Trystan Photography: An Intimate Portrait.

Seeing these four together again brings such joy to my heart. Mark just got back from his third tour in Iraq. I am so happy (and relieved!) that he made it home safely… I photographed the Shepherds right before Mark left for Iraq and then again just now when he returned. It was a great pleasure to photograph them again… after that long year apart put behind them, them knowing their family will always be together from here on out!

And thank you to Mark… who has sacrificed so much to serve his country. To keep us safe… you are a true American hero and I feel honored to call you a friend!

Colby and Becca were so much fun to work with… we didn’t have a location in mind, I met them at Colby’s house and we just jumped in the car and drove around… very spontaneous and we found lots of neat little places to take pictures! They are so cute together, so in love… and were willing to do anything I asked them, gotta’ love that in a client!

Colby’s little brother, Jack, wanted to join in on some of the fun too!

Click the photo or follow the link to view the sample gallery of Adrienne and Joel’s wedding at The Colorado Springs School.

One of the real advantages to being a husband and wife team is our ability to split up for the before photographs with the groomsmen and bridesmaids.

I am a force of nature. I like things to be fun, to laugh and to goof off. That kind of vibe allows me to make friends wherever I go, but it’s not the kind of vibe that would be appropriate for most ladies while getting ready on the day of the wedding. While there is lots of laughing and having fun on the ladies’ side, there is also a sense of stress and formality that I think wouldn’t mix quite well with my own vibe. Charlotte, however, exudes the perfect vibe for the ladies’: fun but contained, always planning, everything is under control, personable but not loud.

My vibe is much more appropriate for nervous, excited men. We men like to talk trash, tell jokes, laugh loudly and be rowdy when we’re nervous, so I fit in with the boys like chocolate on an ice cream sundae. This wedding was no exception. Joel and groomsmen (mostly his brothers) were the best of the best when it came to sheer playfulness and rowdiness. Everywhere we went there was laughter and fun. One of my favorite photos is the “He-Man-esque” pose with Joel’s fist thrust triumphantly in the air (all impromptu, BTW…).

It’s all about burning off nervous energy and getting ready to focus on the hugely important ceremony ahead. And it works wonders. We get relaxed, emotionally open men, with grooms who view their wedding as a great time instead of a burden!

And by the time I get to see the ladies when they’re done getting ready, they’re more relaxed and ready to have fun (be sassy, as I call it). It’s a different kind of fun with the ladies. It’s more of a fashion shoot than a series of gags like the men do. We do our sassy walks, our cougar stares… I demonstrate all of it, too. And I must say, I can sashay my hips with the best of them!

I love the huge emotional swings of weddings. We can go from exuberant energy and laughs early, to tears and joy during the ceremony, to jubilant debauchery with still raw emotion during the reception. And it’s all beautiful, and it’s all meaningful, and it’s all fun!

Thank you Adrienne and Joel for sharing your amazing wedding day with us. It was an honor, and I hope you can make your way back to Colorado sometime to see us again.

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!

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!

How often can you say you really “cavort”? Do you even know what “cavorting” is? Well, Matt and Sharyn obviously do.

When I go into engagement sessions, the absolute holy grail of photo subjects is a couple that not only really, really loves each other, but are almost giddy with energy and enthusiasm. I don’t always get that from my couples, but Matt and Sharyn were the definition of fun and energy. They cavorted all over the place. And Red Rocks is a heck of a place to do that at!

Matt and Sharyn’s wedding is this Saturday, so I will have some wedding photos to share soon!

True high school sweethearts! It’s so amazing when I meet real couples who are high school sweethearts. But Katie and Aaron’s love even made it through going to different colleges in different states. How impossible is that?! But they did it, and judging from their photographs, their love is a real as love gets.

It’s funny how they claimed in the beggining of the session that they weren’t really good at PDA (Public Dispays of Affection)… if they’re “not good” at PDA then Charlotte and I are in trouble, because these two blow us out of the water!

This was one of the last gasps of true Fall colors in Colorado, and I’m so happy we did this session when we did. I love the Fall!

This was one of the first couple shoots in a very long time that Tryg and I both got to shoot, and it was awesome!  We met up with Emma and Justin at Hudson Gardens in Denver, conveniently after we had photographed a small wedding there on a Friday afternoon. This was by far the most gorgeous fall day this year and Hudson Gardens couldn’t have been a more perfect place to photograph this uber cute couple. They were married earlier in the week and wanted to capture some fun portraits of the two of them in their newlywed bliss! Emma and Justin we had a blast with you guys! Call when you’re ready for baby or family portraits…hehe!