Welcome back!
Today I'm giving you the FULL breakdown and summary of a content day I attended a little over a week ago. This content day was hosted by Baylee Reed (@bayreedphoto/@shootoutsbybay) and even though she was thoroughly missed, we had a fabulous day. Huge shoutout to her associates Genesis (@genesisfaithphoto) and Aurora (@rorsphoto) for coming to direct and organize all of us, they had big shoes to fill and they absolutely killed it, and not to mention Kaitlyn (@kaitlynhaysphoto) for stepping in and sprinkling her magic in for us throughout the day. It's so amazing to watch creative women work and admire them for all that they do and I was partially just in awe of them the entire time. The gorgeous location was the Lilliflora Farmhouse in Blue Ridge, TX (about 15 minutes outside of McKinney) and they were incredible, not to mention the family models (@olivecoffeecart) and our amazing bride/couple (@candicecaplan).
Despite the weather being a little gloomy and chilly, we trudged on and tried to avoid getting stuck in the mud when outside. We started the day with the family and shot inside the living room of the farmhouse. It was so fun to play with some shadows and the light coming in from the little windows. The family was shot in a very documentary and lifestyle way which was so sweet. The transition from inside to outside was also incredible. I loved the colors they were wearing and of course who can't resist a little pop of color when they're in the form of a toddler's rain boots? We played around the porch of the house alternating between having the family together, and then letting their toddler run around. We then moved to the white fence surrounding the house and played around with the fence as well as the space around it. That's the nice thing about the location is that it was just grass and trees all around, I can't imagine how beautiful it looks in the spring! We did a few more with the whole family sitting on the porch to end off the family session and it was all around so heartwarming. The biggest thing about families is that the more you play with them, talk to them, and just let them exist, the more fun and casual the photos look. It truly lets you capture the everyday life of the family.
For the next part of the day, we moved onto the couple's elopement! There were two dresses and we started with the first one inside. We worked around the little bistro seat, to the little back corner by the door and windows, learning to play with the light was really a big part of this! I loved getting to use the doorframe to really add some depth and frame the couple, it really added that extra documentary style effect to it. We then moved outside to get some photos of the back porch as the backdrop and it was absolutely stunning. The colors and textures of the home really complimented the couple just standing there and being with each other, it really looked like they just eloped at home and that's where they were happiest. We then moved onto the second dress and moved around to the white fence on the side of the house. These poses and prompts I think moved between documentary and editorial and definitely straddled that line if not were just a little bit of both. I loved watching them be with each other, lean on each other, and look at each other around the fence. To end off, we went out to the backyard and did some super fun and casual running around shots in the beautiful fluffy dress. The elopement was a total dream.
The final part of the night were the bridal getting ready photos which we did in a dimly lit bathroom as well as in darkness with flashes, and this was totally new for me. I'm always completely nervous to be shooting in low light, even though my Canon R6 does pretty well in it, I don't know what about it just makes me anxious sometimes. But after editing these photos I'm actually so proud that I went for it! I loved getting both that wider shot with the doorframe while she's sitting on or in the tub, and getting those up close full shots of her in the tub as well. The mirror was 100% a perfect little touch to go with it. The flash work was amazing, we had some little details like the glass and the champagne bottle to play around with which were so fun, despite being a group of women with a bunch of flashes, it was not lost on me that the house was SO dark and eerie by that time of the night. I really never play around with my flash settings enough so this was a great time to do that! One of the girls tied a bow on the stem of the glass and it made for a gorgeous detail shot with the bottle and fan. For the very last shot, I asked Candice to pose in the doorframe of one of the bedrooms and it was such a stunning shot to end off the night.
Overall, the day was so much fun and so incredible, I wished we had more time to mingle and talk to one another! I met some amazing new photographers that day and it was such a dream to be able to attend a content day at a location that's a little more out of my comfort zone and totally new to me. I am generally not a farmhouse girly - I grew up in a big city most of my life, what can I say? But the location was honestly so stunning and every detail was so well thought out and we definitely all tried to capture its essence in these photos. I truly learned so much and have to say, once again, a huge thank you to everyone who put in the work to make that day such a dream for us all. I hope you guys enjoyed this little breakdown! If you wan't to WATCH what it was like there that day, I actually have a YouTube video that you can watch! Until next time...
