By Gabrielle. Photos by Justin Hackworth .
Two months ago, I was answering some interview questions via email — the interview was for a magazine and the questions were about our wedding (so long ago!). The interviewer also requested an image of us as a couple from our wedding, and an image of us as a couple now. All of a sudden, I realized we hadn’t had a picture taken of just the two of us for years! There has been an occasional couples selfie, but nothing that really works as a portrait. So I asked the interviewer to hold tight while I figured out a current photo.
Then, as luck would have it, Justin Hackworth let us know he was coming to town to shoot a wedding, and we invited him to come by for dinner. We had a lovely evening of casual dinner and catching up, and after dinner, he generously shot a few photos of me and Ben. And I love how they turned out!
Of course, now I’m curious. What’s your experience with couple photos? Do you make a point to have photos of you and your mate taken regularly? Or are you like us — taking a million photos of the kids and travel scenery, but forgetting to get photos with just the two of us? I’d love to hear!
By the way, Ralph and Maude were both gone the day that Justin came by, so we couldn’t do family photos, but he captured some fantastic images of the youngest four.
so… where is the picture of the two of you from your wedding?? ;)
also, these photos are beautiful. I’m single, but I have tried to regularly (like every 4 years) have pictures taken of myself even though I feel pretty vain about doing it… It stems from wishing I had more photos of my mother at my age, so hopefully my posterity will appreciate it someday!
Hah! Oh man. I don’t know if I’ll ever share it. We have very few photos from our wedding and though we loved the day, the photos are not great. : )
I would love to see one of your wedding photos too!
I wanted to see the wedding day picture too! C’mon, can you give us an engagement or dating shot?! I would LOVE to see!!!
Beautiful, I love the one of the littlest one, black and white looks good with stripes and tall grass!
I agree! The black and whites are so good
I do not take pictures with my husband! I feel so awkward being in front of a camera.
I know what you mean. I feel like I’ve had to make a concerted effort over the past few years to get more comfortable in front of the camera. It does not come naturally to me at all! But I like having photos of my parent’s and hope my kids will like having photos of me and Ben Blair.
i totally recognise this! as parents you’re just so busy with your children that even photo’s of you as a couple get snowed in. we have a few random photo’s of us as a couple that other people have snapped during holidays or gatherings but nothing really nice or special. we have lots of lovely pictures of the children though!
your black and white shots are very soulful and somehow very american too. lovely!
“your black and white shots are very soulful and somehow very american too”
I love that description, and I totally get it.
We realized the same thing a couple of years ago (we’ve been married 18 years), so now we always ask the person (usually a friend of the family that’s really into photography) taking the family photo to shoot a couple of just us at the end of the session. By then the kids have had it, so it’s the perfect time to catch some of just us.
And I agree…it would be fun to see the actual wedding photo side by side with the current one.
So smart to make sure it happens during your family photo shoots.
We are terrible about it, but I love the few we have of eachother together. The seventh photo, of you alone, is so classic. Looks plucked from the 60’s.
We’re awful about getting pictures taken of the two of us. When we’re on vacation I hate asking people and it’s always been that way. Just looked at pictures from our honeymoon 11 years ago and there’s two that we didn’t take ourselves. One it was so windy my hair is a disaster. We don’t have kids yet so it always seems silly to me to get professional pictures taken of just the two of us, but I’m thinking of biting the bullet and doing it.
The one where you’re leaning against the house and you’re both smiling at each other is just beautiful
I agree. That one’s my favorite too!
these are so lovely! you and ben look so adorable. and the photos of the kids just scream happy!
Heck, I haven’t been in family photos for years let alone one with just my husband. Maybe it is time to change that!
The summer I met my husband (24 years ago) was my parents 25th anniversary. I went through all the family photos to make a “through the years” album fir them. I even had to have prints made from slides! I discovered that once I came along, there were photos of me and dad and photos of me and mom, but none of my parents as a couple until I was old enough to take photos, and even then it was rare to find a shot if them as a couple.
