Engagement sessions really are the best – they’re an opportunity for me to get to know the couple, and for all of us to just get comfortable with one another. One of the things people often say about choosing your wedding photographer is to make sure it’s someone you feel comfortable with, and this is precisely why – because your photographer is going to be up in your face with a camera, fixing your hair and adjusting your tie, and spending the majority of your wedding day right alongside you.

This is why engagement sessions are so important to me – they allow me this opportunity to get to know the couple, of course, but they also allow me to see how they interact with one another. When it came to Johnny and Sandra, I got a chance to see how playful they were with each other, and how much they lit up in one another’s presence. Sandra was often laughing at something Johnny would say or do, and Johnny would laugh in return as he told Sandra whenever he thought she was being awkward amidst their posing. I really loved this, because in turn, I saw Sandra’s posture and smile relax – Johnny’s jokes had a way of calming her, and it honestly just felt like I happened to be watching two people hang out who simply love being around each other. Love can be a lot of things – it can be funny and sweet, it can be loud or subtle – but one thing it nearly always includes is a level of mutual admiration, which is exactly what I saw in their two faces during our afternoon together.