Engagement Photos at Hawksbill Crag

        Often, engagement photos are thought of as second-class citizens to the wedding photos. They are often not given their moment to shine. This photo shoot shows that engagement photos can be just as good as the wedding photos with a lot of hard work.  Sure I could have gotten poison ivy in the woods; sure we drove through the mountains like mad people; sure it was sometimes cold and I felt like collapsing at the end of the day. But the photos show that it was all worth it. This is the hard work we want to provide and we encourage our clients to put into it just as much effort as we do. In the end we want to provide photos that will continue to inspire, amaze, and make you tear up even when you’re sixty-four. As for the story of our shoot...

        
        Leaving our usual destinations behind we headed out to the beautiful Ozarks and the small towns that inhabit them. Josh and Nakia made our job very easy, at every turn Nakia knew what she wanted and where. We visited Jasper, Whitaker’s Point and were set to visit a covered bridge but it got washed away in the antediluvian rains of the past week.

        The photos at Whitaker’s Point were the most exciting. Despite careful planning for a sunset photo, the sun began to hide its face before we were ready. Now, Nakia and Josh are in excellent shape but the most exercise I get is occasionally playing soccer with some kids. They said we would have to hoof it and, in case you didn’t read the link, Whitaker’s Point hiking trail is three miles long up and down hill. After a few minutes I had completely lost sight of them and quickly began to feel like Gimli, from Lord of the Rings. It was all worth it though and the proof is in the photos.

Josh and Nakia met us outside a local diner Ozark Cafe and we got started right away. We began with some ice cream shots outside of the Café then moved on down the street to an antique store aptly named “Emma’s Museum of Junk.” 

The best part of the place was the tiny alley way to the side filled with random bits of history and scrap. Nakia & Josh brought the set of license plates from the different states that defined their relationship: Florida where they met, Arkansas where they dated, Lousiana where they’re getting married and California where they will be living.  Happily our awesome, new 16-35mm lens captured them with the plates perfectly.

From Jasper we were supposed to head to a beautiful covered bridge but unfortunately due to antediluvian rains in here in Arkansas we heard at the last minute that the bridge had been washed away. Instead we stopped at this beautiful ivy covered cabin with a gorgeous field and perfect view. Nakia had brought an antique chair and couch that I wanted to take with me when we were done.
 

From our magical cottage we headed towards our last stop: Whitaker’s Point.  It was here that the true adventure began.

Josh and Nakia, we had a great time and wish you the best in your new life together!

Downtown Rogers and Secret Barn Engagement

When it comes to awkwardness and being natural in front of the camera, we like to take a very "hands off" approach. In other words, we try not to pose our couples and families unless needed.  We tell our clients to be themselves in front of the camera. Too much directing causes them to be very posed and our style is more non-traditional. Of course, this will feel a little awkward at first, but eventually you will get used to the flow of things. This is exactly what we told Chadia and Tom for their engagement shoot in Downtown Rogers and Bella Vista, AR. I could tell Chadia felt this way because she would tell me, "I don't know what to do" a few times during their session. But when it came down to the end result, she didn't have a thing to worry about because they both looked natural and great the entire time. They loved them all and couldn't even chose a favorite. I ordered a custom guest book for them for their wedding and I can't wait to see the images printed in a book. It was very windy that day, and two of my heart balloons got away and floated into the sky. Here are a few samples from the shoot:

An Introduction...

Here we go, my first blog post. Ever. Photography + Me will be a big part of my life from now on. The honest truth for everyone to read is that I have never written a blog before. I am also not much of a writer. Futhermore, I don't read other people's blogs at all so I am not exactly sure where to begin. I do want to start blogging about my photoshoots however because they are just too much fun to keep it all to myself and my husband. I usually want my photographs to speak for themselves, however I believe they deserve captions from now on. Another goal I want to achieve for my blog is not just to blog about my photos. I want to help brides plan their weddings with the wisdom I have gained from the industry and from planning my own wedding 3 years ago. I'm very excited to say that I will be writing mini-articles on how to turn Cheap into Chic!

Here is a little info about me. I live in Springdale, Arkansas with my hubby, Joel Martin. He is my second photographer and comes on practically all my shoots with me. We both have digital media degrees as well as a photography degree for me. For the record, we are very thankful that we were able to actually use our degrees in real life, because how many people do that anyway? 

As you can tell from meeting my husband and I, we are laid back artsy hippies. And we have a ferocious yet lovable cat named Max. We don't have a lot of other distractions or children to prevent us from shooting destination weddings and we love to travel. And when we travel, we like the hole-in-the-wall places. I highly recommend them to any honeymooners reading this. I think for now that is everything on my mind at the moment this late, and please share our blogs to your friends as we are just starting out.  We will be offering specials only available on our blog for Angela J Martin Photography.  Check back later for photos and updates both Joel and I will be blogging about!