Well, That Was Awkward

Do you ever have the feeling that you're the most awkward person in the room? I swear sometimes when I meet someone new, I walk back to my car and think, "Well Calli, that was not your best work. You charmed 0% of the people here and you made it weird. Congratulations you, dork face." But guess what? Other people think that they were the most awkward. In short, everyone is a giant nerd and nobody knows what's going on. We're all just trying to survive while also preserving some of our own unique quirkiness.

When Beth approached me and asked about doing photos for her and Jacob's 20-year anniversary, I was on board, after the initial shock that these two had been married for two decades! Seriously, they are youthful and adorable.

Beth was persistent that they were very awkward and not photogenic. She said they will need a lot of coaching through the session. I asked her if they wanted to lean into the awkwardness and do an actual Awkward Photo Session. She was excited and talked to Jacob about it. He was sold!

Normally when I plan a session, I look up poses and prompts ahead of time that I think will flatter the couple, but not with this awkward session. I was just winging it and planning on going off their vibes and energy.

We made arrangements to meet in Valley Junction for some traditional poses. It was a cold morning--luckily though, about 30 degrees, so a few digits warmer than the previous week. Each little tick on the thermometer helps. I had to arrive 30 minutes early to the session and set my camera outside to allow it to get used to the drastic change in temperature from my warm vehicle to the freezing Iowa winter. Allowing my camera and lens to adjust to the temperature change prevents the lens from fogging up. I do the same thing on humid summer days.

Because of chilly temperature, I knew we had to move quickly. I was wearing my winter jacket, but the couple was wearing sweaters and jeans.

I love starting sessions by the depot in Valley Junction, I love this color combination of the siding and, door, and trim. I've used the same background for Landin, Lisa, and Ash & Caleb's photos.

After grabbing a few quick shots at this location, we proceeded to walk down 5th Street into the heart of Historic Valley Junction.

I almost passed up this location, but Beth said she liked the hat. So, Beth and Jacob sat on the bench on a side street. These were actually some of my favorites from this portion of our session. I really liked the lighting and the way they were interacting together. I asked Beth if she had any advice for newly married couples and she said, "It's ok to argue. It's even OK to fight, if it's something that's really important to you." My husband and I have been married for 11 years, and I completely agree with Beth's marital advice. Knowing what's important to you as a person is such an important lesson to be successful as a couple. Knowing when to back down when your spouse is more passionate about an issue, is also highly important.

I could tell that Beth and Jacob were getting very cold, So I took a few more shots in Valley Junction, before heading to our second location, Sacred Health. Once at Sacred Health, I asked Beth and Jacob if I could do a few shots of them here before they changed their clothing, they readily agreed. I didn't know at the time if the cold temperature was impacting their photos. I noticed that the tip of Jacob's nose was reddening, but I couldn't tell much beyond that. I also didn't want to thumb though my camera, while outdoors to check.

I posed them on the couch in Sacred Health's Studio A. I love all of the natural light and the plants. I can't decide if I like the color version or black and white better.

Once inside and warmed up, Beth and Jacob changed clothing and make-up for our awkward session. When they emerged after changing, I lost it. Beth had thrifted her outfit and it was perfection. My favorite part though was her blush and blue eye shadow.

"Now, the first rule in applying eye make-up is you can never wear enough blue eye shadow." - Shelley "My Girl"

As I was leaving for the session, I looked around my garage and threw in this old, paint-splattered ladder. I didn't know what outfits Beth and Jacob had planned. Once I saw them, I knew we could turn this ladder into a fun prop. I would normally be mortified to use this in a session since it really is a painting ladder and not some artistically painted item.

I started off with Jacob putting one of his conversed feet on the bottom rung of the ladder in a Captain Morgan-esque pose. Beth jumped right in and began rubbing his leg. I then instructed them by saying, "Alright guys, now kiss....but use your teeth." The look on their faces was priceless.

As the session progressed, we were laughing pretty hard. I had to toss some photos during the culling phase because I had the camera shakes from laughing. The smoldering looks are out of this world. I also gave prompts to the couple such as "Pop your booty, Jacob." and "Now smell his leg." This session will go down in Calli's history books as one of the most fun of all times. Editing the awkward portion of this session was also very high up there. Beth and Jacob provided me with creative control. They mentioned that lasers would be cool, but that they trusted my judgment. (Have I mentioned how much I love this couple!?)

I added lots of lasers, smoke, some lightening, butterflies, and rainbows. My inspiration was Lisa Frank meets Al and Peggy Bundy. It's cute but also a bit inappropriate, yet not too much.

The couple also knew they wanted a 'floating head' photo. I had originally posed them together and looking skyward. I was planning on utilizing an image from the Creative Commons as the floating part, but while they were going through their proofing gallery, they chose Beth's glamour shot to be the floating head while Jacob was meditating. I feel like this could be turned into so many hilarious memes. "Sorry man, I can't watch the Superbowl, I'm manifesting my dream girl."

An awkward photo session is not complete without an actual dumpster fire though. The dumpster photo was a stock image from Adobe, and I added the flames and the adorable models. As we were wrapping up the session, I asked them if they would be willing to pose on the window ledge with the plants peeking through. Again, because these two are amazing, they agreed. I actually really love the photo as a black and white. It doesn't scream 'awkward' to me, but rather, just vintage. I did add an effect to make the photo look aged. The couple is currently in the process of remodeling and modernizing their home, and I'd love to see this photo slipped into a wall to confuse the next homeowners in 50 years.

I adore these two and I hope I have the opportunity to photograph the entire family. They have four boys too, so it'll give me a preview of my life in a few years. Thanks for being amazing Beth and Jacob and congratulations on 20 years! I can't wait to see what they have planned for their next big anniversary milestone.