Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

I may be functioning off of a stereotype here, but Heather and Arion are the chillest New Yorkers I’ve ever seen. I thought East Coast types were generally running at 100 miles per hour just to survive. But these two not only chose a gorgeous outdoor location like The Garden of the Gods, but they seemed completely at home and relaxed there too.

It’s probably because Heather is a fake New Yorker. She’d really a Coloradan pretending to be from New York. ; ) And she knows deep down that Colorado is really home. I personally know (from my time misspent in Los Angeles) that once you’ve got the Rockies in your blood, Colorado is always where you end up wanting to be!

Now, don’t get me wrong, Arion is awesome, too. In fact he’s clearly Colorado material, so all Heather needs to do is get Arion out here enough that he gets a little bit ‘o the Rockies in his blood and then they’ll be set.

Heather and Arion, I had a blast taking your engagement portraits. You were an amazing couple to photograph. You have an easy love that is both inspiring and fun. I can’t wait for your wedding!

This being Colorado, most of our engagement portraits feature couples in a more causal style, boots and jeans and all. Usually, we’re hiking throughout some mountain park, getting a little dirty and a little sweaty but always having a lot of fun.

This session was different, but in a great way.

I knew we were in for something special when I met Jill and Matt at Wynkoop Brewing Co., and saw not only were they enjoying a cocktail (something I highly recommend for photo shoots… not for me: I recommend the clients drink!), but Jill was simply a knockout in her stunning little dress and heels… Oh, and I guess Matt looked pretty good, too. (Sheesh)

Now, we were already planning more of a metropolitan, urban look for the session, but once I saw how truly fantastic they looked together, I knew this session had just jumped up to a whole new level.

But cool clothes does not a good portrait session make.

If Jill and Matt had just been bumps on a log, they would have been well-dressed and yet boring bumps on a log. But because they obviously ADORED each other, they had that fun kinetic kind of energy which we celebrate in all of our clients.

Real love is like a contagious drug. When I photograph couples who exude real love for each other, their euphoria almost permeates the air until I’m giddy, too. It’s a very welcome and rewarding contact high. : )

“Comfortable.”

That word is the single most significant trait I see amongst truly happy couples. They are really “comfortable” with and around each other. At times, it almost seems as if they are not complete without the presence of their partner. Their personalities don’t shine as bright, they’re more tense, etc.

Cory and Tarynn are the exemplification of what it means to be “comfortable” in an engagement session. We met outside Union Station in downtown Denver, in a mind-melting heat, but this being Colorado, within minutes it was overcast and cool. The laughs came naturally and easily, the affection was obvious and free-flowing, and their photographs were a joy to capture and reflect that.

You can tell I, too, was “comfortable” with them!

Last weekend I met up with Renee and Josh at Laguna Beach, CA to take their engagement pictures… it was a blast! What a beautiful place! Neither of us had ever been there so we met up at a intersection and just started walking. We found so many fun little places and the pictures turned out great! I can’t wait for the wedding in August… I will be just as much fun, if not more!

With everything we have going on here at Trystan Photography I haven’t gotten to shoot a lot of engagement photos this year (insert happy and unhappy smiley face).  Tryg has gotten to have all the fun this year with all of our couples, and has been “hitting it out of the ballpark” with his photos.  So I was absolutely thrilled to get “in on the action”  and photograph Erika and Taylor’s (whom are one of our 2010 couples) engagement photos.  OMG, aren’t these guys HOT!!!  I love it when I don’t have to coax. In fact, I truly think they forgot I was there for a couple of these…hehe!!  Erika and Taylor you are an absolutely gorgeous couple and we here at Trystan Photography CAN”T wait for your big day!

Wow. Adam and Sara are in love.

Some couples, (all of our recent clients of late) you can just sense a certain ease about them that seems to go soul-deep.

We shot at Washington Park, where Adam and Sara live nearby, and where Adam executed his surprise proposal one morning on one of their jogs together (yes, they’re runners, as if you couldn’t tell… I felt fat just standing around them).

I don’t know if it was because Wash Park is where they were engaged, or because they were in their neighborhood and felt a familiarity, or if it’s because they felt safe with me, or what… but I feel so lucky to have been able to capture such a pure and easy love in such a fantastic setting.

I can’t wait for your wedding, you two!

Just call me the “fiance whisperer”.

