Category: Engagements

Autumn is upon us and that means it's peak season for weddings and engagement sessions! The vast majority of people who book me mention they do so as they like my use of available light and my documentary style, but also want a few relaxed portraits together. Obviously, when we take photos like this, the whole documentary approach ...

It's been a while since I shared an engagement session and I've shot quite a few over the last few weeks. So let's put that right! Here's a Duke Gardens engagement session I photographed a few weeks ago. I've known Nikki for a few years through some corporate work I did a few years back with what is now The Pink Ceiling. So I was r ...

Rain Stops Play - Well, actually it was the catalyst for a really fun (and different) engagement shoot with Melanie and Anthony. We met up at West End Wine Bar in Durham and were on our way out when the heavens opened and a summer rainstorm was suddenly unleashed upon us. It was a total downpour, so we headed back inside. The origi ...

I met up with Abby & Chad on a chilly, cloudy Sunday for a beer and a chat at James Joyce's in downtown Durham, followed by a fun walk around Duke Gardens for their engagement photography session. Cloudy days bring a certain mood and the light was beautifully soft that afternoon. Abby & Chad went with two very contrasting l ...

So, late last month I got the chance to photograph this fab couple for their Duke Gardens engagement photography session. Lauralee, Taylor and their cute pooch, Poppy, joined me one evening for a couple of libations at Geer St. Garden where we chatted and got to know each other a little bit. From there, we headed out for an autumn- ...

Shooting at golden hour is photographer nirvana. Most of the time, that means shooting at sunset, especially in the summer months when sunrise is so early in the morning. Shooting at sunrise in June, though, you get the benefit of cooler temperatures than in the afternoon and the fact most people are still in bed, so places that wo ...

A couple of weekends back, I got to spend a few hours in the company of these two lovely people as we took a stroll around the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and West Campus at Duke. It was a pretty warm day and the gardens were slammed with multiple weddings and prom-goers having their photos taken. We did our best to slip the crowds and f ...

A couple of weekends ago, I met up with Kim and Jeff for their Raleigh engagement photography shoot at Jeff's parents farm in Fuquay-Varina. We had a couple of beers and then headed out to take some shots as the sun set and the "Super Moon" made its appearance. It was a really lovely evening and we had a lot of fun exploring the li ...

A couple of weekends ago, I flew up to NYC for an engagement shoot with Lara & Juice. We met up for drinks in their Greenwich Village apartment and went for a walk in the evening sunlight to take pictures around their home. From there, we headed up to the roof of their building to take some shots of the Manhattan skyline at dus ...

A couple of weeks back, I headed down to Christina & Jerry's farm in Broadway, NC for their engagement session. On the way home, I went a different route and drove by fields and fields of beautiful flowers, which were just begging for pictures - so the next day we went back for some more photos! Here are my faves from the 2 shoots. ...

Well, spring seemed to take an age to show up properly, but a couple of weekends back, we were treated to a really beautiful Saturday evening. As luck would have it, I had a UNC engagement photography session set up for that evening, so I loaded up and headed out to Chapel Hill to meet up with Eleanna and Michael. After a couple of ...

Last week, I headed out to Duke Gardens with Yasmin and Mike for a really fun engagement shoot. Regular readers of the blog will know I shoot there a lot, so to keep things fresh on this occasion I challenged myself to shoot with just two pieces of gear: a Canon digital camera with an 85mm f/1.2 lens and a Pentax 67 camera with a 1 ...

Duke Gardens on a sunny autumn morning. It doesn't get much better than that! Here are a few frames from Megan and Shawn's Durham engagement session from just before Thanksgiving. Looking forward to their big day in May!

Perciliz and Brendan are getting married next month, so it was great to be able to spend some time with them both enjoying a couple of cocktails before heading out to shoot their Duke Gardens engagement session. It was a grey, humid day, but we managed to find the light and have some fun. Here are just a few of my faves from our se ...

I met up with Kathryn and Justin a few weeks back to shoot their engagement pictures around Duke Gardens. It was one of the first warm days of spring so the gardens were were pretty packed. We took some time to venture off the beaten track to find some space to ourselves. Here are a few of my fave pics from the shoot.

