Snowy Winter Outdoor Engagement Photos

If a dreamy Winter engagement session is what you are looking for, consider an outdoor engagement in the snow! The snow creates a stunning backdrop, whether it is actively snowing or just still sticking to the outdoor environment.

Earth Below Photo’s Top Reasons to have an Engagement Session in the Snow

Reason Number One: Uniquely Yours

Reason number one to have an outdoor engagement session in the snow is to stand out! Not many couples are willing to brave the cold winter weather for their engagement photos and would rather wait for a more comfortable season to come around. Your engagement photos will be something a little different, and if that’s your style we encourage you to go for it! Earth Below Photo is happy to meet you wherever it is that you like to adventure.

Reason Number Two: Outfit Choices

Reason number two to have your engagement photos taken in the snow is for the outfit choices. Fashion forward couples will get to accessorize beyond their wild dreams when it comes to layering up for pictures in the cold winter snow. You can choose to dress up your look with big fluffy coats, classy hats, stylish scarves and more. The way you choose to dress for your session should always be comfortable and uniquely you.

Click here to see more of Lauren and Toby at the Columbia River Gorge in winter.

See our “How to Dress for Your Engagement” guide (coming soon!) for more or check out our post “Engagement Photos for the Adventurous Couple - Free Checklist Included”.

Reason Number Three: It’s like Mother Nature decorated just for you

It’s like Mother Nature decorated just for you. No need to bring decorations or even that pretty, but environmentally harmful, confetti! Mother Nature herself brought out the best she has to offer in terms of scenery. If you are lucky enough to have a session during an active snow flurry, we can capture a glittery confetti spray of ice and snow in your pics. Or if you ask nicely, we can shake a branch or two ;)

Click here to see more of Felipe and Victoria in the Flagstaff snow.

Snow falls on a couple’s outdoor engagement

Click on any of the sessions above to see more, or scroll for more examples of what your photo session in the snow can look like!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

For your photo session, let’s live a little.

This skateboarding couples photo session in Flagstaff is a perfect example of my process. When I talk to my clients about their photo session, I love to ask about, brainstorm, and talk through a vision—a photo session concept. Let’s get one thing straight…yes we are taking professional photos and your standard stand-there-and-smile-at-me photos that we can hang on grandma’s fridge will happen. Although,

Earth Below Photo is all about telling YOUR story and creating a feeling.

Lifestyle photography is my expertise and provides timelessness and excitement about your photo gallery for years to come. The photo session itself isn’t a “photoshoot” it was the day you and your partner hiked a mountain together…baked your favorite dessert together…explored the desert…chased some waterfalls…or like you’ll see here in this post…went skateboarding together.

Whether you decide to go on an epic adventure, take a walk downtown, or get cozy at home it’s all about the both of you. It’s about hearing less of “how should we pose?” and more of “wait! I forgot this was all for the photos.” Granted, getting your photos taken will never feel like normal life or authentic, but the goal is to create a comfortable and unforgettable experience.

Coming up with a photo session concept also means that when it comes to your session day, you and your partner are in that headspace already. It becomes exciting and we are all creating together!

I’m a Pinterest lover, but I am starting to steer clear of creating mood boards for photo sessions. I think sending over that photo that inspires your next session is super important, but let’s not limit ourselves or set ourselves up with these expectations. That can only lead to disappointment for both you and I, because we truly will never be able to do the exact same. Plus copying someone isn’t cool. The bottom line is: Let’s create our OWN expectations and tell YOUR story…not someone else’s. Now that’s cool beans.

So what’s the moral of the story? Let’s do something fun and create together for your photo session!

I look forward to our next session together.

-Amanda

Are you dreaming of creative engagement photos in Old Town Scottsdale?

Are you dreaming of creative engagement photos in Old Town Scottsdale?

The word creative gets tossed around so much that it can often seem like a lazy way to describe something, but a session like this reminds you what it means to be truly creative.

CREATIVE /krēˈādiv/ (adj): relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

When Adrian and Jesse first approached Earth Below Photo for an engagement session they wanted to emphasize the idea of creating with me. They didn’t want photos just because it was the normal thing to do, in fact it was quite the opposite. They specifically let me know they wanted to create real art through the images. The day we met in Old Town Scottsdale they were just as much the artists as I was. Every direction and idea I threw at them would come back at my camera lens with their own personal twist. When a couple has as much interest in the art of photography as you do it tends to add a little accelerant to the creative fire in your  heart. 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Adrian immediately let me know that she wanted the end result to be something out of a Wes Anderson film. She requested lots of color with a developed on film feel. Jesse on the other hand took on working the art of posing, a skill he had learned as a child model. To make their creative engagement session dreams come true I made sure to capture the two of them in colorful settings and unusual poses. You can most clearly see the fruit of our collective labor in their stoic poses outside the Saguaro Hotel and the far off shots of them dancing on an Old Town Scottsdale sidewalk.

