Self Portraits

Backstory: I had been in need of some head shots of myself for my website, and I had scoured the internet for days on end to find a photographer to take them for me. Most of the photographers I reached out to did not even have the common courtesy to respond with a “No,” and the others wanted to charge me upwards of $500 for a 30-minute session. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that these photographers value themselves and their work so much, and I am so sure they have worked so hard to get to that price point. However, I am not one to spend that much money on, well, anything. Maybe I’m cheap, maybe I’m poor. Who knows? I will leave that up to you. At any rate, I decided to nix the paying another photographer idea, and decided I would venture more into the world of self portrait photography. For weeks I prepped for this “session” with just my husband and I. Every weekend I would say to him, “This is the one, we are finally going to go take those photos I’ve been talking about for weeks.” And then it finally did happen and we could not have asked for a more beautiful summer evening, nor for a more gorgeous location (less than 10 minutes from our apartment, no less!). To add to my excitement about the location, the golden hour light was absolutely stunning through the trees, and there were colorful pastel clouds all around us – every which way you looked. It was like a fairy tale come true for a photographer like myself.

My husband wasn’t the most willing participant, but he obliged and I am seriously so grateful for him and all that he does for me. But to his and my surprise, there was something in it for him, too. We just didn’t know it yet. As soon as we “set up camp” to take our portraits, Vincent spotted two beautiful spotted does across the creek. If you don’t know my husband, you should know how much he LOVES animals of all kinds. When you stick this guy in a zoo, he is like a kid in a candy store. I love this about him, and when he spotted those deer, his eyes lit up. In that moment, I loved that we had decided to do this. It was the perfect opportunity to get out of the house, enjoy nature, and spend this much needed quality time together. Not long after we spotted the does, we saw a few more, followed shortly after by two big, beautiful bucks with gigantic antlers atop their heads.

After a wonderful hour together watching deer, swatting mosquitoes, chasing bunny rabbits, and snapping photos, I have a feeling we may be turning this into a more regular thing. And I am definitely not mad about it.