I've been a bit sporadic with my updates recently; it's been a crazy autumn and things are only just starting to slow down for me. Anyway, I plan to catch up over the next few weeks, so we're all good! To get things back on track, what better way than this recent Raleigh engagement photography session? I had no idea there were s ...

Dear Internets, The Raleigh wedding photography season is in full swing and that means lots of great engagement sessions to post! Vanessa and Jimmy's took place a couple of weeks back. We met up for a frosty beer (or three) at The Hive bar over the Busy Bee Café in downtown Raleigh. This was the spot the happy couple met at last ...

Dear Internets, Being chosen to document a Duke University Chapel wedding is always an honour. Being asked to be the photographer for the wedding of Duke University Chapel's Director of Worship is extremely humbling indeed. In our initial consultation call, Meghan and I both agreed that it's important for there to be a connec ...

A couple of weekends back, I met up with Naomi and Matt for an early morning cup of coffee and an engagement session in the grounds around Duke Chapel. The sun shone, the birds sang and good times were had by all involved. Seriously, we had a laugh and made the most of the gorgeous light to get some great shots. It was great fun! ...

Early on Christmas Eve, I met up with Jordan and Matt for coffee and a chat before heading out into the cold, sunny winter air for some Duke University engagement photography shenanigans around the Duke campus. Despite the frosty temperatures, it was a lovely day for shooting. The grounds were deserted and the light was gorgeous ...

I'm looking forward to shooting Lindsey and Michael's wedding this coming weekend. I thought it might be a good time to share a few of my faves from their recent Raleigh engagement photography session. For those that are interested, the session took place at the North Carolina Museum of Art and Yates Mill County Park in Raleigh. ...

Hi everyone, At the end of March, I got together with Cassie and John for a walk around downtown Raleigh for their engagement photography session. We met up at The Oxford, had a couple of drinks and headed out into the city to find the light as the sun was setting. As always, I tried to do things a little differently from my ...

Back in the autumn, I met up with Tara and Seth in Chapel Hill for their engagement session. You can see we were blessed with great light and had a fab time. I'm looking forward to photographing their Brier Creek Country Club wedding next year!

With the season over for us Raleigh wedding photographers, I'm already looking forward to what 2013 has to offer! First up will be Jessica and Bo, whose Carolina Inn wedding I will be shooting in a few weeks. Their Chapel Hill engagement session took place one grey Sunday morning in November, where we met at the Carolina Inn, had a ...

A couple of days back, I met up with Akiko and Jordan bright and early at Jack Sprat's coffee shop in downtown Chapel Hill. We met up early to avoid the heat and get the best light, and after a double espresso and a chat, I was ready to rock n' roll. Akiko and Jordan were a really fun couple to work with and their chemistry rea ...

Last Saturday, I met up with Thelsa and Phil at Top of the Hill in downtown Chapel Hill for their engagement session. We had a couple of drinks and a chat, before heading off to the UNC campus for pictures around the gorgeous campus grounds there. We went for a relaxed stroll and took some shots by the Old Well and around Coker Abo ...

A week or so ago, I spent a couple of hours on a Saturday evening hanging out with Lisa and Mark in downtown Raleigh for their engagement session. We had a couple of drinks in The Oxford (I need to keep it real and English) to catch up and loosen up a little before heading out for a walk around Fayetteville Street. It really is a g ...

Back in November, I got together with Jacquie and Erik for their engagement session at The Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham. It was a gorgeous sunny morning in Durham and we took some time to walk around the gardens and get some pictures with the autumn colours of the garden providing a beautiful backdrop for our images. Jacquie ...

When I first spoke with Monica back in early February, one of the first things we chatted about was the fact that she wanted to do an engagement photo shoot, but that she thought her fiancé Mark wasn't too keen on the idea. I knew exactly what she meant as the idea of 'staged' poses is enough to send a lot of people, myself include ...

I recently took a trip down to Greenville, SC to shoot an engagement session for Samantha and Jimmy, whose wedding I will be documenting in October. I had spoken with them once or twice back in November last year, so it was really nice to hang out, have a couple of drinks and take some pictures together. They really are a fun coup ...