I know there are a select few of us who rise and shine ready and prepared for lookin’ fine… but there is a larger group of us that wake up with no idea how to put a Kardashian-style outfit together . Engagement sessions aren’t supposed to be stressful, but when a couple realizes that this is their very own opportunity to be followed around by the paparazzi catching them in sweet cuddles and venti- Starbucks’, I understand why so many come to me in a panic about how to dress for success. Fret no more, my dear clients (and even those that aren’t my clients!), use this as a personal guide for how to make sure you can easily pass for brilliant and beautiful.

(Disclaimer, other photographers with varying styles may or may not agree with this. This guide corresponds to the style we shoot in and what we’ve discovered works best)

 

1) NO logos (or phrases)-  This is probably the first thing that comes out of my mouth when talking about what to wear. Why no logos? Logos are meant to be seen, and if you’re wearing a shirt with a large ‘POLO‘ or ‘GIRL’S JUST WANNA HAVE FUN‘ across the chest, that is what will be seen, not you. These images are about you, and who you guys are, not what you’re wearing. Save your giant horses and ‘Juicy‘ bottomed pants for home.
2) Be aware of your environment- Think about where the session will take place, and what type of clothing is appropriate.  Will it be casual? Outdoors? Cold? Hot? While your new 5-in Louboutin’s may be gorgeous, they likely are not suitable for hiking around Central Park (or any park!). If the shoes are a clutch part of your outfit, consider bringing comfy ones to walk around in and changing when it’s time to shoot. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a modern and classy background for your images, such as the W Hotel or a City-Skape, jeans and a t-shirt likely won’t accomplish the look you are going for. If you don’t think ahead, I’m not photoshopping a Calvin Klein suit onto you…

 

3) What about colors? – Here’s where it gets a little more tricky. Colors can be funny, what looks great on one skin tone may not looks good on another. If you’re unsure of what looks great with your skin tone, check out our good friend Google. In general, though, Good colors include: pinks, blues, reds, sow yellows, blacks (NOT head to toe), and pastels. I always tell my clients to stay away from white since it can rob your pictures of their uniqueness and become harshly bright during day-time sessions. As for patterns, patterns are a great way to vary up your color palate but beware of huge stripes, large flowers, or crazy prints. Those can draw more attention to your clothing than you want, and remember the images are about you, not what you’re wearing.
4) ‘Pants on the ground, pants on the ground..’: Wear Clothes that FIT- Why am I even saying this? Your clothes shouldn’t just fit your for your engagement session, they should fit you in life. Baggy jeans, oversized shirts, too-tight dresses, or sleeves that cut into your arms are a few of the more popular violations on the ‘clothes that fit’ guide. Your apparel should accent your body, not hide it. It should flatter your body, not draw attention. Lines and ripples in the wrong places caused by too-tight clothing (or too-loose hanging fabric) will look awful in your pictures. Yes, certain styles may be popular, but if the camera adds 10lbs and your tunic adds 20… You’re on your way to hating how you’ll look.

 

I want you to look your best and be comfortable in your clothes. The more comfortable you are, the better your images will look.

 

 

Extra Tips:
Makeup For Women: There’s no need to cake it on like you’re going on stage for your next Broadway production. Of course, you don’t want to be so au naturale that you look sick. Makeup is meant to highlight features, not (necessarily) create them. The general rule of thumb is to wear your makeup slightly heavier than usual. I recommend 100% going to get your makeup done for the session. Your artist will know how to make you look your best for the camera (their trained for that!!), plus who doesn’t love a great pampering?

Makeup for Dudes: Hey guys, you’re not exempt! Nasty blemish? Razor Burn? It’s nothing a little concealer and powder won’t fix. You don’t have to tell the guys, and no one will know unless you decide to use the powder puff as a prop in the picture.

Shoes: If someone shows up to a session with me in white tennis shoes, I’ll assume they are wanting to go to DSW and shop first. This, of course, I am totally ok with, as DSW and I have a great relationship. Leave the white tennies at home, as well as the flip flops. Also, as mentioned before, if your cutes shoes aren’t made for walking, bring along some that are and switch to the cuties when your in front of the camera.

Tanning: I’m not sure some people realize how ‘tan’ they really are. Just to clear something up, ‘orange’ isn’t tan, it’s orange. In the camera it will look orange, and in 10 years your kids will be scared to eat carrots for fear they will turn into one. Please be wary of tanning before the engagement session, and if you must, please have your last lay about a week before the session. If you do tan, or maybe you just got back from the beach (why didn’t you take me with you!?), please think ahead as to weather you’ll have visible tan lines for your pictures. Tan lines are equally as distracting as a giant ‘POLO’ across your chest or a neon-orange Missoni Pattern. If you ask me to photoshop them out, I will glare at you evilly until you buy me wine and tell me a joke.

 

Hopefully this guide offers a world of information to create a successful ‘look’ for your engagement session. A warning to my clients, if you read this and neglect it, and then ask me to just ‘photoshop’ it out, don’t assume I just know how to make you look good, I also know how to photoshop on a mullet, zits, and 30lbs. Just kidding

Being an Atlanta Photographer, Piedmont Park becomes a pretty common staple in the scenery diet of a lot of my sessions. Clarissa and Raymond wanted to use the park as one of the locations in their engagement session, and being that I hadn’t stepped foot in the park since Spring, I was a little excited to re-explore! Their engagement session took place at sunset, which is one of the best times of the day to photograph. The weather was pretty amazing, too, so all signs pointed to success. We explore Piedmont Park for a while and made it over to Midtown for a city engagement session. Having the silhouettes of the W Hotel and Bank of America Building in the background proved to create an entirely different aesthetic for the remainder of the session.