Joe is a cool guy. But like most male fiances, he wasn’t the most keen about gallivanting around some park playing kissy face with his girl in front of some other dude (me) whom he barely knows.

However, I am blessed with a unique set of skills that allow me to put most males at ease and can even bring out their fun, softer sides that they might only reserve for private moments with their fiance.

How do I do this? How do I overcome our natural male machismo and get guys to feel comfortable showing their more sensitive sides?

Can’t tell you: it’s a trade secret.

Actually, it’s almost always the guys that claim they don’t like photos that end up being the most natural and loving in front of the camera. It just takes some encouragement!

Lee and Jessica are part of this ever increasing and surprising circle of friends of our studio manager, Julia. She basically knows everyone in Colorado Springs. Seriously. It seems like every wedding she’s assisted on she’s know somebody there. It’s pretty cool.

We met Lee and Jessica because Julia emphatically recommended us to them way back when she was just a bride, before she was working for us. Now that’s she’s managing the studio and assisting us with photography, she was with me at their engagement shoot! What a twisted web we weave!

This photo session was an adventure, to be sure. Lee and Jessica wanted to try Seven Falls (which I’ve never shot at, nor even been to…) and when we arrived, Seven Falls was by no means busy, but there were still hundreds of onlookers around while we tried to shoot. It was fun and fine and good, but I couldn’t get into my groove the way I like (can you believe it? I have a limit on how many people are around me?!), so I eventually threw in the towel and we went off in search of a little more seclusion just up the road at Helen Hunt falls.

Now don’t get me wrong, lee and Jessica are fantastic in any situation. They are truly loving, fun, and uninhibited. In fact, they almost look like hired ringers / models. They are almost too perfect together! But I assure you, they are the real McCoy.

I really like this new era of Trystan Photography we’re entering. The vast majority of our new clients are here because of the good word of another past client.We’re shooting multiple weddings within families, seeing the same people for portraits year after year. It’s starting to feel really connected, almost like some kind of gigantic Trystan Photography family. It’s an honor to be such a fun part of so many people’s lives.

I suppose the reason it’s okay to for me to hassle these guys on the “finally” part is because I’ve known them for years and I’m so excited they are finally tying the knot (AB was very patient….hehe, sorry Tim)! I was absolutely honored when they called to ask if we’d photograph their wedding in September. The wedding is going to be at Lower Lake Ranch near Conifer, which is amazing, and let me tell you……. that wedding is going to be one heck of a party!!!!

Tryg and I had such a blast taking their engagement photos. As you can see below I had a hard time picking out my favorites for the slideshow.  I just love how fun, happy and in love they are!

I met Derek and Mackenzie in a parking lot at DU and as we walked, I chatted with them about their story. (This isn’t simply to fill time, but because I wholeheartedly believe that to create a sense of intimacy with my clients helps to build trust which then helps to promote wonderfully honest and fun portraits.) I learned how they met (high school sweethearts). I learned about their first dates. I learned Derek took a long time to finish undergrad…

So I cracked a line from Tommy Boy, “‘A lot of people take that long to finish college’,'Yeah, they’re called doctors.” Derek smiled and said, “Nah. I built a house.”

He built a house. Sure, I thought. He left school for a year to work on some construction crew and built a house. Interesting choice… “So, you left for a year to work on a crew?”

“Nope. Just myself.”

Huh? Yep. You read that right. He left school for a year to build a house by himself, with help from his dad and his buddy. No crew. Just himself.

Turns out he’s an engineer or architect or something really technical like that, and building a house apparently was his version of a sabbatical.

Not many people have even worked on a crew, much less built a house by themselves. So needless to say I was impressed!

It’s also needless to say how much fun these two were. As you can see from the photos, they were really high energy and very affectionate. Whatever we’re doing to attract the kind of clients we’re getting, I glad it’s working because it’s so much easier to take fun, attractive portraits of extroverts who are authentically in love!

My favorite shot came at the end of the session, when I asked Mack and Derek if there were any more shots they could think of and Mackenzie asked if we could recreate their first kiss from back in high school. Back then, apparently Mackenzie was a little aggressive, and a little nervous but when she leaned forward to kiss Derek (eyes closed) she ended up making out with his nose. Obviously, this made quite an impression on them as we were re-creating it years later. Not only is the shot hilarious, and the back story even better, but I love the look on Derek’s face. To me it says: “Hmmmmmmmm. Am I grossed out or a little bit into this?”