{ Amir + Maribel | Tucson Engagement Session }
These two have been a treat to shoot this past season in Tucson. We met at a bridal expo last April and since then, we've shot a 3-part engagement series that has me tickled pink to share! My favorite thing about these two....how gentle and poised both of them are; so 'put-together'...refined...a constant sense of 'class' sorta oozes from both of them. And yet they hired me for their wedding because, (i quote) 'we had so much fun and need someone to bring out our fun side'. yes, ma'am! | lkm (note: this is one LARGE chunk of awesomeness for a single blog post. but i refuse to break it up into "sections"... :D i like the fact that they progressively got more and more comfortable each time we went out for a shoot, played, laughed, kissed....kissed some more... these two just 'fit' together :D)
{ Downtown - pt 1 }
{Downtown - pt 2}
Can't wait for wedding time Amir & Maribel! 10xs more awesomeness awaits us! :D | lkm
Neal + Connie | Modern Chic Downtown Tucson Engagement Session
{Neal + Connie | Downtown Tucson Engagement Session | Tucson Wedding Photography}
We made it to downtown promptly during Friday's rush hour and had to race a quickly setting sun amidst the war (cough) i mean, construction zone that is down there. Streets were closed, parking spots were packed (because apparently Tour De Tucson is a big deal), and I was getting a lil' nervous about finding a stellar backdrop and making it all 'work'...and then i caught myself--your focus is FIRST people, not places. I watched Neal & Connie respond and react, enjoy each other and laugh freely. We even made a grungy parking lot look like a light-pool filled with bougainvillea! Ta Da! (pause) (debating in my head wether to go that extra measure of disclosure....here goes...)
To be honest, I have never felt so disheveled before a photo session. I'm back from maternity leave and figuring life out -- balancing three little ones and (thankfully)enjoying a good photography work load while figuring out a system to make both hats fit. Being able to release these highlights is sheer relief. We did it!! Come rain or shine, babies or sleepless nights, there is grace and pictures are glowing across the screen right now! New lovebirds are being captured and put on display and I'm so excited to share these two with you! | lkm
the 'look we're so fun!' series on 4th avenue... she had a nintendo shirt. he had a startreck shirt. bomb. 
dude, they SO got into that jump...
Mark + Leanna | Arizona Urban Flare & Railroad Fun | Engagement Session
{Mark + Leanna | Engagement Session | E Downtown Tucson, Arizona | August 2012 }
Mark & Leanna were a treat to shoot! The sun was great, the weather was perfect and the more we laughed the more 'at ease' the lovebirds became. If I'm not mistaken, Mark got increasingly giddy as he smooched and loved on his future bride. I think one of my most favorite things is whatching a couple just fall into place. Taking pictures isn't easy. Posing can be awkward. Kissing on command sometimes feels weird. But by the end of M+L's session Leanna was blushing, Mark was beaming and I just glowed with deep satisfaction. Not to mention, I got home from the shoot and promptly sat down with my husband to show him a few favorites. To which he replied, "Sheesh. He's beautiful!" I think he has a man crush. Weird... In my opinion, I can't get over Leanna's baby blues. Or are they green? I'm so conflicted. :D | lkm
Thank you so much for hangin' out Mark & Leanna. I hope you had as much fun as I did! :) | lkm
Hieu + Maria | Tucson Engagement Session | Arizona Wedding Photographer
(Hieu + Maria | Engagement Session | Agua Caliente, Tucson, AZ}
We braved the incoming clouds and resolved to go for a sweet little engagement shoot--rain or shine. Maria showed up in a cute little polka dot dress and Hieu in a dapper blazer. We sat and talked shop over coffee and got a few details about their 2-day, multi-ethnic wedding celebration coming up in December. After bonding a bit we carpooled over to the nearby state park and frolicked in a bit o' romance. 
love these candid ones...
Thank you so much you guys! You were wonderful to shoot! I hope you had as much fun as I did! | lkm
David + Ali | Downtown Urban Engagement Session | Arizona Wedding Photographer
{David & Ali | Downtown Tucson Engagement Session | August 2012}
David and Ali were a riot. I haven't met a groom so willing to dish back my subtle (???) sarcasm and within moments I knew the shoot was going to be a fun one. We met at a starbucks near downtown just to talk shop about wedding details, timeline, thoughts and ideas about photography...We bonded. We laughed. We made a few mild jests at each other's personal beliefs and life decisions. So random. So not what I was expecting. Pretty hilarious. Honesty is golden though--raw, bona fide authenticity--I love. And with that fun beginning, we dove right in...
on of their favorite hot spots is Hotel Congress. We had to grab a few shots on the footsteps...
Thank you guys for such a fun shoot! Can't wait to talk more wedding stuff with you!
