We take things for granted all the time.  Our spouse who keeps clean socks in the drawer, high speed internet, clean running water in our homes...  Big things and little things every day.  For photographers living in the Northwest, we sometimes take our environment for granted too.  We are blessed with great and diverse scenery within a few minute drive or even in our backyard.  Well, Rattlesnake Lake in North Bend, WA is practically our backyard, and we loved our photo session there with this cool couple and their very photogenic dog.

With the drought and dry summer we went through in 2015, we got to experience a very rare sight at Rattlesnake Lake - the exposed stumps of long ago logging operations and remnants of the old town of Moncton that has been soaking under the waters of the lake for decades.  This was a truly a special occasion, and we loved being able to help this couple capture some special images that will document not only their relationship together and this season in their lives, but also how their lives fit into the historical events of our time.

We like to photograph several different scenes during each of our couple's sessions, and mix things up with some traditional poses as well as more natural and candid images.  We work with the environment around us to set up beautiful and creative backgrounds, and with the type of light we have available that day.  Lighting is one of the most often overlooked elements in great photos, and we pay careful attention to what is going on with lighting at all times.

This couple had one special request, and that was to get some images with their dog, who turned out to be very photogenic! We included him in some of the poses, and set up some special action scenes on the lake bed that were a lot of fun. 

All in all, this was a fun and unique couples photo shoot in our own backyard, and one this couple will remember for years to come.