Carolyn & Alex | Cleveland Cultural Gardens Film Portraits

Over the last year, Carolyn has become such a great friend to me. This girl is one of those people who everyone instantly likes. She's warm and personable and also witty and interesting. She has so many cool life stories, AND she's a fellow photographer … all the way in Iowa City! I think it speaks to Carolyn's character that she has friends all over the globe (and I mean ALL over! These two are seasoned travelers).

Carolyn and Alex are from Cleveland and asked me to do a film photo session with them while they were home for a week. Carolyn and I have sort of explored film together (although truthfully, she's helped me way more than I've helped her!), and I was seriously so honored--and really, really excited--to do an entire session with my Mamiya. I love way too many of these to narrow them down, so get ready for a long blog post. These two are really good looking, so it shouldn't be too difficult to look through all these photos. :)

Ohhhh, Carolyn! You are gorgeous!

Alex, you clean up pretty nicely too. ;)

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens provide so much diversity for a session. I love shooting here!

Favorite!

Thanks so much, you guys! xo

Shannon & Joe | Indiana Countryside Wedding

It started at a Reds game. As the story goes, Shannon and Joe were more into each other than the baseball game, but for good reason, right? :) They both say they knew right away that they would get married, and their gut was obviously right.

"Joe is my favorite person to hang out with, he makes me laugh, we never run out of conversation, and he's cute," Shannon said.

Joe is the self-proclaimed softie of the relationship, and it was so adorable watching the two of them from behind my camera all day. Shannon and Joe got married on THE most beautiful summer day, and Nathan and I were so honored to travel to Batesville, Ind., for the occasion. (Fun fact: Nathan and Shannon went to high school together!)

Enjoy the exciting years ahead, you guys. Thanks for making us laugh all day and treating us so well! You guys are the best!

Joe's father has passed away, but Shannon and Joe make sure he was remembered all day. His restored truck sat on Shannon's parent's property all day and was used for a lot of the portraits (see below!)

So sweet! I love first looks. :)

I also love film. Shannon and Joe, you guys are good-looking people!

Ceremony: Gladys Russell Wildlife Refuge Videographer: Thomas Essick Florist: Daffadillys Bakery: Tiers and Cheers Caterer: Donna Schebler DJ: Music n Motion Bride's Dress: Stella York, Splendid Bridal Bridesmaids' Dresses: Allure, Splendid Bridal Honeymoon: Jamaica!

Shannon & Jason | Downtown Cleveland Engagement

What a beautiful night for a joy-filled engagement session! Shannon and Jason laughed the whole evening, and it made for some adorable photos. This was one of those sessions where you feel like everyone just gets each other. I think we could have talked for hours about our pets (our cats, really, if I'm being honest), our jobs, our college experience, our mutual friends, living on the east side of Cleveland. :)

These two are getting married in an intimate setting later this year, and I couldn't be more excited for their October wedding!

We started their downtown session in Playhouse Square, home of the infamous giant chandelier!

Come one. These two are so fun!

And we ended the session at Voinovich Park, just in time for a beautiful sunset!

HH Boogie Unshop

2014 is the year of conferences for me. Well, technically Unshop is more of a workshop (ish), but who's getting technical? :) Allow me to explain ...

Unshop is the brainchild of Jeremy Kester and his wife, Ashley. It's basically a relaxed workshop where photographers get to gather in a safe space to talk, shoot, ask questions … the sky's the limit really. I got to attend in May in the Kester's hometown of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, with some of my awesome photographer friends. It really was exactly what I needed for the start of my busy season.

We spent a good portion of Unshop talking about industry standards and why we shouldn't feel compelled to box ourselves in. As a rules-follower, this was especially important for me to hear. I have a hard time allowing myself to do what I feel is right vs. doing what everyone else is doing because it seems right. While it's not an overnight change for me, I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for slow season!

On day two, we visited McFarland's Llama Farm (yes, a llama farm!) for a relaxed shoot and picnic. I've used the word "relaxed" two times now and that's an important part of Unshop. There were no official rules for the days we spent in Mt. Vernon. Jeremy's goal was for us to slow down and do what we felt was right. If we needed to take a nap instead of shoot, then we did. I did a little bit of shooting with my friends Carolyn and Zipporah.

That evening, we sat around a bonfire at the Kester residence (talk about hospitable people! Jeremy and Ashley are the best!) and talked for hours. We asked for advice on struggles, shared funny stories and really just had a good time getting to know each other. While most of us came from Ohio, there were photographers in attendance from Iowa and Tennessee and the East Coast. Meeting people from across the country is my favorite part of attending a workshop or conference.

If you're interested in learning more about or attending an Unshop, get more info here. There you can also learn more about the "HH Boogie" bit. I highly recommend it all!