Maria + Justin | Engagement | Warren Dunes State Park | Sawyer, MI

Any hardship is an opportunity for growth. However, when we often face hardships, our immediate tendency is to focus only the "bad" part of the situation and to feel like these barriers in life are practically insurmountable. Photography has shown us a better way though. What happens when you open your camera bag and find out that you forgot your favorite lens? You learn all of the things your back-up lens can do. What happens when the sunny forecast turns into a dreary rainstorm? You become an expert at using google maps and finding a quick indoor alternative. And like on Maria and Justin's engagement session, what happens when you pull up to your favorite location to find that part of it has yet to be open for the season? You fall back on what you have learned over the year and find your NEW favorite location for engagement photos!

Maria and Justin's adventurous nature was perfectly balanced with their amazing outfits for their engagement session! These two absolutely love the outdoors and spent most of the session doing their best to convince Josh that camping in the U.P. is something that everyone should do at some point! And yet, even though most of the session was spent among the dunes or along the lake, Maria and Justin brought an elegance to their engagement session that we only describe as being "perfectly them". As a fellow photographer, Justin and Josh spent the times walking back and forth, talking about gear while Andrea and Maria chatted about Justin and Maria's camping trips and where their favorite places to visit have been! Simply put, we walked away from the evening feeling like new friends, and that is always a good thing at the end of an engagement session!

Maria and Justin, we just wanted to thank you so much for a truly fun evening! Your willingness to follow us to a brand new location just shows how you two are always up for an adventure, and we love how you both have that excitement for exploring the world and all that is has to offer! We are so thankful we get to see you again in just a few months and this time, it will be celebrating you two all over again! Until then, we'll be trying to figure out a way to get Josh up to the U.P. so we can all talk about how beautiful it is next time!

All our best!

J + A

All photos are property of Josh and Andrea Photography LLC.