Recently, Blake and I (finally!) got married! In this blog post, I’m going to share with you a little bit about our Naples honeymoon adventures, our sunset beach photos, and also a bit about Blake’s role in our business.
A Supportive Husband
Blake has always been so supportive of me. When I told him I wanted to start my own business, he never questioned me or if I was capable. He has always just wanted to know how he could assist and support me. In fact, he actually let me start my business with his own personal camera.
My first “real” camera was a Canon Rebel XTi DSLR camera back in high school. I adored that thing! On the weekends you could find me and my friends taking photos in old abandoned houses and on railroad tracks (lol, I know right?). Fast forward a decade, and Blake shows me his fancy new Sony A7iii – a mirrorless camera. At first, I hated it. It took me a long time to come around and to get to know our little Sony, but now I can’t imagine anything but a Sony mirrorless. Blake was right about this one…mirrorless cameras are definitely the future of photography!
My point here was, Blake has just been there every step of the way for me. So, now that you know about how Blake helped me kickstart my business, let’s talk about our HONEYMOON!
We decided to go to Naples, Florida. Deciding on a honeymoon spot was actually really difficult for us. Everything has felt so unsure since COVID came around. We decided to play it as safe as we could, and find a semi-secluded and relaxing environment…and Naples was perfect for this! When we arrived at our resort, it was almost eerily quiet and empty… The resort did liven up by the weekend, but it is definitely off-season in Naples.
Sunset Beach Photos
When Blake asked me what I wanted to do on our honeymoon, I really just had one request. I wanted to take SUNSET BEACH PHOTOS! Now, we had just spent thousands of dollars on a wedding photographer ourselves, so hiring a photographer in Naples was a little out of the question. Plus, I had just worked so hard on planning our wedding that I couldn’t possibly even think about coordinating a photographer on our honeymoon…so we took our own little honeymoon photos with a tripod.
Now, to get to the beach on Clam Pass Park from our resort, there was about a fifteen minute walk (or five minute golf cart ride) on a cute little boardwalk through the mangrove trees. I loved the little boardwalk. Along the way, there were signs that you could read that described the environment and the creatures that call it home.
Shooting on the beach was honestly such a treat. In Tennessee, there is so much green! It can really be tricky to shoot and edit in so much green all the time. But, the colors on the beach were just such a magical little treat. The light was so different to work with also. Sunset was around 7:20 p.m., but it was still so bright right before and right after sunset because of all of the natural reflectors.
Blake and I scoped out the perfect little spot by this abandoned sail boat for our photos. (Everyone on the beach was obsessed with this boat. The story we got was that it was washed up by a storm and the owner hasn’t claimed it yet.) I set my tripod up and sent Blake out to X mark the spot for us to stand.
He really is so helpful, and honestly such a trooper for taking part in my shenanigans. These images were taken with my Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM lens. Normally, I take all of my portrait photos with my 50mm f/1.2 GM, but I didn’t feel comfortable traveling with all of my expensive lenses and if you’ve seen my 50mm, it’s rather bulky compared to my 35mm. I felt as though the length of my 35mm would be the most versatile for traveling purposes.
I learned quickly that posing others comes way more naturally to me than posing myself. We had so much fun though and laughed as people stared at us being snuggly and kissing in front of our little tripod. To actually take the photos, I used the Imaging Edge Mobile app and placed the camera on a 5 second timer. Can you tell who had the remote?!
After our tripod fun, Blake took some photos of me to use on our socials. He’s pretty good with a camera too, and when he’s not doing the heavy lifting of my equipment, you can find him shooting right alongside me at a session. Seriously, what a good husband AND business partner!
So, how do you handle photos while on vacation? Do you hire a photographer at your destination? Ask innocent bystanders to snap one for you? However you handle your photos, I just hope that you print your beautiful images and let them live on display in your home! Many of my clients know by now, I’m a huge fan of mpix.com. Go on and check this photo lab and print your images! I’m definitely about to head there to print my own!
Need any guidance on getting prints made? Want to discuss some destination photos for yourself? Feel free to contact me or email me at julie@julesharrisphotography.com!
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