I feel like I have a lot to say about this session.


If you read my first blog post about starting my business, you'll recall how I said this photoshoot made me sit back and think about how I could do something with all of this. I really had a fun time. I loved creating a Pinterest board of inspo, I loved picking the spot, I loved coordinating the times with my brother, I loved the editing, I just loved the whole thing.


Now before I talk about anything else, I want to get this out of the way. I DID NOT do my due diligence when looking for the perfect location. Don't get me wrong, this place was fabulous. We went to the Crane Estate on Castle Hill. It was a windy March day so there was like no one there. We had the grounds to ourselves. What I DIDN'T notice until I was later making a location list for my business was the little blurb on the website saying portrait photography was NOT allowed without a membership and paying a $300 permit fee. That was quite the surprise to me haha. Do I think it's kind of crazy? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Probably for my friends and family haha. But if anyone has a Trustees membership and is willing to pay an extra $300 I would jump at the opportunity to photograph another engagement session there (just fyi, their website also states the client isn't allowed to wear white. Also insane.) What's life without a little risk amiright.

I will add, if you are ever in the area, I HIGHLY recommend stopping for a visit. The Crane Estate is absolutely beautiful and I hope to stop by this summer and see it in all its glory. I also want to go in inside the house as it was closed when we were there for this shoot.


Now that we got that out of the way. It took us about 2 hours to get there from Manchester, NH but the ride wasn't bad at all. We had to bring my son who was 1 month old at the time and he slept in his baby carrier the whole time. I made sure to bundle him up while he slept on my chest. My brother and sister-in-law were real troopers with the wind, throwing their coats by my feet whenever we got to a new spot.


We were going for 'Pride & Prejudice' vibes. The Estate checked that vibe perfectly. Her dress was fabulous and chic (white, whoops). Like I said, no one was there due to the temperature so we really had run of the grounds. The lawn had a beautiful view of the ocean. I'm going to add some photos at the bottom of this post. I used my Rebel t7 and my 75-300mm lens. Yes, I had to step pretty far away, but my kit lens f stop just didn't go low enough and I wanted to get a nice blurry background.


I think using that lens was what made the photoshoot so great for me. My editing has since improved and looks drastically different than from this shoot, I wouldn't even be able to go back and re-edit because I shot in JPEG (I didn't know anything, ok, cut me some slack). But seriously, I went home and immediately thought "I love this, I need to start a business."


I sometimes think about this photoshoot and am so grateful to these two for trusting me with their photos and being there for me throughout this journey. I love them so much, and I'm sure they're happy to get free photos whenever they want haha.


The lesson in this is always make sure you're not breaking any rules when going to a location and just start the business! There are people who want you and they will find you :)


xoxo

Emilie Alexis