Denise + Thomas | Engagement Session Preview

– Posted by Mark

This is Denise & Thomas. They found us through one of our write-ups on A Practical Wedding last year, and I’m photographing their wedding in a few months with Alumni Intern Jenna. This is also Newark, New Jersey. You know – except for the part where I had to spend the night in the Charlotte airport on the way back (because of a storm that caused me to miss a connection) – this trip was pretty awesome.

Good food (we stopped by a Diner before we started things), good people (duh), and everything was new to me! Seriously – all of this flying around to shoot engagement sessions in new cities is really forcing me to find brand new locations in/around Atlanta (it’s one of those things where a lot of photographers end up using the same locations for their engagement sessions.)

Oh. So, Denise and Thomas. Good sports. Well – Great sports. Especially considering that they did EVERYTHING I TOLD THEM TO DO!… No just kidding. Mostly – they were completely awesome when I got the crazy idea to go walk into the tall grass area of the swamps around Liberty State Park. It had just been raining all week in New Jersey so the mosquito population grew exponentially AND they were the size of my head. We stood out there exactly 7 minutes and then ran back to the car after Denise acquired 27 bug bites up and down her legs. Yeah.

One thing Newark has is an endless supply of industrial city-scapes to use as backdrops.

Starting next month we’re going to be traveling a little bit. California, Maine, Texas, New York, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and… Atlanta! I just photographed an engagement session in Virginia, and we have a few more out of town e-sessions scheduled. We’re taking on a new Season of Interns in a week and if you thought the past Seasons had a good time – just wait until you see what we do with Season Six (we’re accepting applications starting THIS MONDAY.)

Pro Tip 1: When working 18 hour days (traveling/shooting/traveling) – you recover a lot easier when you’re in better health. (I’ve been running like crazy (literally running, it’s an Adidas ad around here these days) and things were a lot easier / I was much less tired during and after my recent 18 hour day for that session in Virginia.)

Pro Tip 2: When traveling to shoot – maybe you don’t need to bring EVERYTHING just in case.

Pro Tip 3: Don’t drink so much coffee. Okay, nevermind, drink All. You. Want.

Pro Tip 4: Some people quit while they’re ahead. Others, just Turn. It. On.

Pro Tip 5: Number 4 wasn’t really a tip, and I suppose neither is number 5.