I love watching two people in love, so when I met Ivan and Lina for the first time, I knew we were going to have a great time on our shoot.  They live in South Carolina, and wanted a weeklong getaway in paradise, so naturally they ended up in Key West!  Originally from the Ukraine, Ivan and Lina told me they’d known each other much of their lives.  It was sweet the way they shyly told me of how their friendship had blossomed into romance, and now they had made the committment to one another for the rest of their lives.

We spent about 2 hours shooting along the south end of the island, visiting first a long dirt road typically used by city service vehicles, but was a great starting point since the sun was still a little higher than ideal.  The road is lined with palm trees, so we made use of those for some nice images I typically refer to as “warm up images”.  There is always that threshold of comfort I have to cross when first working with a new client.  Down here in Key West, we so often don’t get to meet with our clients beforehand, so taking a few minutes to chat, start with some basic poses and simple directions, often helps the client feel more at ease, and gives me as the photographer a chance to get a sense of how they move and interact with each other. 

Some clients are more playful and silly, some are more laid back and chill, some are very formal….it’s important for me to shoot images that draw out the best aspects of someone’s personality and not be too far outside their comfort zone with what I ask them to do.  For example, Ivan and Lina were very sweet and affectionate, but not overly boistrous, so I found a happy medium and got them running down the beach together and standing up on top of some rough rocks for some dramatic “sky background” photos.

The couple were great to work with, and were very open to suggestions and ideas.  For the most part, there wasn’t anything that they weren’t up for.  Lina bravely battled the wind in her hair, which was whipping up a lot more than usual!  It did make for some great veil shots!  Her dress was very pretty, with rouching in certain places that gave it some nice texture, with a nice fit over her slender frame, with conservative touches that fit her personality perfectly.   It was a nice break from the strapless A frame we’ve seen so commonly in the past few years, regardless of its suitability! 

One nice thing about this shoot was that the couple had already gotten married two days before, so Lina was not worried if her dress got a little smudged from the sand, or a little wet from the waves.  One of my biggest fears when shooting is asking a client to do something that ends up with them getting dirty or injured, so I am always mentally walking a fine line between getting unique shots without pushing the envelope too far.

Our session finished out further down the beach, utilizing a cool stone building, some bent palm trees, the seawall, and the local beach greenery.  Check out these and more in their gallery at www.kporterphotography.com/ivanlina!