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Spring Rose Garden Anniversary Session | Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Let us start all the way at the beginning when I met these two. We laugh about it now but at the time I was FREAKING out. OMG. This is where they want me to take pictures? Oh no. How am I going to make this work? There’s no way these photos will turn out. And unfortunately, I was right. Kayla inquired with me last year about getting family photos done for her immediate family which was about 15-20 people lined up. She told me they would like to have them done at their church in front of this brick wall. I explained how I prefer to shoot outdoors using natural light but the weather was taking a turn for the worse for the year and they had newborn twins included so being outside was out of the question. But I thought, ok, I’ve got flash, I know how to use it, I’ll make it work!

When I arrived, her family led me to a large room upstairs with black walls, black ceiling, tiny pendent lights directing the light down and not a single window in site. Now is when my heart starts to beat a little faster, I start to get warmer and stress is about to pour out of me. But I kept my cool in front of them and played it off.

Well, in the end, I couldn’t deliver these images. I felt absolutely terrible but it just was not even close to an ideal location. I couldn’t bear the idea of sending this lovely family grainy photos with dark eye sockets and poor skin tones! I just couldn’t! (Sorry, Kayla and family!) I can’t even believe I’m posting the image in here but I KNOW y’all are curious… This was even after SO MUCH TIME editing — and you bet your butt I’m keeping the image small because I’m already embarrassed to even share it on here! Just…ugh. Not good. Hang on while I go cry in a corner looking back at this photo.

We all start somewhere, ya know… But I digress… So I told them I would do a re-shoot in the Spring, on the house and they said that’d be fine. When it came time to plan, though, Kayla said she was thinking about just having it be her and Cole (which I was thrilled, ’cause if you’ve been here a minute, you know couples are my bread and butter!)

So about Kayla and Cole’s session! They’ve been married two years this past April and recently bought their first home so we definitely had reason to celebrate! We started in The Rose Garden at Lakeside Park in Fort Wayne where I found the most glorious light at sunset! Then we stopped by the new house for a wardrobe change where they both switched to Marvel tees to match Magnum’s collar. Magnum is their sweet, pit bull who we took for a little walk on the Greenway! Enjoy my faves from their session this past Monday evening!

They literally said “we can dance, if you want” and got the sweetest photos!