Category Archives: Couples

Unique Couples Photographs at The Rialto Theatre (Jenna + Seth)

For this photoshoot we ventured up Glenwood Blvd. to The Rialto Theatre at Five Points. Jenna and Seth shared with me that they were huge movie fans! When I looked at what was playing I was pleasantly surprised that “Crazy Heart” was being featured. I was sure we’d be able to work that into their shots somehow. They were a blast to work with and the owner of the theatre was even nice to let us inside to take a few shots in between screenings.

A bit of background… Jenna and Seth met in high school when she was a freshman and he was a junior. They are both from Fayetteville and have been dating for 9 1/2 years and were recently married in June of last year. Jenna shared with me that they had never had engagement photos taken and was excited to work with me after she had discovered my work. She shared that they were drawn to my photography because of the beautiful scenery and how the couples looked at ease.

They are both currently living in Richmond, VA where Jenna works as a nurse and Seth is employed with UPS AND goes to school full-time! I always admire people that can balance school, work and a new marriage. Luckily they embody all of the components that make up a great relationship. They love each others company and have vowed to make each other laugh at least once a day.

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waterfall engagement photo

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Crenshaw Hall Weddings Engagement Photos (Abbey + Sean)

BABY it’s cold outside but these engagement photographs for Abbey and Sean’s wedding at Crenshaw Hall are sure to light up your screen! I had posted a bunch of teasers on Facebook back in November but am now revealing the full shoot. I’m finding it harder and harder with each post to limit the number of photos that I share so I might have went a little overboard here. :) When you connect with a couple so well and everything just falls into place I tend to want to just keep shooting.

Their wedding is coming up here in May and I think we’re going to create a sign-in guest book with these so I wanted to make sure that their friends and family could get a sneak peak! They also shared with me that they are considering a move to China sometime after the wedding to perform some mission work. For me, the idea that my clients can take these ever lasting photographic memory with them as they travel overseas really puts purpose to my work and allows me to enjoy it all the more!

I also wanted to take a moment to send out a big THANK YOU to Abbey and Sean. At the end of our session they offered to take me out to one of their favorite restaurants…. Red Robin. I had never been there before and gourmet burgers sounded good to all of us after a hard days work. There is something about “bottomless fries” that just isn’t natural. Those two words should not be together.

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portrait photographs wearing sweaters
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Since they didn’t see me at first, these speed walkers laughed really hard after they accidentally walked through our shoot. They probably wondered what the heck was going on.

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A few shots to test their jumping prowess.

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They got a lot of air!

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fun cute couple holding eachother

Very sweet!

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The road near Crenshaw Hall was under heavy construction and I didn’t know that you had to go through the suburb to get to the Hall. The couple was good sports about walking but it turned out to be a bit of a hike through a construction zone. For this one I over exposed the background and did a bit of touch up in photoshop to create a clean white background.

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We finally made it to the Historic Crenshaw Hall. The grounds are so beautiful in the fall that I decided to take a few photos while the couple was taking a break.

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Here’s a panoramic view that I took of the property.

wedding reception tent outdoors

This is the covered wedding reception area at Crenshaw Hall.

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The outdoor wedding ceremony is a beautiful spot to get married in Wake Forest!

wake forest wedding reception crenshaw hall

You can ring the bell here

wedding reception bridal porch

This banister is part of the bridal porch and is one most ornate (and oldest) examples of Italiante style in the South.

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Sean grabs a branch and starts shaking leaves onto the couple.

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I decided to take it up a notch so I climbed up into the tree for some aerial shots! A ladder probably would have been easier.

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king of the hill man posing

Sean poses “king of the hill” style. Anyone want tickets to the gun show? Abbey DOES!

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We also went inside to photograph against this red damask wallpaper.

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traditional black and white portrait

I love this one as their traditional black and white portrait.

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A portrait of Sean while his fiance makes a wardrobe change. He looks like he means business here!

purple pump heels shoes

Abbey was rocking some purple wedge shoes. I’ll admit that I don’t know as much about shoes as the average girl but I thought that these were awesome!

engaged couple portrait photographs

This was also a favorite traditional portrait of them. While we were walking in downtown Wake Forest I saw a cluster of trees with bright orange leaves and I knew it would be a perfect backdrop for their purple and black outfits.

engagement setting pictures

It really makes them pop off the page!

shadow couple kissing creative photo

It took awhile to get this one with the shadows to look just the way I wanted but I thought it came out quite nice.

beautiful engagement ring

Abbey’s engagement ring was beautiful of course!

