A week and a half ago, I had the opportunity to photograph my first ever documentary engagement session. Allison and Eric were nervous about getting a series of cheesy portraits when they’re not really into being in front of the camera, so I suggested we photograph them doing an activity they enjoy together … and they came up with baking cookies! We met up at Eric’s family home in Lexington for the session (Allison and Eric now live in Seattle, my home for three years). It was actually my first time meeting Eric, and I got to say hi to the moms, too. 🙂
You would be forgiven for thinking, “ooh, documentary style – so they baked cookies and every so often there would be some instruction to get the right shot”. Nope. I could have done that, and gotten some cutesy let’s lick the spoon together, or let’s knead the dough together photos, but I was far more interested in going totally PJ and not instructing at all. It was a pretty fun challenge for me!
Of course, we did take a few portraits too …
… but my favorite photos were from the documentary stuff. Here they are fixing a puncture on one of Eric’s family’s bikes (these guys are big into their cycling and running – they fit in pretty well in Seattle, I bet!)
These two make a pretty darn good team.
We ended the session with a few photos outside in Lexington Center. Thank you guys for trusting my vision, and for coming up with such cool ideas for the session! I hope you enjoy the teasers. Oh, and a special shout-out to our awesome mutual friend Jen in Seattle, for putting us in touch. Thank you Jen! OK and finally … to any other couples out there that are tempted to try a documentary style session … do it! It’s the best way to get photos that are really unique to YOU.
Hi Kate – Hope you got the recipe for these cookies so we can enjoy them when we visit! I really like this set and think that Allison and Eric will look back at these photos with great affection in the years to come.