From the fiery, rainy dusk of their wedding, to what might be the most pure blue sky I’ve seen a long while!

Ed & Kelly’s Trash the Dress session was seriously awesome fun. 🙂

These two people are so awesome. Up for anything, always positive and totally in love. And, like many of my clients, they have COOL JOBS! Ed is a pilot in the US Marine Corps, flying Ospreys (I was a little jealous, I’ll admit), while Kelly is a marine biologist, and also works with the youth in conservation efforts.

I think my job is pretty cool too, so between the three of us, it was a massive cool party!

Huge thanks to Ed & Kelly for being so brave! Trashing the dress is fun because it’s kinda like breaking the rules… so I felt I had to break one myself.

Mid-day lighting is said to be harsh, difficult to work with, and should be avoided at all costs. “Instead, shoot while the sun is low in the sky” they all say. But for a long time I’ve felt there was potential to mid-day, and that there might be a unique look to be achieved, especially through the different ways you can alter color and tone through today’s editing software. I knew I could make it look cool.

Gotta admit though, it felt downright bizarre to be doing a beach session at any time other than sunset. It felt… wrong! But I knew my technical capabilities and I trusted my ideas, and Ed & Kelly were just awesome, so I was excited to create some mid-day goodness.

I know I already said this in their wedding post… but man do I love my job. I love that I can pour my soul into it and get some measure of reward. A sense of satisfaction and pride, welling deep within. “I made this with my eyes, my hands and my brain. With my heart.”

But more importantly, I make these photos with great people. People like Ed & Kelly. And that might be the biggest reward of all.

– Jim