Happy Valentine’s Day | All You Need Is Love

I had this sort of idea in my head for a long time. I’ve wanted to get a group of some of my friends together, dress them up just like this, and just have at it with my camera. I thought about doing something like this at Thanksgiving for a styled shoot then. It never happened, obviously, and my reasoning then was that it got too cold. Cold? We didn’t even know the meaning of the word until we were shooting in 10 degree weather this past weekend, having to take breaks to thaw out in our cars. But my crew swears they had the time of their lives and I couldn’t be more thankful to them for seeing out my vision just so we could have something to show on Valentine’s Day in honor & in celebration of love.

I wanted to tell the story of a group of lifelong friends with this shoot. I wanted to illustrate the dynamic, well-nurtured love between a group of friends, with all the silliness, playfulness, crushing, and appreciation that goes on with a dear band of pals. There are a million ways to illustrate love today and each photographer will assuredly have their own interpretation splashed all over their blogs today. I chose this kind. It’s something to be recognized. It’s something to be celebrated.

• Vintage Smith for letting me raid your store and borrow anything I had my eye on for a few hours. Couldn’t have styled this one without you!

• Billy Smith for assisting, being my right-hand man, and thinking of everything I kept forgetting while running around in the cold.

• Kyle Lukianuk for surprising me on my birthday by flying all the way to Chicago, only to realize you have to come be a part of a shoot early the next morning. You champ.

• And to all my perfect models, for not even thinking twice about saying yes to this and showing up first thing Saturday morning to brave the cold, with bright & shining smiles. Best crew a girl could have asked for.