Confession time. I have lived in Arizona for 28 years and I am pretty positive I have never been to South Mountain before this session. If I have ever been there, I must have been very young, because I do not remember it. But I am adventurous, so I booked an engagement session at South Mountain with only Google Maps and Image searches to go off of! (Of course I scouted the location before the session, you know, the same day…)
If you may not have known, I LOVE dogs (and cats). So when this couple wanted to include their dogs in their pictures, I could not resist. (I may have suggested it; it seems like something I would do.) These two are just as obsessed with their dogs as I am with mine. Joining Kara and Osman on this session is Mila and Ren! Yes, that is Ren as in Ren and Stimpy!
This session turned out absolutely stunning. Their outfits perfectly coordinated not only with the dogs but the wonderful rocks at South Mountains (not sure how much of that was planned by them). It was a nice stormy cloud day, but the sun still graced us with its presence. I could not have asked for a better session. That being said, I have learned a few lessons:
- Bring an assistant to help wrangle and direct the dogs’ attention.
- Bring treats!
- Pick a remote desert location where others will not be hiking through on their photography sessions distracting the dogs just as I click the shutter.
Even with the difficulties of juggling the dogs and my camera and camera bag, I had a blast! There were lots of smiles and laughter all around, mainly from the dogs being goofy, but also from the love that these two share for each other.
Check out more amazing engagement sessions here: Engagement Sessions