 

These two love each other dearly… and when I say dearly, I mean that ‘fight-for-each-other-ignore-the-rest-of-the-world’ kind of dearly. Enjoy the following images from their engagement session, I’ll blog their Stone Mountain Wedding here in a few weeks!

 

 

 

 

Boudoir sessions are some of my favorite to photograph. I love that the goal of the sessions are so clear: Make you look like the hottest ‘You’. It’s so fun working one-on-one with the women and creatively capturing the beauty they each have. Many chose the book a session for a gift, but I always have a few that book it ‘just because’. For Ms. ‘L’, we shot the session at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead. I love the light in this hotel, and the design of each room is different so I was sure we’d have something unique.

 

 

 

There were smiles all around for this gorgeous June  affair. Ian and Fanta invited their closest family and  friends to join them in what certainly deserves to be  called a ‘celebration’. The two were making it  official, and in the words of TImothy Bloom making  ’this house into a home’. The chase was over – well,  for now (I have a feeling Ian will be chasing Fanta  for life!).

 

 

 

The couple chose the Grand Atrium at 200 Peachtree to host their affair. I remember Fanta’s eyes lighting up while she told me about the chandeliers and the elegance of the atrium, and I couldn’t wait to see how Randi Moore of RSVP Design and Events would transform the space. The day arrived and nothing was without charm. Special thanks to those mentioned above, as well as: Shawna Elizabeth for the gorgeous makeup throughout the day, Black Tie Barbeque for catering to make you tip the scale, and Three Ring Media for an amazing job documenting the day with video. To see their wedding trailer, view here: Wedding Trailer.

 

 

Fanta’s figure rocked this gorgeous dress from Modern Trousseau.

 

The couple decided to see each other before the wedding, so we worked together to create a cinematic ‘meeting’ of the two in Atlantic Station. I love these few moments that the couple get to spend together before embarking on what can be a hectic day. Sometimes it’s the last ‘alone time’ they will get all night; plus we get a chance for some pretty kick-ass images

Here is Fanta preparing to walk to Ian.

 

 

 

You two are beautiful!

The Atrium looked gorgeous for the ceremony, and the staff did an amazing job turning the room so fast for the reception.

 

The party lasted all night with DJ Kwest_on, whom Ian has been following for years. He flew in from Chicago to spin for the couple’s reception.

200 Peachtree is gorgeous at night.

I wanted to take the couple outside for a few night portraits, but it had started POURING (go figure, Summer in Atlanta!). We improvised and I love the results.

As the night wound down, the couple enjoyed a last dance and were then off to the Ritz for the night. We were thankful to the police for stopping traffic, but these two could have accomplished that all by themselves!

 

Thank you Ian and Fanta for choosing me to be a part of this day with you!

 

 

 

My brain needs a YouTub Break every 3 or so hours just to keep things interesting and to lasso my mind back on track. I know some like to plow through the day like they’re storming the bastille, but there are an abundance of Psychology Today articles that support the ‘all-work-and-no-play-makes-Sarah-a-dull-girl’ theory.

Since today is Friday, I wanted to share the most mind-dulling video I found this week. You’re welcome.

Happy Friday- “Way Ho!”

 

 

Editing a storm of photos from Jeremy and Nancy’s wedding this past Saturday in Stockbridge. I ran across this photo from their ‘first look’ (which they decided to do!). I love the light. I love the solitude. I love the color. I love the couple. I just love the feeling in this image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m just sayin’….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danielle and Matt have been in my life for a long time. Danielle and I actually go way back (insert ‘thumbs up’), as we were both cheerleaders for our middle school. Amidst our uniforms of bright blue and orange, I’m sure we all giggled about boys, drama, and Britney Spears. We remained friends through high-school, and that’s where these two met. High school is funny in that it can prepare you for things yet to come, and as Danielle and Matt began their friendship there… that’s exactly what was happening.

 

Fast forward a few years and you have a sweet couple that loves each other (and Braves Baseball) dearly. The two were interested in having their engagement session at Turner Field in Atlanta, which is a place they frequent most every weekend (sometimes more than once!). We had an hour at sunset to capture amazing engagement photos within the walls of the field.

Thank you Danielle and Matt for such a unique day, getting us on the field before the Braves (!!). Can’t wait to see ya’ll in November!

I had the enormous pleasure of photographing Nathan and Victoria’s engagement last week. We actually had a ‘Cinco de Mayo’ engagement session, which exhausted me so I celebrated ‘Cinco de Couch’ after we were finished. We explored Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga because I knew that Nathan and Vic would interact really well with the simple but gorgeous architecture. These two love to have fun, and their love is kind of oozy.. so we didn’t really need a busy backdrop.

The two met in college, and have been dating since freshman year. Nathan is back from an intense few months training for military service, and he’ll leave again soon for Army Ranger camp. I fully expect a completely swoll Nathan when I next see these two.

Behold my absolute favorites from the session. The wedding, in October at Berry College, will hold a ‘candy bar’ at the reception which is the reason for the candy’s appearance in the session. I can’t wait to see these two again in October.

 

Congrats Guys!!!

Bonjour. Wanted to share some of my favorite images from my recent trip to Paris! Paris is beautiful, exquisite, romantic…everything you expect from it and more. I went with three of my closest friends and one of my favorite memories was our bike tour around the city at night which we finished off with a glass of wine on board a boat down the Seine.

New Website and Blog coming this week!