Knoxville wedding photographer blog – shannon kelley photography » Knoxville based wedding photographer – modern photography for hip people

I met Rhett and Anna in Knoxville at the Knoxville Gardens for a surprise photography session. It’s their anniversary of when they first started dating and Rhett surprised Anna with a photography session. How cool is that!?

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend in Knoxville and even though the Knoxville Gardens were a little barren from winter, they were still so beautiful! Love the stonework…what an awesome place to have a wedding too!

They were such a fun couple and truly in love! I’m loving the pictures! It helped that Rhett was a ham…you’ll see what I mean:)

isn’t Anna beautiful! Not too bad for someone who knew only 30 minutes beforehand that she was going to have her pictures done:)


see, ham:)

thanks for being awesome Rhett and Anna! Enjoy!

TodayTonight we are talking about engagement sessions. Who, what, why, when and where in Knoxville (or elsewhere!) to have them. It’s late and the People’s Choice Awards are on, you’ll have to excuse me:)

On to the w’s of engagement photography!

WHO:
Well, obviously the future bride and groom and hopefully with their Knoxville wedding photographer. Although I have had several times where I did engagement pictures for a couple and didn’t do their wedding. One reason is that I was booked on their wedding day but they still wanted me to do their pictures so they opted to get their engagement pictures done by me. Another reason I’ve encountered in the past was that the couple were getting married at another location that required them to use their photographer. Chapels in Gatlinburg are big on this.

WHAT:
A photo session for just the two of you. What to expect: lots of kissing! Kidding! Although there will no doubt be pictures that we’ll get of the two of you kissing its alot more to do with the two of you pretending the camera isn’t there and showing the love you have for each other. That is what engagement sessions are all about…capturing you as a couple, in love, during this awesome stage in your life!

WHY:
A few reasons I feel strongly about engagement sessions.

• #1: I LOVE them. They are in the top 2 of my fave kind of shoots. Because they are you being you with each other, laughing, being serious, in love. It’s about capturing those moments that brought you along this journey that will continue on.
• #2 reason for engagement pictures: Its such a great way to get to know each other. Me and you I mean. Let’s hope the two of you know each other:) But seriously, its so much fun to hang out with you guys in an environment that is fun and laid back. It helps to build up a great relationship that comes in handy on your wedding day and for you to get a sense of my shooting style so you are more relaxed during our pictures on your big day. See, win win:)
• #3. I’m a big fan of engagement pictures because they are great to display in your new house! Don’t get me wrong, wedding pictures are good too but in my experience its also really nice to have some nice romantic awesome pictures of you that represents real and everyday life.
• #4. All the other fun things you can do with engagement photos! A fave is using the pictures to get a guestbook made! Love that! Other options are to have some printed and framed to display at your wedding/reception, fun collages, save the date cards, invitations…its just open ended:)

WHEN:
This is flexible but I would recommend at least 2 months before the wedding. If you want save the date cards then way before! Think 9-12 months before for those puppies only because you want to get the save the dates out in time. Also, depending on your date you can work around the seasons and weather.

WHERE:
I think this may be why I love engagement pictures so much…the opportunity to do the session wherever and make it meaningful! If you have a favorite date night place in Knoxville, if you met somewhere specific, if you both love a sport or team….all those can be awesome out of the box engagement photo locations. It makes a special time even more special. And yes, even if you met say, at McDonalds, you bet we can do a rocking engagement session of awesomeness and get great pictures, even at McD’s… because that is how we roll:)

ending the post with a little engagement picture for ya! Have a great night! Tomorrow’s post is good and already in the works, don’t miss it!

Whew, this blogging everyday because I have to thing is more than I thought it would be:) But no worries, we are squeezing #5 in today at the good ol’ hour of 9:30pm.

behind the scenes: This is a picture from Max and Jenna’s engagement session. I love this picture because Max and Jenna completely ran with it when I crazily said “hey, stand in this overgrown area by the interstate. I promise it will be awesome!” They didn’t miss a beat and because of that we got some amazing pictures in that overgrown area. Proof that there is beauty in all places, even in overgrowth:)

Don’t forget:
-View the other nominee’s we have announced so far, here, here, here, and here.
-Leave comment love to get in on the contest for the giveaway!
-Come back tomorrow and check out #6, we’re half way there!
-Voting begins on 12/26

I have no idea why, but I just feel compelled to have the blog posts in Spanish. weird. Maybe it’s because the numbers 1-12 are all I really know in Spanish:) Anyways, we are going with it today and deeming this quatro nominee!

A little different today, its two pictures but I just couldn’t split them up. They are what you call a diptych, two photos that fit better together than alone. So, again, we are rolling with it and going with the two photos as #4 nominee.

Reasons I love this picture:
1. They are in an alley. Mmmm…I love me some alleys. Even better with graffiti!
2. I love that the one picture shows the grittiness of the alley and the other shows them in focus.
3. I love that the people in the picture are Sarah and Andrew and now have a little one on the way:) These were their anniversary pictures. A big congrats!!!

Engagement photos, another one of my favorite kind of sessions and photography! It gives you a way to get to know the couple more and you just get fun photos! Sara and Roy were no different, awesome engaged couple with some awesome pictures to boot! We met in downtown Knoxville to get some great fall light and capture their love. Sara and Roy were great! They were so naturally in love and really were great with being themselves in front of the camera!

Another reason I love engagement pictures? Its lets you capture you being you as a couple. before the wedding dress, before the craziness of being newlyweds, before kids. It’s the one time you can get pictures that capture your love, all funky and fresh like:) My favorite picture of Brad and I came from our engagement session. Its a giant picture on our mantle and I’m so glad we did an engagement session just for that picture!

ok…who is ready for some pictures! Sara and Roy, thanks for being awesome and enjoy the pictures!

ok..even though it seems like it, its not all kissy kissy during these sessions:) Here’s a fun one to prove it!

This engagement session gets the award for hardest pictures to narrow down for a post. Caroline and Ryan agreed to my crazy idea of meeting outside of Knoxville, in Corryton, at the corn maze. Then they upped the ante on engagement sessions, they brought his truck as their prop. LOVED IT! It was a beautiful day and they rocked the engagement session! They are getting married next Spring and I can’t wait to capture their wedding, which I’m sure will be just as awesome!

Enjoy the pictures! Leave some love in the comment section!

a little inside humor for Caroline and Ryan on this picture:)

That’s right. Rafaella and Brian rocked it. completely. Not only were they ok with gallivanting all around downtown, they did it in style, humor, and awesomeness. It was a PERFECT night in Knoxville for some engagement photography with amazing sun for us! So looking forward to Rafaella and Brian’s wedding in 2010 where I’m sure they’ll rock it even more:) Enjoy the pics!

Jenny and Ty are getting married in October! We made our way to Norris Dam last weekend for some fun engagement pictures. Looking forward to the wedding! Enjoy!