Our story actually started in 2015.

Summer season was coming to a close and I was shooting a separate engagement session on top of Austin’s beloved Mount Bonnell. As I was shooting, we witnessed not only a whole lot of people playing music and walking their dogs.. but a wedding and a proposal!

Needless to say it was a romantic night.

And if you have followed my blogs for any amount of time, you know I am a complete sap for romance. While others could possibly walk by people sharing these special moments, or maybe add a simple applause after the “she said yes!” part… I am scanning the crowd to be sure they have someone taking a photo for them. I can’t help it. I know it’s a private moment, but it’s also one that you could cherish forever through a photograph.

Fast forward just over one year and here we are.

When they mentioned the idea to shoot in a movie theater to fit their wedding theme, I was SO excited! Any couple that wants to do something I have never done gets my creative little heart pumping a mile a minute.

Downtown Austin’s hip and trendy movie theater Violet Crown provides such a fun atmosphere that it’s a must do for a date night in ATX.

Knowing that I was full on in the midst of Fall wedding season, Joe took on scheduling to make sure the Violet Crown Cinema happened. Once we wrapped up in the theater, we headed to none other than where we met and where they got engaged.

Mount Bonnell.

We were in perfect timing for the sunset. There is never an empty evening at Mount Bonnell. It’s one of the best views of an Austin sunset. You get full views of our portion of the Colorado River, (most people don’t believe me when I say it runs through Austin!) our beautiful 360 Bridge  (a.k.a. Pennybacker Bridge) and of course the sunset views unlike any other around the heart of Texas.

I get a lot of questions about lighting a session. I tend to have way too much fun setting things up, from my crazy off camera flashes (anywhere from 2-4 at once)- completed as always with my Magmod gear to my triggers and remotes to get things going.

On top of extending any light stands and wrapping Gorillapods around trees or balancing them on rocks, anytime I want even more extra oomph, I bring out some Atmosphere Aerosol to create the drama. During this session we were able to add a slight fog to the already dramatic golden hour and we even had someone walking by offer to spray the fog! (I said yes, of course. Why would I need to do more running after walking up a mountain?!)

If you would like to know more about the set up of off camera flash and how to expose for sunsets, silhouettes and skin tones- email! I am considering doing an online tutorial in 2017 and would love to know how many would be interested in seeing what goes behind the scenes during a session with Elizabeth Birdsong Photography.