Amy & Ken
Beavertail Lighthouse, Jamestown, Rhode Island
September 2nd, 2025
I am a simple guy and I like working with simple couples so anytime a bride and groom book an engagement session with me, I like to make things as easy as possible. I ask them to pick a location, bring a couple of outfits to choose from and we'll have fun for an hour or two being silly and taking sweet photos that hopefully show the beauty and love of their relationship months before they walk down the aisle and say "I do."
I think this places most of the couples I work with at ease for their shoot and when I can tell a bride and groom are still a little bit nervous in front of the camera, I remind them that there's no pressure and these photos are theirs and theirs alone.
That's why I wasn't worried in the slightest the day Amy and Ken stepped in front of my lens for their engagement session and Beavertail Park in Jamestown back in September. Even though I could see they weren't the most comfortable people having their photos taken, anytime I asked them to talk to each other or look at each other, that nervousness faded. As it should when you're with your person.
And that's why their hour-long session at one of Rhode Island's most beautiful locations felt so raw, so real and so them. I could ask for nothing more.
My time with Amy and Ken started with some simple questions for the bride and groom. I asked if they brought multiple outfits and if they wanted to go to more than one location and the answer to both questions was a laugh and a simple 'no thanks.'
I could tell from the answer that Amy and Ken weren't looking for anything wild from their photos and wanted just a few nice shots of them to use in the future and when I told them my goal is only ever to get "two or three strong shots of the couples I work with," I could see them relax a bit knowing the stakes weren't that serious.
And any nerves I had for them when I saw how lovely they both looked in each other's arms on the water. Seriously. These two were so sweet and you could feel their love in their eyes whenever they looked at one another.
One of the things I loved most about Amy and Ken is how much we were all on the same page about how ridiculous some of the "standard" engagement photo poses are. I knew from joking around with them that I had to have Ken twirl Amy first dance-style on the grass and the laugh she let out was so genuine and sweet it became one of my favorite photos of their entire shoot and set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
I didn't have a ton of "must haves" for Amy and Ken's shoot but one of the things I wanted to make sure we did during our time together was photograph the pair with the actual Lighthouse in the background. I've been to Beavertail State Park multiple times and, for whatever reason, the clients I'd worked with previously always skipped the traditional lighthouse photos.
Not Amy and Ken. These two were all about it and I loved that for them.
Admittedly, Amy and Ken weren't AS thrilled with my selection of the final spot we'd hit up for their photos but how can you go to Beavertail Lighthouse and NOT take photos on the rocks? I mean, that's practically the entire reason to shoot at this location.
To Amy's credit, even though she was crazy nervous, she put her bravest face on and got out there and, I think, helped create the best photos of the entire day. Talk about a beautiful, scenic view of arguably the country's best coastline.
As my time with Amy and Ken came to an end, I couldn't believe how quick their session had gone. I could've worked with these two with another two hours and never gotten bored but I think it's safe to say this bride and groom got everything they wanted from our time together and then some.
So thank you Amy and Ken for a wonderful late summer/early fall shoot and I can't wait to do it all over again when we get together for your special day in 2026. I promise not to bring you out onto too many rocks on that day.
Well. I'll try not to anyway. :)