My Time as a Photographer -- Take Two!

When your two best friends ask you to take pictures of them for part of their wedding reception decor, you really can't say no.  Even though I prefaced it with, "I'm really not that good" and "Are you really sure you want my goofy butt to do it?", they still insisted that it would be perfect.  PERFECT!  Great - no pressure.

To prep, I reviewed my notes from the last time I played photographer {My Time as a Photographer} and did more research on outdoor photography.  I read blog upon blog about camera settings and proper lighting.  I even read some articles about directing people during a photo shoot.  I felt armed.

I was soooooo not prepared.

Here's the thing about taking pictures of your two best friends who are about to have the biggest event of their lives thus far........after 14 years of being together........... it's emotional.

A few times during the shoot, I had to hide behind my lens or fain getting something in my eye to hide the little tears.  I mean, come on!  I just love these two!  Look at them!

Ugh!  I'm getting emotional again!  Anyway!

They were actually very easy to photograph.  Even though I took about 560 pictures and only really liked 20 of them, I'm still really happy with the way these turned out.  They love each other so much that I didn't even have to try hard to capture it.

They were the perfect mix of romantic and silly with each other during the shoot.  I have more goofy photos than kissy-kissy ones, but that's pretty much the story of their relationship.  And on this morning, even the birds wanted in on the fairy tale.  Check on the picture of them walking away from me.... does anyone else see a heart?

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A really fun twist on their wedding was the addition of baseball elements.  The groom has played baseball his entire life and it is such a huge part of their story - of course they had to incorporate it!

We went to a local Little League baseball field for some really fun shots!  Aside from the bride's inability to keep dirt off her, everything went swimmingly.  They were infinitely more comfortable at the baseball field than they were at the park and these pictures ended up having a lot more life to them.

The bride purchased a custom bat from Pick Your Plum a few months prior to the wedding and created the heart shape with an assortment of used baseballs.  It turned out to be a perfect accent to the pictures!  They also brought along baseball gloves for a quick game of catch and of course they needed to be used in the photos!

I am actually very touched that they trusted me with these photos.  They have been two of my best friends since I was 14 years old and I am so grateful to have them in my life.  They are wonderful people who do wonderful things and I couldn't have been happier for them.

Again... no, I'm not a photographer... 

but it's fun pretending!