Capturing couples and their love for one another comes hand-in-hand when it comes to being an engagement and wedding photographer, but some of my favourite photographic outings have been with couples who have decided to get pictures together ‘just because’. I find that the meanings behind those images become extremely powerful when personalities complement chosen locations and my aesthetic decisions, where the results come to truly represent compelling love.
Tash and Ella recently celebrated their one-year anniversary together, and the couple decided to commemorate their milestone with an extra special photography session in John Forrest National Park, just 24-kilometres east of Perth. And after taking one look at their photos, it’s clear that the pair are totally in sync and head-over-heels in love with each other.
In the days leading up to the shoot, Perth had turned the winter weather up a notch with dark, rainy days and windy, stormy nights, but on the morning of Tash and Ella’s portrait session the sun had decided to make an appearance and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect start to the day.
The couple embraced the warmer tones of the natural light flooding through and let their energetic sparks fly against the bushland backdrop. Both work in stressful, highly professional jobs, one as a police officer and the other as a lawyer, so my aim was to have Tash and Ella relax as much as possible and utilise the shoot as a recreational activity where they could loosen up and just be in the moment.
John Forrest National Park is one of Australia’s oldest conservation sites, and is home to two stunning waterfalls, so without much thought the three of us met on location at 8am and just went for a walk, stopping in any areas I thought might complement their depth of relationship.
Keeping my eyes open, I was spot on, and we delighted in the numerous backdrops of pea gravel and dirt trails, rocks along the flowing river of Hovea Falls, and a few patches of green field that overlooked the suburbs of Perth with amazing views.
Tash and Ella looked completely cozy and comfortable in front of the lens, and these images are just dripping with love. They are the moments I enjoy seeing captured, and I know these two lovebirds will cherish seeing themselves at this stage of their relationship for years to come.