Right then I made a mental note to make sure we had photos as a couple without children. At the very least, every year on our anniversary, we get a photo of the two of us…. Many taken by the babysitter for the evening before we went out. I have a 6×6 album I have been building over the years of just the two of us. And, wow! The changes in hairstyles!!
The summer I met my husband (24 years ago) was my parents 25th anniversary. I went through all the family photos to make a “through the years” album fir them. I even had to have prints made from slides! I discovered that once I came along, there were photos of me and dad and photos of me and mom, but none of my parents as a couple until I was old enough to take photos, and even then it was rare to find a shot if them as a couple.
Right then I made a mental note to make sure we had photos as a couple without children. At the very least, every year on our anniversary, we get a photo of the two of us…. Some even taken by the babysitter for the evening before we went out. I have a 6×6 album I have been building over the years of just the two of us. And, wow! The changes in hairstyles!!
We always make a point to take family pictures, including couple pictures. We have always had a rocky marriage, and sometimes I wonder if I feel the need to capture the smiling, happy moments to always have reminders that we’re worth fighting for.
We’re the same. Very few photos of us (even individually), but plenty of the kids and our travels. And my husband is a photographer! On a different note, I’m always amazed at how much Ralph and Maude look like you and your husband. They’re mini-yous!
I love these photos of you and your husband. The way you look at each is so tender. Such happy love.
Lovely! I really like the last shot of you and Ben gazing at each other all lovie-dovie. And no, you’re not alone. I have TONS of pics of my little darlings, but none of the recent pics I have of my husband and myself are near frame-worthy. Yikes. I guess we should work on that.
I LOVE your outfit in the photos! Where did you get your shirt? Pants?
Aww. Thank you, Rachel! The shirt is from Banana Republic. I bought it last fall, but I think it’s one of those items they stock pretty regularly. The pants are from H&M, but alas, I’ve had them for a few years and I have no idea if they carry anything similar at the moment. : )
Your children are lovely and you are lovely. Love your yellow britches, too!
Oh these photos are beautiful your love for each other just shines through. I have very few photos with my husband. Life gets in the way. I should get on that!
love it. your photos are priceless. we always take christmas pictures once a year and i have the photographer get us two alone for a few shots. i have one as the background on my phone, and i love just looking at us two. most days are crazy and harried, and it’s nice to just steal a glance at that picture and remember we are perfect for each other and that the joy in those photos is real!
Hi,
Lovely pictures. You two look well fitted with each other.
On another note, please check out my friend’s website. She is an amazing photographer, and is local to you. I am sure she would love to work with you. I feel you and her would be perfect together, as she has so much depth to her thoughts, and work.
Alpana Aras, from http://www.storyboxtart.com
Moitreyee
Sorry, I made a mistake. It is http://www.storyboxart.com
Good reminder to get couples shots more regularly. Planned ones instead of casual snapshots that, although fun, are sometimes not so flattering.
Lovely. I need to get over how much I despise being photographed so we can get some tangible memories!
While looking at these photos, I just kept thinking: magical!
My boyfriend and I are getting photos taken this summer! I’m really excited about it, especially since it’s his first time visiting Canada! (He’s Chinese; I’m Canadian teaching at an International school in Beijing.)
Oh man – photos! If I’m ever IN one, that’s a special occasion to begin with. You’d think with as little as my husband enjoys having his picture taken he’d be a little more willing wit wield the camera. So, on the rare occasion that I’m in the shot, it’s usually taken by a child – so that’s nothing you want posted for the world to see, focusing on my left nostril as it does. Just today I had my first professional picture of just me in 19 years taken. I hope it turns out! Then, perhaps I’ll work on the two of us next.
As always, the photos of your family are quite enjoyable. The four children amongst the trees has a magical feel to it. Thank you for sharing these special pictures.