Brian and Shelby met as theatre majors at Northern Arizona University (my alma mater). They were instant friends but it took them a few years to get their relationship status on the same page (when she was single, he was taken and when he was available, she’d be dating someone else). But eventually, the stars aligned and they started dating, fell in love, moved to Phoenix, started a theatre company (Brelby Theatre) and got married.

I’ve been taking production photos of Brelby’s plays since their opening season and was excited to take some portraits of these two as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary. We started their portrait session in historic downtown Glendale. Being actors, these two were hysterical and it was so fun capturing the playful love they have for each other.

Brian and Shelby’s last name is Maticic and they are both “comics” which inspired this next shot:

After some very delicious lattes at Shot of Java, we headed back to Brian and Shelby’s home for some fun in the kitchen.

When I initially met with Brian and Shelby to chat about their portrait session, I asked if they had any ideas for what they’d like to do. Brian replied, “Well, we’ve got about a hundred ideas, ranging from underwater to a food fight in our kitchen.” The idea of a food fight instantly sparked our creative brainstorming and we spent the next half hour sipping coffee (yes more coffee – we like coffee) and laughing about how big of a mess could be made in their kitchen. And when their food fight photo shoot arrived, they held nothing back. It was one huge, awesome mess.

Best quote from the day: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this dirty… EVER.” – Brian

Brian and Shelby’s dog, Rumor, wanted to get in on the fun too:

Thanks so much to Brian and Shelby for the laugh-out-loud, messy, fun time! You guys are awesome.

(If you live in the Phoenix area, check out one of Brelby’s shows sometime. They’ll be performing at the Phoenix Fringe Festival in early March (and I’ll be there shooting pictures), so if you’re in the mood for something a little edgy and off-color, check it out – more details here.)

(If you missed the first half of these engagement photos, check them out here. And heck, while you’re clicking links, you can also check out my “photographer roadkill”  behind-the-scenes post here.)

I love this next series of shots and the fun story that David and BreAnne created with their expressions:

I told you in Part One that David and BreAnne put a lot of thought and creativity into their outfit and prop choices in order to achieve a very authentic vintage-style photoshoot. Their preparation allowed me to produce images with that extra “something.” The final prop they tracked down was no exception. It was completely awesome. Vintage Mercedes? Yes, please.

Just before we left the home of the extremely generous car-owner who allowed us access to his Mercedes, we happened to glance behind a storage shed and found one more old gem that we just had to snag a few pictures with:

We had such a great time during this whole engagement shoot.  Thanks David and BreAnne and congratulations (and Bre – welcome to the family, we’re thrilled to have you!)

I’ve mentioned before that the best images are captured when a client brings their own creativity and personality to a portrait session. The significance and emotion captured in such images is possible largely because of the client’s creative involvement. A great example of this is the recent engagement shoot I did for my brother-in-law and his fiance. David and BreAnne definitely brought it during their session: style, creativity, personality and fun! They wanted a vintage-themed session and took the artistic initiative by styling their clothing, hair/make-up (BreAnne that is) and props accordingly. I added my photography know-how and some awesome locations and our collaboration resulted in some incredible images. I hope you enjoy them (more to come in part two)!

Seriously, you’ve got to be pretty suave to make suspenders and a bow tie look this cool:

BreAnne was a fantastic model as well:

The story behind the “R” ring that David is wearing (pictured above) is really cool and just adds another interesting detail to their vintage-theme. The ring was made from a pipe by David’s great-grandfather during the Great Depression (how’s that for authentic?). Plus, it’s a monogram for David and BreAnne’s future last name (Robison).

That’s all for now – there were way too many great images to share all in one post. Stay tuned for Part Two and a look at the new vintage coloring option from Devin Hanson Photography.

Madelyn was born the day after Christmas and is the first Hanson girl in our family in two generations. I grew up with two brothers and between us we have four sons (and a fifth on the way for my oldest brother, Dustin), so Madelyn is out-numbered to say the least. But I think she’ll learn to hold her own against all those boy cousins. Plus, when she gets older she’ll have a whole gang of guys to stand up for her.

Since I already had my portable studio set up in Derek and Kristin’s living room, we took the opportunity to get a couple shots of the whole family:

Welcome to the world Madelyn – We love you!

A little while back, I took family portraits for my brother, Derek and his wife, Kristin. It was their last photoshoot as a family of three. Stay tuned for pictures of their new addition!

It was also time for my nephew Joshua to have his two-year-old portraits taken.

Joshua is so curious and playful right now and it was awesome to chase him around Mesa Center for the Arts and capture him at this fun age.

I’ll leave you with one last image – one of my favorites from the entire shoot (in fact, it’s the image my wife and I picked when choosing photos of our nephews to frame in our home.) It pretty much sums up Joshua’s silly, energetic personality. I love being able to snag a moment, an expression or a feeling that captures a subject so perfectly.