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As the light began to fade we went exploring for a place to set up a mock picnic. We spotted an old house and decided that it would be perfect!

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Bales of hay never looked so good!

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I like the repetition and composition in this one.

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This is where Abbey and Sean REALLY impressed me! They were up for venturing in to this old house.

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We photographed a mixture of “serious” poses too.

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This could be their album cover… not for their weding album, but if they ever started a band. :)

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All the brick and dirt spilling out of the fireplace really helps to set the tone.

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Isn’t this one of the coolest rooms you’ve seen?

abandoned house photographs
sexy couple magazine photographs

I saved the BEST for last. In the words of one of Abbey’s friends… “It looks like something ripped straight from the pages of Vogue!”

3 comments

Amber - March 7, 2010 - 5:17 pm

AMAZING WORK! just totally found these randomly and i cannot stop looking lol awesome!

Brent Deitrich - January 15, 2010 - 12:15 pm

Love the pics Craig – what a great old house to find!

Candice {The Beautiful Mess} - January 15, 2010 - 11:00 am

Love the last image and location!! What a pretty day and such a sweet couple!

Fun Engagement Photography at Yates Mill Pond (Jessica + Jared)

This past week I had the pleasure of photographing for the first time at The Historic Yates Mill Pond just south of Raleigh. Near the end of our session we also stopped by The North Carolina Farmers Market for a few photographs near the Christmas Tree farms. This time, our couple in front of the camera for this engagement session is Jared and Jessica. He’s currently working in the construction industry in Jacksonville, NC and she working on her nursing degree at Georgetown in Washington D.C. Due to their busy schedules we had to photograph a little earlier than normal… Somehow we managed to coordinate our session with the first cold snap of the year. They were real troopers though!

If there’s one thing that I could say about this couple is that they aren’t afraid to go after what they want. After receiving my name as a referral from the Carolina Inn, their first email to me was a request on how they could secure their wedding date. If Jared will let me quote him from his email his first sentence read “This past Saturday I proposed to the most beautiful girl in the world and luckily….she said yes.” I love it when that happens! All of my couples that I work with are madly in love and aren’t afraid to show it.

I spend A LOT of time on this blog and try to infuse as much of my creativity and personality into it, so it’s always appreciated when someone takes the time to read through it and get to know me. By the time we have a chance to meet they often feel like they already know what kind of a person I am beyond the types of photographs I create. They will be having an intimate destination wedding at the Grand Wailea in Maui, Hawaii and I know it’s going to be simply perfect for what they are looking for.

winter engagement photographs
engagement portraits wearing coats

I usually don’t include coats during engagement sessions but it was an early morning session so it was pretty chilly outside!

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I used some off camera lighting for these photographs since most of Yates Mill was in shadow.

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The Yates Mill waterfall was perfect and added some dynamic motion to this set of engagement photographs.

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Doesn’t Jess have gorgeous eyes? She’s a keeper Jared!

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A fun piggy back ride on the outer path.

fall engagement photography

It’s a little late in the year for photographing fall foliage but we managed to find a few trees that were holding on to some colorful leaves.

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silhouette couple autumn

A silhouette photograph of the couple… Just to be a little different.

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Sometimes a simple clearing in the woods can provide an interesting yet simplistic backdrop.

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These next few are my favorite photographs of the day. A simply breathtaking couple makes my job relatively easy!

couple kissing in field
historic yates mill county park
engagement ring detail holding hands

I also really LOVE how this engagement ring detail shot came out.

engagement ring closeup

Speaking of which.. Jared picked out a stunner of a design!

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The “haze” that you see was achieved by photographing through several sets of fine plants.

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I thought this turned out great too. I asked Jared to shake some of the plants as he walked toward me to create a whirlwind of fluff. Thanks for working with me on this as I know it created a huge mess for all of us!

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tree farm farmers market

We stopped for a few minutes at The North Carolina Farmers Market to stroll through the evergreen Christmas Trees

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4 comments

sammy - February 15, 2010 - 12:43 am

I must know were he found that ring. my boyfriend is going over seas and he told me to find a ring i like and that ring is just perfect. is it tacori ? beautiful pictures beautiful couple

Nathan Clendenin - December 7, 2009 - 8:04 pm

Stellar shots! I am inspired.

Sarah - December 2, 2009 - 4:36 pm

Beautiful! I love your locations!

Elizabeth - November 30, 2009 - 10:13 pm

Your creative eye for composition, light and detail continues to astound…beautiful work!