By Mariah Ashley

We met Kaitlyn and Brandon for their Newport RI engagement session on a blustery but sunny morning. Needless to say we were instantly smitten. Kaitlyn is like sunshine in a skirt and Brandon looks like Toby McGuire’s more-handsome brother. Jackpot! K & B have a classic boy meets girl story which Brandon told in about 14 words. Kaitlyn’s version took more like 14 minutes. That’s the classic part. The story goes something like this…

Serendipity and mutual friends put boy and girl in the same place at the same time.

Girl is wildly disappointment by the plans made by her friends and wildly overdressed for the occasion, hence wildly embarrassed and wildly obnoxious after a few drinks.

Unbeknownst to girl, cute boy is in the background listening to her bad behavior.

Girl lays eyes on boy and decides the party is not as wildly disappointing as previously thought.

Hours go by and boy does not approach girl as girl is deeply involved in conversation with another boy.

Unbeknownst to boy, the other boy is a family friend. Because boy does not realize this he is irked and defeated.

Girl is also irked and defeated.

Before parting ways wise girl gives her number to cute boy because girl knows a good thing when she sees “him”.

Boy and girl fall wildly in love.

Meet Boy and Girl… a.k.a Kaitlyn and Brandon.

They totally belong together, that’s obvious.Brandon was a little less than enthusiastic about posing at first, but he warmed up pretty quick. I don’t think he realized the level of snuggling that would be going on.Spiderman right? Only cuter.L.O.V.E.This location was Ledge Road in Newport, the far end of the Cliff Walk. I love this spot, it feels like the end of the earth.Seagull Photo-bomb. Looks like someone is ready for their closeup.My pic for a wall portrait. How fun would this be as a conversation piece at dinner parties? There they go being super good looking again.Sparkles and berries.Kaitlyn and Brandon, it was so fun to get to know you! Kaitlyn thanks for sharing your bubbly self and your stories, and Brandon thanks for sharing your… dimples! Make sure you remember to bring them with you in June for the wedding or I know two more girls who will be wildly disappointed.

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Kaitlyn is a big fan of our behind the snaps shennanigans so we thought it only fair that she get her own,

BEHIND THE SNAPS WITH THE SNAP GIRLS!

(This installment provides some helpful hints for aspiring photographers too!)

Let’s talk about LENS choice. The right lens can make a location that is a little rough around the edges into a clean slate. Kaitlyn wanted to get a few pics with the Newport Bridge in the background. You can see below what the location looks like to the naked eye… a bit sketchy. Trish is rocking a long lens which is like a mess eraser. What you get is a nice blurry background. The longs lens also compresses the background which means the bridge appears a lot closer than it does in real life! The lens Trish is using is a 70-200mm. Sweet!

The 70-200mm is  our go to lens for engagement photos. Remember when I said that Brandon was a little unsure about all this posing stuff? Most people are and standing on top of your subject with a fixed lens like a 50mm, is not going to do much to allay their photo anxiety. When you use the 70-200mm you can back up and give them a little room to breathe.

The other thing that I really love about this lens is that it gives you a beautiful neutral background. See all of the cars and junk in the background of the photo on the left? It magically disappears with the long lens.

One last tip: We put Kaitlyn and Brandon right on the edge of the shadow of the tree so that we would have even light on their faces from the shade but a nice natural hair light coming from the sun behind them as well.Compression works for objects in the foreground as well. Trish is using her 70-200 to create a frame at the bottom of the image with the flowers in the flower box that forces your eye up to the subjects. The lens also blurs out all that clutter in the background so you get the sense that they are downtown without any of the specific signs etc. Speaking of creating frames, I love how Trish used this rusty eye bolt that was sticking out of a rock (photo on the left) to make an intimate and interesting photo of K & B (photo on the right). This pic is my fave of the session. I love it when we are able to find a new way of looking at a scene. Next time you are shooting look for “frames”. Once you start, you will see them everywhere!