We love it when our engagement photography clients find ways to make their session personal. As we have said many times on this blog and on our website, our specialty is telling our couples’ love stories with the bold and colorful pictures we take. So if you book us for your engagement session, we will take the time to learn what makes your relationship special. That helps us highlight those elements in the portraits we create. If you pick activities or locations that mean something to you like Jackie and Michael did for their engagement photoshoot? Well, that just makes our job that much easier! As you can see here, their hiking engagement photos tell the world that they both love the outdoors, have a playful relationship and are two truly lovely people!
Engagement Pictures Hiking
Thanks to the pandemic, the road to Jackie and Micheal’s engagement session was a bit bumpy. We originally scheduled it with them in the late spring. Then the lockdown happened, stranding us in Germany for most of the summer. It wasn’t until the fall that we were able to be in Northern Virginia for a significant amount of time. And that’s when we were finally able to meet up with this very sweet couple for their engagement photos.
Jackie and Michael are the nicest people! At no time was that more apparent than during the process of trying to get their photoshoot on the books. We cannot thank them enough for their patience and flexibility in the face of one rescheduling after another. Especially considering the fact that they had to postpone their wedding to 2021, a decision that could not have been easy for them.
They were so easygoing that they only had one must-have when it came to their engagement session. They wanted to do it at a park or other outdoor location. Having us take their engagement pictures hiking was very important to them. As we mentioned above, a shared love of nature and the outdoors was part of what brought them together. And hiking was an activity that was special to them — something they frequently did on dates during their courtship.
Scott’s Run Nature Preserve Engagement Session
Fortunately, there are plenty of outdoor spaces in Northern Virginia that are perfect for engagement photoshoots. The region has many great state and national parks that offer couples a variety of different scenery for their engagement photos. From the forested river bluffs near the Potomac River to the beautiful vistas of Shenandoah National Park, there is something for every taste and aesthetic.
Jackie and Michael were as laidback and easygoing about the choice of location as they were about the coronavirus disruptions. So they were more than happy to go with our recommendations. Fortunately for them, we have taken engagement photos of couples like them hiking in spots all over Northern Virginia. So we are very familiar with all the great outdoor locations for engagement pictures in the region and know how to find one for any couple’s individual tastes.
For Jackie and Michael, we chose Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean Virginia. This lovely little park is centered around a charming stream that cascades over a beautiful waterfall before emptying into the Potomac. The primary appeal of a Scott’s Run Nature Preserve engagement session is the photographic variety if offers. There are all sorts of different natural features and elements that look beautiful in your portraits. For example, there is a cool bridge comprising a series of stone pillars that is perfect for you to play on. Near the stream are trees with huge, curved exposed roots that you can lean up against. There are also large, flat rocks where you can sit and cuddle with the brook or waterfall behind you. In short, you can get a tremendous diversity of looks and feels without ever having to leave the park.
Hiking Engagement Photos
We started Jackie and Michael’s engagement photoshoot at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve down by the water that gives the park its name. We had the couple sit on some of the aforementioned rocks so that we could take pictures of them with the stream behind them. The sweetness in their relationship was evident immediately in their shared body language. They had amazing chemistry that we didn’t even bother posing them for fear of ruining the moment.
Their playful side was also apparent right from the beginning. As we took them from the stones to the exposed tree roots, Jackie spontaneously jumped Michael’s back for an impromptu piggyback ride. While posing in the middle of the hiking path, Michael twirled his future bride as though they were on the dance floor. Crossing the stream gave them another opportunity to goof around. Michael crouched down, and Jackie hopped over him, leapfrogging from one pillar to the other. The fall leaves that blanketed the forest floor proved too great a temptation for them. They couldn’t resist grabbing handfuls and playfully tossing them in one another’s faces.
Jackie and Michael’s hiking engagement photo session concluded with some lovely shots down by the Potomac River. First we took some sweet portraits of them sitting on some rocks with the waterfall in the background. Then we took them down to the river’s edge for some intimate pictures of them embracing there. And of course, we finished with the quintessential “COVID” images of them posing with masks on.
Thank you again, Jackie and Michael, for being such lovely people throughout the process of setting up and doing your hiking engagement photoshoot! We loved meeting you face-to-face and can’t wait to photograph your wedding next year!
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