The idea started out as a surprise. J’s mom called me and wanted to get them an engagement session. I loved some of the ideas she had, but the one about surprising them gave me pause. For pictures this important I like to work with the couple to figure out so many things: what to wear for engagement pictures, what settings do the couple love, and a few other secret tips I share over the phone.

Eventually we settled on a spot near Barton Springs. We picked a time in the late morning when the light was just perfect, and there weren’t too many joggers cluttering up the path.

It wasn’t hard to get these two to pose – you could tell they were into each other from the first frame. Sometimes I have to give a little more coaching but not J & M. We just wandered up and down the path, and whenever we saw something interesting we would stop and take a photo: On the bridge, in a field, near the water, by a fence.

Each of the backdrops was better than the previous, and with each stop they became more comfortable with the camera.

One more little tidbit – they are both engineers. Can you believe it?