CT Engagement Session

CT engagement session in Portland CT with graffiti walls

When I met up with Kristina and Joe for their summer CT engagement session this summer, it was warm but thank god it wasn’t as scorching as the one that got us up to 107!

No matter! They still brought the heat to their engagement session and my new Nikon Z6 camera was EN FUEGO the whole time! Not to be a nerd but to kind of be a nerd, I decided to give a mirrorless camera a go and decided today was the day, after months researching and picking the brains of my smart peers (thank you Gigi DeManio) I took the leap and invested in my sweet little Z6 and poor Kristina and Joe had to listen to me nerd out and squeal the entire time.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Kristina and her family for years and years after photographing both of her sister’s weddings. Alongside the Clark Eno Orchestra we are the repeat creative partners for each sister and I couldn’t be more honored! Weird fun fact: I have another set of sisters who had Clark Eno and me too! Is it a sign?

During our meeting Kristina warned me that Joe may be uncomfortable being photographed and she wasn’t sure how it would all go. Noted! I packed my clown nose and prepared myself to charm Joe into feeling comfortable enough with me to not mind being photographed, which is a win for me. Not only did Joe not mind being photographed, I dare say he LOVED IT…!! I laughed literally the entire time- from the buzz of a new piece of beautiful camera equipment and also because these two needed little to no direction or guidance, this session was legit ALL THEM. The snuggling, the intertwined arms, the laughing, all of it! Maybe they were laughing at my grunts and squeals, maybe… but I couldn’t help myself between them, the light, my sweet camera. I almost imploded!

We planned on doing their session in Middletown, since that’s where Joe grew up. We met up at the old Harbor Park, but Kristina nixed it because she wanted something a little grittier. They moved on to their second location and we all gave it the thumbs up! There was shade and grit for days, we settled in quick and got to work!

Couple kisses during their CT engagement session with graffiti walls in Portland CT Couple snuggles at their CT engagement session in Portland CT

As we were hading to our second location, I stopped in my tracks because this light was screaming my name and I had to answer the call. It turned into a little lesson: what looked like the most scrabble dabble of spots to them (and most anyone, really) was this spot below. Just some overgrown grass and weeds by an underpass, right? Nope! I know what my tools can do with this little pairing here and got to work fast and furious and made some images I am really happy with: snuggle time + golden hour light? Serve me up a slice of that pie please and thank you!

The lesson here, and I made sure to point this out to Kristina too- no matter where you take me, I will see things differently than you will. I can make some magic anywhere. Give me light, let me play with my tools and then adding these two to the mix and stick a spork in me, sir, I am DONE!

Flash forward to this bridge set up with the most golden of golden hour suns slowly sinking into the river and I am on cloud nine. Minus the fact that I am terribly afraid of heights but will overlook my fears when it comes to work… and here you go. It was worth the mindful stepping and laughter, I am so glad we got to be here together in a space that was meaningful to Joe!

The breeze was warm and amazing and there are two teenagers at the end of the bridge totally on some kind of date… we felt bad for a minute disturbing them! They were so cute.