.:elaina & ben:.

We met Elaina and Ben last year (has it already been that long ago?!?!) in Kaldi's, a little coffee shop we'd never heard of which we soon discovered was the new "it" spot. They were still in the process of shopping for a photographer at the time but Brian says that his charm and striking good looks hooked them. I'm not so sure Elaina and Ben would agree.

The two of them met at the Penguin Bar downtown while they were there with friends and hit it off. Of course the next step that night was to make it across the street to the romantic spot of Columbia's very own El Rancho's with its neon walls and fun murals. (I must admit, Brian and I adore their chicken chimichangas and go there with probably too much frequency.) Apparently a trip to KC and a George Strait concert later and these two knew it was headed in a great direction!

Since the night we all picked for our engagement session was a little hot, we decided to bump everything back an hour. I told Elaina that I was super stoked to try out some new ideas I had been holding back for that special couple that involved the twilight hours and a little tricky flash work. One golden reflector and an SB-80 speedlight later and we had some absolutely gorgeous photos. Some of these innovative photos I cannot take credit for as Elaina had found a few ideas she'd fallen in love with from other engagement shots--namely the shadows and the street walking was something both of them were excited to try. You should have seen us downtown on a Friday night darting into the streets with Brian and his gigantic golden reflector and flash, me with my camera, and Ben and Elaina trying to concentrate on walking all the while looking out for cars! I'm sure it was quite a sight to see and we got more than a few stares. They were such good sports! At the end of the day, though, I'd say we all had quite a bit of fun. And, if I do say so myself, we were a little adventurous.

I couldn't help but post a lot of "kissy" photos, as my mom calls them. The dusk is just such a romantic time to take these photos! Enjoy this beautiful couple!