let love grow

day 217

Since the last time I took pictures of Becca and Michael, I'd say I've grown a lot in photography. It was so much fun to see them again, and hopefully Becca and I can meet up one more time to take photos before I go to college. It was really funny, I was shocked when she told me her idea for this photo because I had thought of nearly the exact same idea. Funny how things like that work out, no?

modernization

dress: handmade // skirt: asos // shoes: forever 21




There were seriously a million mosquitoes around when I took these photos. In Alaska we have this joke that mosquitoes are the state bird because they get so big and there are a ton of them. I have mosquito bites everywhere, there's even one particularly itchy one on the tip of my elbow. Gosh, I hate mosquitoes.




I'm not quite sure this ensemble is quite representative of my everyday style, but regardless, I felt really awesome wearing it. I'm not one to wear tube skirts or whatever they're called (and quite honestly no one should wear those things), but now I can see the joy in those little things. This skirt (and I didn't realize this when I purchased it online) is actually a tube skirt with a bubble skirt attached over it. It makes the skirt stay in one place on me but still gives a full, pretty skirt look.





I hope you all have a fantastic day!

to the ends of the earth

day 216









I got to spend the majority of my day with Matt, watching Doctor Who, eating a yummy dinner with his family, and then finally canoeing on the lake. He took me to "Africa," the other side of the lake given the name when he and his siblings were younger. It's so awesome to be able to explore his childhood places, and hearing stories from when he was a kid just makes me love him even more.

Joel + Marquel

I finally finished editing the photos from Joel and Marquel's wedding! I'm so excited to share some of my favorites with you. This was my first wedding as the photographer and I learned so so much, let's hope I can put the new skills to the test in future weddings.







The thing I was initially nervous about was being on stage during the ceremony. People always come up to me and compliment on my ability to appear invisible. I had taken photos for my church earlier this year and the pastor said he didn't even notice me running around everywhere snapping photos (and we go to a small church so it's pretty easy to see everyone).

For the wedding, I had a little bit of a name to live up to in that respect, plus I didn't want to be the annoying photographer who blocked everyone's view. One major thing I learned was that it is nearly impossible to shoot a wedding alone. I'm so thankful that my friend Jacob and my boyfriend Matt were also photographers with me, because it actually is impossible to be in three places at once. As for remaining invisible, I ended up standing on the stage nearly the entire time, so I had nothing to worry about.








The biggest challenge was actually taking charge and directing people. For those of you who have been reading my blog for even a little bit know that I'm an introvert (hello, blog name), so it's hard for me to tell people much louder than me what to do. I'm noticing that every time I babysit, I get better at being authoritative, and this wedding really stretched me to work harder on that characteristic. (I just have to remember that people won't really remember the photographer being a little loud to get people to listen.)








This day was definitely a whirlwind. It was busy and tiring but I absolutely loved it, and I hope I get to do more weddings in the future. (And on a side note for my own documentation purposes: Matt asked me to dance for one song, so we both took a quick break from taking photos to dance. It was super sweet of him for giving me a break from taking pictures of other people having fun.)








My favorite part of the wedding? Giving Joel and Marquel photos that I'm proud of and having them love every single one. Thank you guys so much for putting so much faith in me and for letting me share your special day!