ANNOUNCING: Back-to-School September Portrait Specials
Paul + Samantha | Tucson Engagement Session | Agua Caliente
{Paul + Samantha | Agua Caliente, Tucson, Arizona | July 2012}
Paul and Sam are a hoot! I love how candid Samantha was on the phone when I first called her to tell her she had won a 'Save the Date' Mini Session after attending the Tucson Bridal Event Expo earlier in June. She flat out inquired, "uhm, are you going to make me sit through some sort of seminar or buy something or--or--???" "Heck No!" was my reply. The last first impression I want to leave with somebody is a photographer trying to 'sell' them. I assured her, "I simply want to woo you. I will treat you. I will shoot you. I will ask you sincere, excited questions about your wedding because I am actually genuinely interested. I will not obligate you to purchase anything or even put that awkward pressure on you thereafter so you book me for your wedding. I won't hound you with silly emails. I want to simply introduce you to how I work--my style; my brand; me. Hook you up with awesome pictures. Treat you to a fun date out with a collection of memories. Take it or leave it--me. And it's free. My treat." Samantha replied, "Oh! Well, that sounds awesome!" Me: "I'm so glad we're on the same page!" | lkm
Note: the day after our shoot, Paul emailed, "Thanks again for being yourself on Monday Laura. Your first impression went a very long way. And what your first impression didn't cover, your work certainly made up for it. As a designer myself, I can say that you do have great skills that set you apart from the competition.. :)" (grin).... While i try to figure out what my first impression didn't cover, I'm pretty sure their wedding in November is going to be hilarious, spunky, awesome and really, really fun. :) woot woot! | lkm
Matt + Marcy | Alice In Wonderland Inspired Engagement Session | Agua Caliente, Tucson, Arizona
{Matt + Marcy | Engagement Session | Agua Caliente, Tucson, Arizona | July 2012}
I showed up to M + M's e-session striving hard to take myself seriously. I was climbing (awkwardly of course-pregnant) out of a borrowed single cab pick up truck that was decked out in NFL Broncos everything AND I had those child's play sticky tattoos plastered over my right arm, ankles and wrist. I didn't regret the play time I had had with my kids just before the shoot, though it might have helped me feel more pro if i had scrubbed them a little and gotten over the fact that my license plate screamed 'TEEEBOW". Sharing these superflous details DO have a point by the way. Turns out Marcy actually WORKS at a graphic design lab FOR the very company of tattoos I had just divulged in with my kids that afternoon. I could have hugged her. It was free entertainment for a solid 2 hours that day. Ahmazing bliss. I didn't hug Marcy but she got a kick outta the fact that my arm tattoo of a bear was one that she had particularly designed herself. Ironic yea? ...
Matt & Marcy are shooting for a garden-esque/earthy-meets-whimsy/a-little-dash-of-alice-in-wonderland theme for their wedding next April. I loved that they both showed up to their e-session aware of those details and fully prepared to walk around for an hour in large-and-in-charge shoes no matter what the cost. Vanity before comfort right?!
Matt said he 'was looking for a wedding photographer who can help him feel comfortable.' What a fantastic challenge. :D I did my best...
They really seemed to have a lot of fun together!
Love these two.
Thank you guys for letting me hang out with you for an evening!
Chance + Ashley | Tucson Engagement Session | Green Grass and Quarry Romance
{Chance + Ashley | Tucson Engagement Session | A Random Orchard off of the side of the I-10 | July 2012}
I hopped in the car, checked my gps to make sure I wasn't seeing things--yup, i was meeting my couple about an hour away in a place I had never been. Admittedly, I was anxious. I typically like to be in charge of scouting out locations--making sure I know where light is going to hit, where things are, have my plan-of-attack all set up in my head... but I was taking a chance this time. An hour later I arrived at a Starbucks that felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. The monsoon dreariness lay thick and threatened to spill out from pockets of darkness that mingled with other hopeful pockets of blue sky tinted with little flecks of gold--a tease of a sunset that made my little photographer's heart whisper a quick prayer for something cool that evening. As we talked wedding details and downed a few preliminary glasses of triple-filtered water, Ashley explained that there was an orchard right off the freeway exit down the road. A what?! Potential green stuff? No. Way. Skeptical, I carpooled with C + A over to this perfect little oasis and I ate my heart out. I. LOVE. GREEN. I aimed to keep poses casual and natural--to really fit the chill personalities of the two engaged. 
On a side note, speaking of eating hearts out, all mosquitos available in a 100 mile radius must have received the same memo that there was a pocket of lushness waiting right off of I-10. It's been a week since the shoot and you could still play 'connect the dots' on my legs with the remnants of the darn bugger's thankless feasting. Chance & Ashley bore down and delivered some wonderful snapshots of tender lovin' despite the bugs. Even when I found myself standing in a red ant nest while snagging that last set of images over looking the nearby quarry, C + A graciously let me go into an intense 'excuse me i'm going to silently freak out and try not to cry' zone for a minute as i stripped off sandals and swat the crap out of my feet. Oh the things we do for a good shot. I've got battle wounds from this session...but now that i get to share a few highlights, i'm feeling much better thanks. :D | lkm
Curtis + Jenna | Downtown Casual Engagement Session | Tucson, Arizona Wedding Photography
{Curtis + Jenna | Downtown Tucson Engagement Sessions | July 2012}
Working with Curtis + Jenna has been such a joy. For what little i know of their ins and outs, they couldn't be any more opposite! But it's pretty neat to see God folding them into each other's lives. Folding--that's exactly what I stretched them to do during this engagement session. I wanted Jenna to just fold herself into Curtis. The objective was to make this man feel strong--to accent Jenna's delightful joy and Curtis quite strength. They wanted to keep things 'subtle' and really natural. I tried to capture the little things--the nuances and subtle conversations--the little touches. I even told them to give me a 'signal' if I asked them to do anything that 'felt funny.' ... 
oh this face...i love this face almost as much as i love her heart :D 
i really like this black and white...
remember that 'signal' i mentioned above? yea...i got it once... :D 
these are my favorite...
one of their favorite swank little cafes... :)
We went to go change wardrobe...check out that stellar glasses! I wish we had played with those more :D 
its the little looks, ya know?
below right was one of my favorite split-second moments during the whole shoot...Jenna spontaneously just whipped her arms around Curtis and gave him a big wet one :)
Jenna specfically scouted out this wall and asked for a series with it...
this is their REALLY excited face...
So incredibly excited to celebrate with these guys on their wedding day in 4 weeks!! :D EEK! | lkm