I had been so excited for Rachel and Aaron’s Saint Petersburg Engagement Session leading up to the morning. It had been in the books for a long time and let me tell you something. These photos DO NOT disappoint (if I do say so myself..HA!) I drove from Miami the night before because we planned an early morning shoot.

I have always loved traveling for sessions. But I will admit that one thing that always taunts me is the unknown.  I know many photographers who have spent hours upon hours scouting the perfect locations to get that perfect light well before their shoot. But I think there has to be a balance between great light, and still shooting in places that mean something to your client. Not to mention, when I’m unfamiliar with the city and it’s surroundings, there’s that added challenge. So, I always try to show up to the shoot early and see what I’m working with with. In this case, I didn’t even get to do that.

You see, we actually had two locations in mind, but as we drove to the first location it was closed! It turns out there was an event that we were unaware of so we were unable to cross the entry point. At first we were bummed, but when we went to our planned second location, I just couldn’t be bummed anymore. There is just something about the beach I love so much. And there is always somewhere that has good light. Maybe the water isn’t right behind you, but I can get great light bouncing off the sand. Or maybe it has dunes with soft beach grass. Either way, I’m always in love at the beach. If every single session I do for the rest of my life is a beach session, I’m completely okay with it!

Moving on, Rachel was the maid of honor at Maggie’s wedding, which I photographed in Key Largo back in 2016. (I also connected with Alexis through Maggie. That may be why you recognize these faces throughout my blog posts over the course of time!) I clearly remember taking photos of Rachel and Aaron together at the reception and thinking, I hope these two stay in touch with me, LOL. And thankfully, they did!

To book Courtney Jones Photography for your Saint Petersburg Engagement Session and Wedding, contact me here!