Justin’s proposal to nicole
Nothing gets the excitement and the nerves going than a proposal! And I’m just the one taking the photos! I had the great opportunity to witness and document Justin’s proposal to Nicole at Rochambeau in Boston, MA. I definitely have to revisit this French restaurant. I waited for a bit at the ready for the couple to arrive nearby the planned location on the second floor and when finally I saw them come up the stairs out of the corner of my eye,…it was go time. Well, as any good proposal goes: he got on one knee, she was gleefully surprised and said yes! We then took some photos inside and then out before the two newly engaged couple celebrated with family.
Arriving early pays off
I showed up for my engagement session at Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts like 2 hours early. This was not on purpose! The time I had in my head did not match what I had in my calendar, lol, but made the best of the extra time I had. I decided to scope out the area as I’ve never been to this location before. It has beautiful wooded areas with trails and wide open spaces with crops growing and a fun farm area with animals. I came up with some creative ideas, specifically one where I wanted to play with scale and make the couple look small amongst a patch of kale. I was pretty stoked to actually pull this off and make that vision a reality. I really like this image a lot—it’s fun and whimsical and there’s a chance I may not have noticed this or came up with this idea if I didn’t have that extra time at the beginning to scope out ideas.
Mike and Becky engagement at Horn Pond
This may be one of my top favorite engagement sessions I’ve ever done. Mike and Becky showed up ready to go at Horn Pond in Woburn, MA, a place they’ve visited before. They were totally into each other and just looked natural and fabulous in front of the camera. Beautiful evening light throughout, a stunning sunset, cute baby geese (you can’t plan this, especially for a couple that are into birds!), and some of my definite favorite silhouettes, just pushed this one over the top!
Hawthorne Hotel wedding
My very good friends Steve and Alicia tied the knot at the lovely Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts last February. Actually, the day of this posting is their 1-year anniversary! Steve Sheridan is a very talented photographer himself and what an honor it was to be asked to photograph his wedding. It was also special because I had my wife second shooting alongside me—her first and last wedding, lol! Below are some of my faves from this wedding.
A Batifol wedding
Adrian and Deanna were so chill and laid back and they were the best couple to work with to start of the year with their small, intimate wedding in Cambridge, MA. The couple both got ready at the Royal Sonesta hotel, overlooking the Charles River, before heading to Batifol, a chic French restaurant in the Kendall Square neighborhood. My favorite image from his group of images is absolutely the one of Deanna walking into the ceremony space and seeing Adrian for the first time. The emotion in this image says it all for me!
Let's Start This Again...
Well, here we are already in 2025. I had grand plans last year to be back on the blog posting grind…but quickly lost track. A goal of mine this year is to share more of what I’m photographing throughout the year, both professionally and some personally as well. I fully fall into the belief of photographing/documenting your life.
I’m gonna share some of my favorite photographs I took throughout the last year in the next few posts. In this post in particular I’m starting off with a bit of a cheat from a wedding I shot in December of 23…juuuust before the start of 2024. This wedding was up on the North Shore of Massachusetts in Gloucester…a quintessential North Shore town by the ocean. I love a good black and white image that focuses on content and shape, silhouettes, images with good light, storytelling photos, dance circles with grandmothers, bistro lights, and photos with a pink cloud…all of which I’ve shared below!
At Home Family Session
Last April, I had the pleasure of capturing the family session of Alex and his wife Joanne and their son Nathan right in the heart of their home. Joanne reached out and told me Nathan had just lost both of his two front teeth and wanted to remember this time in her child’s life.
I love this! There are always reasons to book a family session. It doesn’t always have to be overly planned with a location out of the way at golden hour. Don’t get me wrong, a love a cool location out in nature with beautiful light. Everyone is different, and I also know the thought of having photos in your home can bring about anxiety because of the way it looks or how messy the clutter makes it look. It’s not for everyone, but personally, I love home sessions. There’s just something uniquely special about photographing families in the comfort of their own space. The familiarity of home brings out genuine emotions and connections, resulting in authentic moments and heartfelt interactions. As a photographer, I love this location for the way it allows families to relax and be themselves, especially children as I encourage interaction and play. The photos captured in a home setting beautifully encapsulate the true essence of the family's dynamics and relationships. This all results in memorable photos that will be uniquely yours.
We started the session out in front of their home to give their gallery a sense of place and to take some simple photos to “warm up” a bit. This was actually my second session with this family, but it had been over a year since we last saw each other. We then moved out back to play with some Lego and their dog before moving inside to read some books, jump on a bed, and made time for some mom and dad photos (which I always make sure I do with my family sessions). My favorite time of this shoot was cupcake decorating, which made for my favorite images and what better way to end than with a cupcake cheers?!
The Blog's Back!
Bringing back my blog has been in the back of my mind recently. I’ve been posting photos after a wedding or session on my instagram page (@brettcrawfordphoto) but I’m always wanting to share more. This is the perfect outlet for me to do it. I used to post rather frequently when I worked as a full time photojournalist in North Central Mass and then in the Greater Boston Area, but once I stopped that job, the blog sorta faded and ended back in 2017. I’ll post as often as I can and it’ll most likely be a mix of paid work, some personal and some random!
I want to start this thing off with a wedding I photographed at the start of 2023 because it meant a lot to me personally. This wedding was held at Park Street Church in downtown Boston, which was (fun fact) the tallest building in the U.S. from 1810-1828! I’ve been going to Park Street since around 2012 when I started dating my now wife.
Since then, I’ve dreamt of photographing a Park Street wedding. I was stoked when Lydia and Lyford asked me to document their January 21st wedding at Park Street. It was so special to have a wedding at the same church where I regularly worship with my family—the best way to kick off 2023! Please enjoy these photos from Lydia and Lyford’s wonderful day!
