A Relaxed Sunset Session with Tessa & Drew

Jun 22

I have known Tessa since we were Fresh faced Art School kids, dreaming of successful Photography businesses, families, and the promises of independence on the other side of our diploma.
That was 10 years ago.
life. has. happened.
But instead of telling you the story, I’ll tell you how it ends.

Saturday June 5, 2022

I am a nervous. I haven’t photographed an engagement session in nearly a year. I am coming out of a hiatus, with three boys all 4 and under, a podcast, a half started novel manuscript, and a new website to show for it.

I have changed. a lot.

Tessa and drew have also been through a lot.

we all have.

And to be totally honest, all that shit makes you stop caring about what you used to care about.

You care about new things now.

and that’s a good thing.

so: I decided this wasn’t going to be a “normal” engagement session. I wasn’t going to start this thing immediately panicking about the light or poses or what lens to use. I did something I’ve always wanted to do, but never built in the time for.

I just talked to them.

I used to talk while shooting, but I was never really listening. I was in shooting mode, and the talking was for them.

This time, the talking was for me.

I asked Tessa and Drew to sit in the grass and I didn’t even take my camera out of the bag for 20 solid minutes.

We just talked.

This is what I want to know: “Why are we here?”

this conversation set the tone for our night together.

I was able to see and HEAR clearly the depth of their love and friendship, and because of that attention we all gave one another before a single photograph was taken, the resulting session was the most relaxed I have ever been with a camera in my hands. I was able to step into Their energy tOGETHER, and I think you can feel that in these images, and you become a voyeur through the screen as you scroll through these.

I’m going to start this gallery with the very first Photo I took that night.

This is how tessa & drew sat while they told me all the ways that this person beside them is their best friend.