This engagement session started behind Rock Creek Resort in Red Lodge Montana.
My main goal when working with couples during an engagement session is the same as on a wedding day. To produce beautiful photographs of you looking natural happy and relaxed. This is done by helping you feel comfortable in front of the camera. For most people, being in front of the camera is not a comfortable place. But I help you get there by coach and prompting you to interact until you get to that point. Once you are feeling relaxed the magic starts to happen, and we get those photos of you smiling, laughing and looking good!
If you enjoy the person you are being photographed with and you have even the smallest connection I know we will get some awesome photographs!
After an engagement photography session couples often tell me how fun it was being photographed and say that i “made it so easy for them to be in FRONT of the camera” and that “it felt more like going for a walk then being photographed”.
A few weeks ago I had two engagement sessions up in Red Lodge. I was so excited for them, the leaves just started to change in Billings so I figured that up in Red Lodge we would find even more color! The couples were traveling from out of town and were hoping for some beautiful mountains as a backdrop for their engagement photography. I do my best to not check the weather until about a week before a session or wedding so it’s at least a more little accurate and I don’t stress about it. I was bummed to see that Red Lodge was expecting rain on Saturday and snow on Sunday.Then over the next few days a total of 20 inches was expected!!
This brought up the question of what to do. The couples were coming in from out of town and both have demanding schedules so I didn’t want to cancel the sessions. The weather in Montana can change fast so I decided that we would wait until a little closer to the session day and hope that the conditions would improve.
So here is the thing about rain and snow. Typically it doesn’t come down like crazy all day. What we ended up doing was adding some shooting time onto the Saturday session so we could hide in the car when it came down and then jump out when we got a reprieve. Then for the Sunday session, the forecast looked much better but the clouds in Red Lodge were so low.
Often times clients express disappointment when they find out that it wont be bright and sunny on the day we are shooting. I understand the consern, the mood is much different on a sunny day compared to a day with heavy overcast. However overcast days provide beautiful soft light and allow for more flexibility during a session. No matter what the conditions are, remember to trust in the abilities of your photographer!
Engagement photos don’t look like this on a sunny day!
It’s important to note that less then ideal conditions have the potential to produce some strikingly beautiful images. For the two sessions featured on this blog I think that’s just what we got!
Don’t you agree?
Looking for Engagement Photos?
Zak Jokela is an engagement and wedding photographer who is based in Billings but works in Red Lodge any chance he gets! If you are looking for some photos to show off your love you can contact him below.
