Chan and Jeri's Snowy Engagement Session
When Chan and Jeri mentioned wanting engagement pictures in the snow, we were excited! We waited for there to be enough snowfall and picked a date a month or so out. As the session got closer, I started watching the weather and getting nervous. The forecast showed snow, and I was concerned it would be dark, grey, and low visibility with too many snowflakes to clearly capture them. The other concern I had was Tim had fractured his foot a few weeks before and we needed to keep his boot as dry as possible since he couldn't just change shoes at the end of the session. We took multiple trash bags and they helped for a while, but by the end it ended up getting wet.
When we arrived at Donner Lake, we were met with beautiful weather! We quickly started shooting before the snow came in. We had a few minutes of sun, then scattered snowflakes, and then the snowfall began picking up. We had completed two outfit changes and already had a full session’s worth of images at the first location. Anything we got after that would be a bonus! Afterward, we stopped for ice cream and coffee and ate our Nugget sandwiches before heading to our next location.
At the second location, the cold and wind made it difficult to shoot for long. Even with my heated vest, I was freezing! We tried a third location on the way back, but it was still super cold and too snowy, so we kept moving after just one shot.
Finally, we made it to our last location. At first, the snow was so heavy that we had to use our wider lenses to minimize the number of snowflakes between us and Chan and Jeri. Even then, only one out of eight images was in focus due to the sheer volume of snowflakes. Then, suddenly, the snowfall lightened, creating the perfect amount of snowflakes for the winter wonderland images we had hoped to capture. Though we were all freezing, it was completely worth it. By the time we wrapped up, the bottom of my pants was soaked, and I was so thankful we had brought a change of clothes for the drive home!
Their engagement session was truly an adventure, filled with the beauty of the snow, the challenge of the cold, and the warmth of their love for each other. It was an unforgettable experience, and we were so grateful to be a part of it!
