Brittney & Rhett both work in Knoxville as music teachers, but Brittney grew up here in Nashville, and this is where they will be getting married. Rhett was a real trooper, as he was getting over a cold… but that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm and spontaneity. Thanks so much for a great session guys!

Carrie and Brandon are a couple of Yankees who are going to be married at Cedarwood here in Nashville in a few weeks, and we took this opportunity while they are in town finalizing plans to photograph their engagement session at Ellington Agricultural Center and the Shelby Street Bridge. Just like nearly every couple I shoot, they warned me in advance that “they don’t photograph well.” As usual, they did a great job for me and I was pleased with the genuine bits of interaction that occurred throughout the shoot. The first shot is a perfect example of the kind of spontaneous moments that I really enjoy: Brandon wasn’t directed to do that, and it made all the difference.

Its always a challenge to shoot in a spot that you’ve worked on many previous occasions, so I was particularly pleased to find a new angle on the Shelby Street Bridge that I hadn’t tried before. I really dug the composition of shot #6 as something different and interesting.

Thanks for a great session guys, and thanks to Chip for coming out and helping me with the gear!

Its always a challenge to guess-timate the brief window of fall colors here in middle Tennessee for portrait sessions and weddings, and I was worried that we’d scheduled this one a little bit too late for Kimmia and Brent to get leaves in any colors other than brown. Fortunately, some careful scouting and a little luck found this one row of beautiful red trees right next to LP Field, under the Shelby Street Bridge.

A number of my photographer buddies who helped me proof this set commented on how gorgeous and photogenic Kimmia is. Don’t worry! We are definitely doing a bridal session as well.

Shelby and Alex live just a few houses down the street from us, so it was really easy for us to meet when they were looking for a wedding photographer!

I’ve gotta give these two credit: they’re cute, they dressed well, and looked good on camera. This makes my job easy. We started out headed to Radnor Lake, but the day was so beautiful that a line stretched down the street from the parking lot… Well, we were already running a bit late and were chasing the pretty light, so we were forced to park “creatively” in order to get some portraits before the sun dipped too low. We worked fast in the fading light and got some great shots that worked with the lovely fall colors, and fortunately the Rangers were kind enough to let us off with a warning on the parking spot.

From Radnor, we moved along to the Shelby Street bridge (what an appropriate street!). I’d told Alex at the start of the shoot that I always encourage uninhibited spontaneity during my engagement sessions, but he waited until we were up on the bride to surprise Shelby by picking her up and spinning her around. The reactions and expressions in that shot are natural and wonderful to me.

Thanks for the wonderful session guys!

Daniele and André chose to have their engagement photos taken on the Shelby Street Bridge and in downtown Nashville. The bridge can be a bit of a challenge, because MANY photographers and couples have used it for their portraits: it can be challenging to find something different there. However, I was pleased with the results of this session, in large part because Daniele and André did a great job of loosening up and having fun while I was taking their picture.