Engaging Myself Through Photography

This weekend I had the most amazing experience to photograph two of my friends, Lynden and Christine, who are engaged to be married next summer!  I got the call from her last Monday, and my first thought was, “No way, I’m nowhere near good enough.”  Thankfully I was in class when she called and could not answer, because I probably would have told her no without even giving it any thought.  Like I’ve mentioned many times, I’m a perfectionist, so I tend to stay away from doing things I’m not good at or have little experience doing.  However, one of my dreams that I rarely share with anyone is to be a photographer.  I wouldn’t really care if it was a full time job or just a side job I did because I absolutely love photography and do it anyway regardless of whether I get paid or not.

So, with that in mind, I called her back and told her I would be honored to take her photos.  I also added in a sidenote that they may turn out horribly just to save myself and Christine from any disappointment.  I later called for details, thinking that I would have a month or so to practice before the session since I honestly have never done a portrait shoot ever before.  Not ever, so you can imagine why this was scary for me.  Christine suggested we do it this weekend, so I gave in and said yes while I started to freak myself out.

We headed over to Centennial Lakes in Edina since it is not too far from my apartment and it had a lot of spots to take photos.  My worst nightmare happened when there was a HUGE wedding going on taking up one whole side along the lake, but it all worked out in the end.

Here are my favorites:

I had such a blast trying things out, giving pointers, and watching these two love on each other.  I couldn’t think of a better couple to do this with for the first time.  I’m not sure if it was their modeling skills or my photography skills that made these photos turn out, but either way I’m ready to practice some more!

I am off to scope out some unsuspecting photo subjects coughMr.ConverseSneakerscough so I can add to my portfolio!