Melanie & Christopher
Chase Farm, Lincoln, Rhode Island
October 19th, 2025
As much as I love a lowkey couple, sometimes in the moment I forget just what lowkey truly means. Take Melanie and Christopher, for example. When I first met these two soon-to-be newlyweds, they mentioned wanting to take some engagement photos at a waterfall near Chase Farm in Lincoln, Rhode Island. I took that to mean they were going to do an entire session at the farm when, in actuality, they literally just meant at the waterfall itself.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when just 40 minutes into their session, having finally made our way to the waterfall in question, they thanked me for my time and said they were ready to go.
Now, a lesser photographer would've worried they had a bad time. Nope. They were just content with everything we took up to that point. I can't say I blame them. For what we lacked in time, we more than made up for in beauty. And, honestly, with their absolutely adorable puppy in tow, I'm not convinced this day could have gone any other way ...
My time with Melanie and Christopher started with an oddly hilarious game of phone tag as I simply could not figure out where these two were on the Chase Farm property. As I stood looking at dozens and dozens of people walking by for some sort of fall Farmer's Market, and no Melanie and Christopher to be found, I called in vein to find them only to discover we were both confused about our locations.
This happens on engagement sessions sometimes and always throws me out of loop for a but but the moment I finally met up with this future bride and groom, none of it mattered because they were dressed and ready to roll, puppy in hand.
I always like to find a spot I don't think much of to begin an engagement session but that was impossible on this day as the first place we picked — slightly to the side of the waterfall Melanie and Christopher envisioned for their photos — was full of beautiful colors and fall foliage.
Talk about setting a great tone right out of the gate.
What I loved about Melanie and Christopher was how obvious this was that it was their first professional photo shoot. The pair came incredibly nervous but, once they realized how chill the vibe was going to be, relaxed pretty well.
I can always tell when a couple is going to be "my people" and these two felt like folks I've known my whole life. I especially loved their outfit choice as Melanie's white dress popped perfectly against the blue and white patterned button down Chris chose, making for some lovely photo combinations.
Melanie, Christopher and I spent about 30 minutes together in that first location, which was meant to be a spot we used to break the ice, before heading over to the popular bridge and waterfall they chose for their shoot. Funny enough, the pair told me they picked this spot simply because they drove by it one day and thought it was pretty and, you know what? That's good enough for me.
While it was busier there than I would have liked, and we really had to strategically plan our photographs in between groups of people, these waterfall photos really showcased the fall beauty of Lincoln, Rhode Island well and I could tell this is what Melanie and Christopher wanted their session to be ... so much so that after I showed them the photos we took, they were fine with calling it an afternoon.
It was, by far, the shortest engagement session I've ever done but who am I to complain? If the couple is happy, I'm happy.
I may not have had two full hours and four locations/three outfits to work with on Melanie and Christopher's engagement session but, honestly, sometimes you have to know when you're serving your clients vs. serving yourself and, on this day, things couldn't have gone better for this bride and groom.
Perhaps most encouragingly, I'll have another chance to work with Melanie and Christopher next fall and that's when we'll really try to outdo the beauty of the October 2025 session we had together.
So, thanks Melanie and Christopher for reminding me that, sometimes, less is more. I can't wait to see what we come up with in 2026 when I get to watch you share some vows, a couple kisses and become husband and wife. :)