s a Girl! She had a girl and her name is Lindsey!” I jumped up and down. I now had TWO female cousins, which practically seemed like getting a string of pearls since the rest of my cousins were energetic and rowdy boys (God bless them). Lindsey will be graduating from high school this year so when she asked me to shoot her senior portraits, I was flattered. I love shooting senior sessions. I had the privilege of being in South Dakota a month or so ago, and while the wind blew it’s mighty force upon our time together, we made the best of it and explored the little nooks and crannies of the town I call home. Lindsey is clearly a natural in front of the camera, and I enjoyed spending time with my not-so-little anymore cousin. I love you Linds! You’re going to go far in this little thing called life.