Fall Engagement Session at Bernheim Forest

There’s something special about Bernheim Forest in the fall—the golden light, the quiet paths, and art installations around every turn. It turned out to be the perfect setting for Sam and Haley’s engagement session: thoughtful, creative, cozy, and a little adventurous. Just like them.

They brought a picnic with some of their favorite books, a sketchpad, and each other. After we wandered the grounds and created some gorgeous photos among the trees and sculptures, they settled into a little clearing, shared snacks, and sketched. They flipped through well-loved books and talked. It felt less like a photo session and more like a date—which is always the goal.

Engagement sessions are at their best when they reflect who you are as a couple. Bringing things you love—like sketching, hiking, reading, or even just a favorite blanket and a snack—can take the pressure off and make the whole experience feel easy, even fun. Sam is a painter, and Haley is a writer. They spend a lot of their time creating near each other, so it made perfect sense to include that part of their relationship in the photos.

They met on Hinge during the pandemic and had a long & slightly chaotic first date hiking at Clifty Falls—complete with a dead phone and getting lost in the woods. But they clicked immediately, and that same adventurous energy has stayed with them. Their life together now includes cooking weeknight dinners, visiting art markets, cuddling their dogs on MegaCouch (their beloved oversized blue couch), and planning weekend hikes or dinner parties with friends.

Their proposal story reflects how intentional they are with each other. Haley decorated their home with flowers and lights and surprised Sam after dinner one night—friends hiding on the deck, filming the whole thing while their dogs looked on. Sam proposed right back.

If you’re planning your engagement session, here’s a tip: think of it like planning a date. What would make you feel most like yourselves? What kinds of places or activities bring you joy? Whether it’s sketching in the woods or grabbing tacos on the river, the best photos happen when you’re doing something you love—with the person you love.

Looking for location inspiration for your engagement photos? These 7 unique engagement photo locations in Louisville are sure to help.

Ready to start planning your own session?

Whether you have a specific idea in mind or just know you want something that feels like you, I’d love to help you bring it to life. Reach out here and let’s make something beautiful together.

Parklands Winter Engagement Session

When imagining what month you’d like to plan your engagement session, what season comes to mind? I’m guessing sometime in the spring, summer, or fall...but I’m here to tell you not to sleep on winter engagement sessions. Winter brings many unique opportunities that just aren’t possible in other seasons, so today I’ll be sharing some of my favorite winter benefits as well as dispelling some myths I hear a lot about winter engagement sessions!

Myth: Everything looks dead and brown in the winter.

A lot of people think that if you’re planning a winter engagement session you need to have snow for it to look good. While snow is really pretty, it’s absolutely not necessary for a winter session! For Tobie & Kendall, I chose an area I knew had tall warm grasses, bold evergreens, a pond with good reflections, and some rolling hills— all of these elements came together to bring more color and contrast to their images!

Myth: You can’t stay warm and look nice at the same time.

Tobie and Kendall got lucky with a fifty-degree day in January so they didn’t need to worry too much about the cold. However, they brought a blanket that they were able to not only use to sit down, but also to wrap up and snuggle in as it got more chilly. If you have a colder day for your session, you can wear lots of layers to keep yourself warm and to make the images feel more cozy! Hand warmers in your pockets or toe warmers in your shoes can also make you more comfortable. One final tip is to bring a hot beverage to sip in the car between locations or you can even bring a cute thermos to include it in images to make them feel more date-like.

Benefit: You won’t get sweaty.

This one is kind of a no-brainer, but Kentucky summers can be somewhat brutal with the heat and humidity. If suffering through warm temps while trying not to look sweaty in photos doesn’t sound difficult enough imagine doing that while also trying to snuggle with each other. In the winter you can skip being sweaty and you’ll actually WANT to snuggle up to stay warm.

Benefit: Fewer people around means more privacy.

I schedule almost all of my engagement sessions Monday through Thursday— largely because I usually have weddings on the weekend, but also to avoid crowds. In the winter, there are always fewer people out so places that are usually pretty busy end up being nearly empty. This is great for two reasons. One, we don’t have to avoid people in the background of your images, and two, you don’t have to worry about people watching you all and feeling self-conscious.

Summer Parklands Engagement Session

Just looking back through this gorgeous summer engagement session has me already missing the peak-season greenery...but if we're being completely honest I'd trade all that in for the cooler weather that is *supposed* to be coming sometime soon. These two were a joy to photograph— they make each other laugh so easily, their fashion choices are right up my alley, and their tattoos complement each other's perfectly. I had such a wonderful time showing them all my favorite paths in The Parklands.

Reminder about flower fields: flowers are delicate. If you want an image of someone sitting while surrounded by flowers, look for a rock or dirt area for them to sit on so that you don't crush the blooms. It'll give the same impression without causing harm. (I know you don't believe me, but look at all the images we got while sticking to dirt and rock! You can't tell at all - which is why I feel the need to bring it up.) A good question to ask is "if one hundred other people did the same thing what would happen?" One hundred people can walk on dirt or rock without an impact, but if 100 people wandered through the flowers then we would lose those flowers fast. The Parklands is pretty good at putting up signage on areas that are delicate or need to rest so you know where to avoid.

Another note for all the photographers out there— make sure to stay current on your permits when you're shooting at a park! The Parklands requires a permit to shoot in all five of their parks, but it is so worth it! They always have clean (and temperature-controlled!) bathrooms, beautiful flowers, and are constantly expanding with new projects! Our financial support is needed to make sure our impact is minimized— and to ensure the parks are well-maintained so we always have a beautiful place to explore and to photograph.

If you’re looking for more outdoorsy goodness try this adventurous hiking session or this epic Iceland engagement. Also if you want to hear more about how Kristen and Ryan got engaged these photos were featured along with their story over on How They Asked!