The day has finally arrived

Since I started Speak To Me Photography, I wanted to make sure I experienced everything I could on both sides of the camera. Continue to challenge myself as a photographer and be able to service my clients to my best ability, which involves knowing what is being asked of my clients. When I started learning more about posing and the dynamics within a couple's session, it instantly went on my bucket list.

However, it wasn't until I actually had the pleasure of holding photoshoots myself with some incredible couple's that I truly understood how intense it can be. That while it is a photoshoot, it can be deeply intimate and such a great connecting experience for the couple. I started looking at my own eventual experience a little differently and started contemplating what I would need in a partner to feel confident having one.

The man

So it makes sense I hadn't a photoshoot, since I didn't have a partner to do it. Like I said above, it is such an intimate experience, and definitely requires thought when choosing who to do it with. It guess that's not entirely true, it could just be an experience. But for me I wanted it to be something special, with someone special.

Enter Tim.

After nearly 2 years of being single and dating, I feel like I've actually found my person and maybe it's my turn to be happy. It's a funny story, Somewhere around June 2023 Tim and I connected on Bumble. After talking for a while we seta date for June 22, 2023 at The Bayou restaurant in Bethlehem, PA. However, the day of, Tim forgot he had a doctor's appointment and rescheduled. Then when we rescheduled, I had a crazy day at work and was not up for a first date. He tried giving me his number, and I just wasn't accepting phone numbers until I met someone in person. So we put each other on the back burner. Every so often saying hi and making conversation on social media until this past February when we decided to just meet already. When we did, it was game over and we decided to just be together. I've always been able to identify someone's red flags, and I always overlook it or decide they are fine. That is not the case here. He was actually at the Anniversary Celebration and was the perfect cheerleader/bartender. Oh, and the new neon sign? That was him.

If I was ever going to do a couple's photoshoot.. This was the man I would want to do it with.

The photographer

Back for round #2!!! The one, the only, the stunning Laurette Christman with Boudoir by Laurette. Out of Lehighton, PA, she is the queen when it comes to studio lighting and the moody and perfectly curated studio space and use of that studio space. We have been fast friends in the photography space. Her having shot me solo, then me having shot her and her husband. Her incredible career in the photography space and our collaborative natures is the epitome of women supporting women.

She was holding a model call, which just so happened to include a call for couples. Of course this girl, was ready. So we set a date.

The prep

The comes the styling. I had just so happened to have bought some lingerie off of Shein so I had a lot to pull from that I hadn't used before. Just list with any couple's session, we start with lingerie and work from there. My man loved a red set with unique cut outs that I had just bought, and I also chose a set that I know is his favorite that he has seen me in and makes me feel really confident from Savage X Fenty. This was black and had some floral accents on the bra. I had also brought a satin robe in case we wanted to use it but we didn't.

For Tim, I wanted something classic and a little different then what I had seen in the couple's photoshoots I had done so far. Also, tapping into the smutty books my friends and I read, I hit the ground running. I brought with us some black dress pants alone with light grey and navy blue. The blue to coordinate with the Savage X Fenty Set, and the Grey/Black as basics, in addition to a pair of jeans. A black t shirt, as well as a black button down and SUSPENDERS. I was dying to incorporate suspenders into this photoshoot.

He was soooooo nervous as this was crazy out of his comfort zone. But he was a trooper and agreed nonetheless.

Arriving for the photoshoot

We ended up driving separate because he had obligations after the photoshoot and I was meeting up with my dad. We arrived at the exact same time, despite leaving from 2 different places which was pretty incredible. Immediately Laurette greeted us with big hugs in her incredible space. I had not seen her studio since they had expanded it, and it is beautiful. She has the most incredible furniture and there were portraits of some of her and her husbands wedding clients. She offered us drinks and we started unpacking.

We went through each outfit, and she showed us around the space. Each wall had a different vibe, and yet they all worked together. Studio lighting that was so easy to move around and it didn't seem cumbersome at all. We went through each outfit and together we put together a plan for him outfits and mine, and how we would navigate the space, and poses we would focus on in each space.

Then it was time to get changed. We did so together, and he helped me apply the body glow (Leah would be proud). We did some last minute hype then began the photoshoot.

The shoot

Laurette is so incredible at fostering a warm and comfy environment. She assured Tim that his role during the shoot is pretty much to be the prop. To rub up on me and grab at me for the most part, and immediately he was like, I can do that. She walked us both through each pose, varying between standing and sitting poses. We had discussed some inspiration photos ahead of time, so she knew what we wanted to accomplish.

What I didn't expect was truly how connected to my partner I felt. There was a lot of slow flow posing that involved us touching each other softly, and looking deeply into each others eyes. It was truly incredible, I did not expect in a million years how I would feel. I knew what I had observed with my clients, but actually doing it was a different story. While I am constantly reminded with these photoshoots how much it is archy and achy for the women in them, it was so fun to continue to bring my partner into my world.

The photos

OH. MY. GOODNESS.