This blog is mostly about our amazing engagement shoot with Ruthi & Hamer - but let me being with one of our first lessons in wedding photography (other than learning how to press the shutter). Figure out your niche. Dan and I knew we wanted to be wedding photographers, we also knew that in order to be successful and happy we had to knit as much adventure, nature, and movement in our business as possible. Our grand point to all of this is that Ruthi and Hamer are truly the embodiment of our brand. We LOVE all our clients and the fact that they're all so unique, but this couple helped us realize that when you click with your clients, it never feels like work.
When Dan and I were contacted by Ruthi via Instagram we were very interested to learn her and Hamer were around 9,500 miles away, traveling the eastern hemisphere... Yup, you read that right. They decided to hold out on the American Dream for a year and see all the beauty the world has to offer - if you think planning a wedding here is hard with Wifi at every Starbucks , try doing it while navigating a foreign place.
Ruthi and Hamer loved our landscape photography off the bat, which obviously pulled at the heart strings. They immediately loved what we are so passionate about. It was a reminder that we're on the right track and combining our two photography loves is more than possible... Also, anyone starting a business knows; those reminders are warmly welcome.
So, after chatting for a bit it was pretty clear all the pieces fit. Dan and I feel super lucky they stumbled on our page and chose us to photograph their wedding (thanks Instagram). We decided to set a specific date for their engagement shoot when they were closer to returning home, international communication can be a little fickle.
May 27th was the day we set our sights on. When the day FINALLY rolled around and when we met them for the first time, in the parking lot of Minnewaska State Park, it was like meeting up with old friends. This is what we mean when we say how important it is to build a relationship with your clients. The day was spent scrambling over rocks and dipping toes into chilled pools.
When we picked the date for their engagement shoot we obviously had zero foresight of the current situation at hand. With COVID still nipping at our heels it was in everyones best interest to do our part in keeping our distance, which proved difficult when parks like Minnewaska started to fill up. Dan and I did what we do best and took Ruthi and Hamer to a spot we knew would be secluded. This was of course after we tried the location we originally picked but arrived to find it closed, moral of the story... always have a plan B and probably a plan C.
Wine and crackers were shared on the bleached rocks over looking the Hudson Valley. Being in front of a lens is can be exhausting and refreshments were needed, we still had champagne to pop and a couple more streams to explore so the day was not yet over. This duo had all he trust in the world with our vision for the shoot and we can't stress enough how much that puts an artist at ease. They are a couple of the most down to earth people.
After having our fill of both cheese and the spot we were at, we moved on to the next. Hamer lugged the bottle of champagne in his backpack for a majority of the shoot so it was about time we lighten his load. It was a fairly short hike to our first location so we mosyed our way back following along a shallow stream. As we walked we got to hear about what Ruthi and Hamer experienced while traveling and their unpropmted speed hike down from the Mt. Everest base camp. After the 5 day hike to the base camp they learned about the Nepal border closing due to COVID, so, without skipping a beat they raced down making it back to the city in 3 days. Ouch. Although their trip was cut a little short, we felt super fortunate that we were able to do this shoot at all. Thanks Corona.
Sometimes certain locations need a little research and exact coordinates but sometimes a spot finds you, and that's exactly what happened as the late afternoon sun crept through the canopy of pine and chestnut oak. Champagne was popped and love was celebrated while enjoying the last of the light.
We love including engagement shoots in out wedding packages. It gives us the opportunity to get to know our clients and the chemistry that makes them unique. The afternoon we spent with Ruthi and Hamer was just a prequel to the incredible ceremony they plan to have in November. We seriously can't wait and look forward to sharing some details of there big day on the blog... like always you'll updated on when that will be.
We hope you enjoyed the read as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. We would love to hear your feedback, questions, or suggestions for future posts! Feel free to leave us a message on our instagram @shotbydna or shoot us an email shotbydna@gmail.com.
