From the beach, to the big oak trees and the protruding rocks that line the coast, this is always one of my favorite locations for portraits! Paige and Parker’s Fort Fisher engagement session was hot but lovely all the same. We had beautiful light the entire shoot and I loved the outfit colors this couple chose to wear!
A Sweet Coffee-Themed Tradition
Paige and Parker have been together for two and a half years. They met when they lived in the same apartment building. Parker and Paige enjoy playing golf, although in reality, Parker plays golf and Paige joins along for the walk. They also love spending time with their family and friends. Parker and Paige enjoy going on coffee dates to explore new coffee shops on the weekends. Early on in their relationship, they created what’s now become a tradition by having quiet coffee time together in the mornings.
Paige and Parker both have pretty demanding jobs so they wanted to make sure they were still making any amount of time they could get together a priority. That’s what has stuck with them and they’ve continued this tradition. They even did that the morning they got engaged! Whether Paige and Parker are snuggling with their kitties at home or spending time outside on the porch, they create uninterrupted moments together!
Golden Hour Beach Portraits
I had the best time shooting engagement portraits with Paige and Parker this summer. These quickly became some of my favorite portraits! Parker and Paige were so natural in front of the camera, it made me feel like I was working with real models! Paige started off wearing a white off-shoulder flowy dress with sleeves. It was a pretty hot day, and ven though Parker started off wearing a sweater, he was a trooper! For their second outfit choices, Paige chose a shorter white dress with white Mary Jane flats with Parker wearing a light blue button down and khakis.
Whenever I shoot an engagement session at the beach, I always shoot during golden hour! This is the two hour period right before the sun sets. The light is just perfect at this time of day. The sun gives off a warm, pretty glow that makes everyone look amazing in photos (no harsh shadows or squinting!). The beach is great because the water reflects all that beautiful light back onto my couple’s faces. An advantage to shooting at a beach at sunset is it’s less crowded, so you won’t have random people walking through your special shots. The combination of soft golden sunlight, the ocean, and my couples showing their love for each other is my go-to recipe for engagement sessions!
My tradition of shooting engagement shoots at Fort Fisher starts with posing at the big oak trees first. This spot is one of my favorites because the sun emits a lovely glow through the branches. Paige and Parker then walked down the sandy path that led to the beach. As we were at the large rocks at the coastline, Paige and Parker got suprised by a wave that caught them off guard. It made for a fun portrait!
Once we finished at the beach, we headed up the boat ramp for some sunset portraits. However, while we were there, we got ATTACKED by gnats LOL! I have never worked so quickly in my life trying to shoot as fast as I could so we could get away from these bugs!! Paige and Parker were rockstars of course and we all adapted well to the crazy situation. The last photos of their session turned out beautiful!
Paige and Parker are having a beach wedding this spring at Ocean Isle with a European coastal vibe theme! I can’t wait to celebrate them among their special family and friends! Thank you Parker and Paige for trusting me to document your love story at your Fort Fisher engagement session! If engagement portraits on the beach is on your list, catch me on my contact page so we can start planning!