View fullsize

View fullsize

We had planned to create these photos together long before the onset of COVID-19 and due to the restrictions in place here in Arizona, Old Town Scottsdale was assuming the look of a ghost town. The indoor setting of Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Parlor that we had originally planned to involve in our shoot was closed down to the public. I had to make sure to keep myself at a distance from Jesse and Adrian and not get too deeply swept up in the dance of making creative engagement photos that I forgot the reality of our situation. 

That being said, this opportunity to create collaborative art with an intrinsically creative couple like Adrian and Jesse was a welcome reprieve from the monotony of #quarantinelife. I think all three of us left the session with our minds a little clearer to the possibility of brighter days ahead, and after all is that not what creating is all about? Is it not, at its core, a coping mechanism, a way of capturing the human experience, that traces its roots all the way back to even the first humans long, long ago?

I look forward to capturing your own unique human experience, wherever you are… whenever you are ready. 

Let me start off by telling you this was a dream come true for me; flying out to Dubai, being this couple’s elopement photographer, and riding camels on the beach. With major Middle Eastern roots in me, I was crying and dancing on the phone with the couple when I was asked to be their Dubai photographer.  

Keep on scrolling to read and SEE why R +N decided to throw their big wedding plans away and elope…

They DITCHED all of their big wedding plans. The bride had been dreaming of their wedding their whole life and how they put it, “Within 2 short months, I had my venue, florist, photographer, dress, hair and makeup, photobooth, llamas, ALL my decor, and more. I mean it was going to be out of this world awesome…” Soon they realized how less of it became about the two of them and their story, and more about what everyone else wanted for them. They had the help of a wedding planner which relieved tasks off their plate, but still found that they would not be in pure wedding day bliss.

During all of the wedding planning, their family announced they would be vacationing in Dubai that summer. They made the suggestion that they should elope while they were there and with slight hesitation they said, “Que the, ‘Wow that’s not a bad idea, I’ll consider it. The thought of losing all of my deposits were gut wrenching, however, the overall cost of the wedding was going to be more than losing all the deposits plus our trip.”  Suddenly this did not seem like a bad idea whatsoever, especially when the groom was completely on board and said, “Yes!! This will be so much better for us.” 

I had originally taken their portraits on a snowy day in downtown Chicago. It was a challenging session due to the fact there was a blizzard that morning, but we had the best time ever and created some amazing photos (check them out here). I will never forget that day, especially since they secretly bought her engagement ring together. I surely did not expect 5 months later to be on the phone planning a Dubai itinerary with them.

From there they decided to elope and have a court house wedding where they live in Texas! Two weeks later, Dubai would be the perfect setting for their professional post-elopement portraits, all while still getting the camel-filled wedding they bride had always dreamed of. This is where I (Amanda) come into the picture as their photographer. I got to capture their adventures from a beach session for the bride’s bachelorette festivities under the Burj Al Arab, to a pool side session of the couple at Jumeirah Emirates hotel, and of course to see the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.

When July rolled by, we hopped on a 16-hour flight together and I sat in excitement for the unknown. I had always wanted to be somewhere I could not only practice my Arabic language skills, but also feel connected to my family’s culture. No, my family is not from Dubai specifically, but it was a connection one way or another. 

One morning, we got up super early for their styled elopement day, did their first look, and headed to the beach to see the famous “camel guy” and alas his beaut camels. The bride explains the excitement of that morning so well,

 “As soon as the camels were in sight we all started running to them. Everyone was smiling ear to ear, we rode the camels to our photo spot... yes in my dress! It was the most incredible experience. I felt like I was in a wonderland, and I was the queen or something which is so goofy and funny, but seriously I was riding a camel with my husband, in Dubai, while my family is walking next to us, and a photographer is following behind taking photos. The photo shoot flew by, but I soaked in every moment.” 

It might have been consistently 110 degrees that whole morning, but we had a spectacular time creating beautiful moments, ART, and memories we’ll never forget. You could just feel this was THEIR day for THEM…it was so perfectly and imperfectly tailored for them. It was personal and I think that’s what your wedding should be all about. You shouldn’t rely on photos to tell you what happened on your wedding day, instead they should compliment the memories you hold from that day. It is hard to keep ahold of memories of a wedding day that from the get-go was not about you, but about pleasing others. This is why eloping is SO WORTH IT.

I love the bride’s words here: 

“Under different circumstances I am sure I would have gone through with my original plan of a big wedding, but I do not regret doing what I did. It was completely different than I would’ve ever imagined my wedding, but it was perfect for me, my husband, and our situation. If any of you are contemplating an elopement, or small wedding vs. a big wedding, make your pros and cons list. That was a big help in making my decision. Also, only talk to non-biased people, and your partner; everyone has opinions but for this day, you and your fiancé are the only ones that matter. Once your mind is made, run with your decision and never look back. I wish all you brides out there a happy, stress free, exciting time planning your wedding.”