At Blackrock Summit & Downtown Crozet, Va

Kaila is the daughter of a previous co-worker of mine, who I absolutely loved working with. I heard about Kaila from her dad, Keith for years. He is the typical proud dad, who is always happy to talk about his kids! He also is one of the most entertaining people I’ve met. There is never a dull moment! So when Keith messaged, “Are you still doing wedding photography because Kaila is engaged,” he got a very quick YES! Kaila and Adam’s Engagement Sessions at Black Rock Summit and Downtown Crozet, Va were a blast!

Kaila and Adam live in Boston but are getting married in Crozet. This is where she grew up and her parents still live here. I asked if they would like to split their session into two nights so we could get two entirely different locations. I don’t usually do this, but I wanted to shoot at Blackrock Summit, and also love shooting in quaint downtown settings. They happily agreed to my suggestions!

Blackrock Summit

On the first night, I met them in the parking lot leading to Black Rock Summit. We hiked the trail up to the Summit and were amazed by just how gorgeous it was. I told them we would work our way around as the sun dipped lower in the sky.

Kaila wore athletic shoes for the hike and had the intention to put on nicer shoes when we got there. But upon seeing just how rocky it was, she decided to go barefoot! Wow was all I could think. I do not go barefoot, never have, and never will so I couldn’t believe how easily she navigated her way around. I wouldn’t take two steps barefoot let alone do their entire session on rocky terrain barefoot. She said she was a country girl and proved it by navigating the entire hour barefoot.

We laughed and joked through their entire session and when the sun started to set we hiked down to our cars.

Crozet

The next evening I met them at Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet where there are some great murals on the buildings across from the brewery. Adam dropped Kaila off before going to quickly wash his car. She let me know he wanted to incorporate his car in their session. He told me he was a car guy so adding the car to their session was what he wanted. I’m always happy to do that and could tell how happy he was when I suggested putting Kaila’s ring on the hood to take images of it. He had a big smile on his face when I placed it beside the car emblem!

I loved incorporating the murals in their images and find shooting in settings like this a true challenge. I always start out wondering what the heck I was thinking and then I challenge myself to find unique places to create their images. That was the case this time. Usually, the couple will give me a couple of starting points and I look for good light and then a great backdrop! I had found so many cute locations by the end of their session that I was amazed.

A Special Request

As we were working our way back toward our cars, Kaila told me she had a request. She wanted pictures of them thumb-wrestling each other. I loved it so we found a bench and let the thumb wrestling begin! I laughed the whole time at these two and Adam’s expression was priceless! I’m still smiling to myself thinking about it! These two are so much fun!

To say I’m excited about their wedding is an understatement and I have a feeling I’m going to be laughing my way through their day with Keith around. I know though when Kaila and her dad have their first look, I’m probably going to have to have some tissues in my pocket not only for them but for me too!

Enjoy Kaila and Adam’s Engagement Sessions at Black Rock Summit and Downtown Crozet, Va.

You can check out more of my work here: Kimberly Jade Forbes Photography

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