Portraits of Grace | Helen Hunt Falls

Helen Hunt Falls, Cheyenne Canyon Colorado

This session was put together by a new friend and fellow photographer in Colorado Springs, Kevin Lesniewski. He reached out to me asking if I’d like to shoot together sometime, and help him with shooting portraits. So of course I was up for it, and we met with Grace Palten on location at the stunning Helen Hunt Falls in Cheyenne Canyon a few days later. I brought my lighting setup, and it actually worked perfectly with both his Canon and my Nikon. So we were able to use my setup interchangeably. It was such a great time working with both Kevin and Grace. I wish I could take them with me to North Carolina to shoot again!

Shooting with Grace

Grace is such a sweet, down to earth, and gorgeous young woman. She hopes to model as a hobby, and had a clear talent and passion for it. It’s not easy to imagine what you look like behind the camera, especially working with virtual strangers for the first time. But she took direction and ran with it You can’t look at these portraits and see otherwise.

Working with the Rain

For a substantial challenge, it rained on us as well. While it was difficult on my end to protect my camera and lighting gear, I can only imagine how it was for Grace. A chilly evening rain made it pretty cold, and that is tough to put up with while maintaining the calm that she did. But I just love how the rain made for lush greens, dew drops, and such a pretty glow.

Post Process

For this set of photos, I decided to accentuate the greens by giving them a gem tone, bringing out the cool and refreshing summer rain feel. I also chose to give the water some blue, because it was naturally a bit brown and muddy looking. I love the way the greens and blues played off of the white overcast sky and the red tones in the environment and grace’s second dress.

A Unique Session

Overall I had a blast with this session. Especially because I had the opportunity to take some behind the scenes shots of a fellow photographer–something every photographer secretly wants more of. I also had a great time having coffee with these two after the session and viewing some of Kevin’s images with him.

While I’m no longer booking sessions in Colorado, if you would like a session for portraits in Charlotte, NC, please head to my contact page and get in touch!

Feel free to comment or share, I would love to know which photos are your favorites.

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