Check these two out- they drove 5 hours just to meet me the one evening I had free while in Sioux Falls! They are so casual, cute, and comfortable in front of my camera, and I cannot wait to photograph them again in November for their wedding! That one on the right? FAVORITE!!!  Well, all of these are my favorites, but this tops the list. :-)

Internet, meet James + Caitlin. They are fun, silly, engaged, and super adorable. :-)

This was unintentionally focused on the tall grass instead of James + Caitlin, but I prefer to call it a happy little accident. :-)

I try to ask each of my couples if there are any photos they’d like to do, and this next one was Caitlin’s request – I’m so glad she did, because I think it’s my favorite from the whole session! :-)

Thanks, you two for being so giggly and cuddly – I am very much looking forward to your wedding next year!! :-) Also, thanks for the bug lesson, although I may have already forgot what the ‘gnats’ were called.

Everyone, meet Tim + Teresa. They are fun, cute, smiley, and they love any movie with Will Ferrell. We got along swimmingly. :-)

They also love the color gray, so I made it my mission to splash a little color into their session. This wall did the trick, don’t you think? :-)

Ohh, the giggles. Thanks, Tim + Teresa, for playing along with my silly games. I *LOVE* this photo of you two!!

I have a big soft spot in my heart for couples who are up for to trying out new locations with me. Even if that means we have to hike a little ways, or even stop to watch some wildlife on the way. ;-)

I also love photographing couples who laugh together so easily. Take Steve + Lindsey, for example. I loosely set them up into this pose at the beginning of their session, and within seconds, this is what happened:

Very early on in the session, I found out this was a couple I could easily joke around with, so when I was picking out a sneak peek to post on my Instagram account, I chose that first giggly photo and captioned it “These two came all the way to the Black Hills to get their engagement photos taken tonight, and all they got was this photo in front of a white wall.” :-) But don’t worry, I took them out to the forest to get some great scenery images, too – just you wait!! :-)

**side note: Instagram the first place where I share photos from sessions now, so follow along (@studiolb) to be the first to see such beautifulness!

Before Steve + Lindsey traveled out to the Black Hills for their session, I had asked Lindsey if she had any requests of where to go. She requested forest and sunset. Hopefully this is what she had in mind. :-)

Steve + Lindsey – I can’t thank you enough for being so willing and excited to try out these new locations with me! Thanks for hiking with me, for teaching me about paw prints, for taking a couple ‘just one more’ photos, and for all the thumbs-ups. ;-) I am so looking forward to your wedding in July!!

I have been so excited for it to finally be warm enough for engagement sessions out here in the Black Hills!! I have been scouting for new forest locations in preparation for upcoming sessions, and Kris + Gretchen were just as excited as I was to try out a couple new spots near Sturgis!

Kris + Gretchen – Thank you, for climbing over+under fallen trees, and getting your shoes a little dirty just to get to a great photo spot. :-) Your love is so kind and sweet. The two of you make *beautiful* photos and I can’t wait to create some more for you at your wedding!! :-)