Last month, I met up with Kristyn Brady at Schooley's Mountain Park to do a photoshoot for her new website. We planned to shoot outdoors, so we wanted to wait until it was warmer (and greener) outside. I discovered Schooley's Mountain about a year ago, and I knew that it would make the perfect location for a photoshoot if the occasion ever arose - so when Kristyn reached out to me and told me her vision for her start up company, I knew it would be the perfect place for her portrait session. I showed her some photos I had taken there before, and we mutually agreed that would be the spot!
I set up a Pinterest board where we pinned our pose / location / outfit inspiration for the weeks leading up to the day of the shoot. It was a great way to show each other what we each envisioned, and also helped us both organize these ideas in one place. I think it was especially helpful in Kristyn's case, since her brand is just starting out and doesn't yet have an established look / feel.
(click any of the photos below to enlarge)
Kristyn decided that she wanted to photograph herself in 3 different outfits. The first look we photographed was this GORGEOUS floral Alberta Ferretti dress that she rented from Rent the Runway - probably my favorite of her 3 looks (although I am a fan of all 3 haha). I just love love love the explosion of colorful pattern on this dress, so I was really happy that it was a part of the shoot!
^ I actually posted this photo to my Instagram the day after the shoot, and Rent the Runway ended up regramming it. Kristyn was pretty stoked about her little knees getting a moment of *fame* haha.
Kristyn had wanted to take some family portraits in this dress, so I got to also meet her husband and daughter. Seriously the cutest family ever! #heartmelt
I don't really have much experience shooting family portraits, but I didn't mind at all. I love working with kids, and it reminded me a lot of when I worked as a camp photographer a couple summers ago. I love photographing people of any kind, and I can't pinpoint why - but I know that I enjoy it! (even though it isn't what I specialized in in college) Kristyn's daughter was a bit cranky and uncooperative at first, haha - but after she ate some food she basically wanted to be the sTaR. I caught some really cute candids of her trying on her mommy's red heels:
Kristyn's second outfit was probably the most casual of the 3: a fun striped skirt from Gap paired with a simple navy top from The Limited and a colorful headband from Anthropologie. Kristyn rode down a hill in her shiny new bike while trying not to flash me.
Luckily, she was wearing shorts underneath... ;)
The third and final look consisted of a pink sequin top from Forever21 and a tulle skirt from Windsor Store, paired with some jewelry from Rent the Runway. We had a lot of fun with this look - and I even told Kristyn that it had fairytale vibes written all over it. The morning was a bit overcast, but by the afternoon the sun was out and the light was filtering through the trees in the prettiest way.
Because ballerina skirts and sequin heels are TOTALLY appropriate hiking gear, we decided to make our way down to the water! There, we saw the itty bittiest little turtle. I tried to take a good photo of him, but failed (probably because I was too excited, lol). I had never seen a turtle that small in the wild before.
*sooOooooOoOo pinteresty*
At the end of the day, I walked away feeling really great about how the day went - and I think Kristyn could say the same. The rain luckily held out, and it turned out to be a beautiful day! (thankfully no need to re-rent that RTR dress) We had so much fun, and we even talked about meeting up again some time (potentially in NY) to do more photoshoots together. :)