Aaron & Lauren

So excited to share these photos from Aaron & Lauren's engagement session! We headed out to Sierra Vista for these photos and had such a great time! Lauren brought along her beautiful daughter, Gianna- who served as my personal model... and assistant! Loved every moment of their engagement session and I am so excited for their wedding day- and lucky me... Lauren is getting Bridal Portraits done so I get to see her in her gorgeous gown before everyone else!! (ps- can you tell I LOVE Bridal Portraits!?! For more reasons then me just being nosey! ha! more on this topic soon! promise!) 

Aaron, Lauren & Michael used to work together a few years ago, and it's been so fun getting to know them better through their engagements and our dinners together.  We love engagement sessions so we can really get to know the couple and feel so comfortable on the wedding day! You can read my blog post about why we love engagement sessions so much here! 

Ashley Eiban Photographer is a wedding and portrait photographer in Lynchburg, Virginia.  Contact us today at ashley@ashleyeiban.com for more information! 

save the date session || justin & meghan || lynchburg, virginia photographer

I don't know about you, but I am so ready for Spring! I love Central Virginia because we get all 4 seasons- and I was so happy with our one snow storm, but when storm 2, 3, 4 rolled around... well, I'm over it!! I just wanted enough snow to get some photos in, miss out on a day or two of work, and be lazy, eat junky food, and drink coffee all day. (okay... so maybe I do that everyday- snow or not! ha) 

I had such a blast photographing Justin & Meghan's proposal- I was SO excited when the weather was warmer and we were able to take advantage of the beautiful sunlight for a quick Save the Date session! Lynchburg, Virginia has so many hidden gems- it's so fun to be able to explore and find these amazing places AND enjoy some beautiful sunshine! 

and the winner is...

Congratulations to: 

Clair Wilkerson

For winning the engagement session at The Trivium Estates! 

Clair- I'll be in contact via email to schedule your session ASAP! 

Thanks again to the staff at The Trivium for partnering with us and allowing us to shoot their engagement session on your beautiful property! We can't wait to see the images! 

Justin & Meghan: a snowy, Lynchburg, VA proposal!

Guys!! I am so so so so excited to share this beautiful proposal with you! They have such an incredible love story and it was such an honor to be able a part of their engagement!! We had initially planned to sneak out and do the proposal Saturday, but when the weathermen started calling for another snow day, Justin texted and we started plotting! I hid out behind a rock in the woods waiting for them to walk by! 

Justin and Meghan walked by, stopped to take a picture, and then he got down on one knee.  And I was hiding in the woods capturing the moment! It was so sweet, Meghan instantly said YES! 

We then got some fun photos of them! They are such a cute couple and I loved how sweet and affectionate they are towards each other! I had to give almost no direction, they were just kissing and snuggling up all on their own! We had just so much fun together and ahhhhhhh the snow made the perfect backdrop! :) 

Aren't they just the cutest? Thanks again Justin & Meghan for the honor of photographing your proposal! It was such a privilege to be invited into a special moment! 

why an engagement session is SO important! // Lynchburg, Virginia Wedding Photographer

The engagement session- my brides hear me talk about it ALL the time- and it's easily the most asked about from prospective clients.  I just wanted to take a moment to share why they are so important! And not just taking them in general- but with your wedding photographer! I am so passionate about this- I actually include a complimentary engagement session with each of my wedding packages.  

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine you are at your wedding day! Your Mom just finished zipping up your dress (you look STUNNING in that beautiful white dress BTW!) and you are surrounded by all of your best girl friends... and... your photographer! Now, imagine you're at your first-look! It's just you, and your soon-to-be husband... and... your photographer! (you catching the theme here?) You will be with ME more than your fiancé on your wedding day! I will be helping you walk down the stairs, with you and your family, and I'll be out on the dance floor with you as well! I've been known to give my shoes to brides, help with tying your bow, fix your shoes, and in some cases even hold up your dress while you pee! You better REALLY know and like your wedding photographer if you're going to be spending the entire day with them! 

An engagement session is THE perfect way for us to really start to connect and gain that relationship! I get to find out how you two interact as a couple- if you need a little more help with posing and feeling comfortable, if you like to kiss or cuddle, laugh, or are more serious.  Do you have a preferred good-side, or is your fiancé a blinker? These are all things we find out together at an engagement session! 

Think back to the last time you got your pictures professionally taken... you are in the majority if that was your high-school senior photos! For most of us, it is not a common thing to have a camera on you all the time.  Honestly, the beginning of every session can be a little, how do I put this, awkward.  I'm trying to learn you- you're trying to figure out if you're screwing up every picture and what to do with your hand! Don't worry- I've been there! And we work together to figure out the exact style of coaching you need for your photos! Usually, 15 minutes into the session, we are laughing and having a blast, and you aren't even thinking about that initial awkwardness! 15 minutes on a wedding day however can be CRUCIAL to our timeline! 

And i know this is getting lengthy (see, I told you I was passionate about this!!) so I'm going to end with this.  Engagement sessions are SO MUCH FUN! We laugh together and really build the beginning of our friendship with our engagement session! Plus- after our session we grab a quick bite for dinner together and start the wedding discussions! We will start working on your wedding day timeline, creating your family formals list, and hearing all about your vision and plans for your wedding day! It's such a crucial time for us to really start planning and working together! 

I don't want you to only take my word for it- here are some testimonials from previous clients that weren't fully convinced about getting their engagement photos taken: 

    "I have to admit, my fiancé was hesitant about engagement pictures... but he did agree to engagement photos because he knew it was important to me.  He was apprehensive when we first started our engagement session with Ashley- but it didn't take long before we were all laughing through the process.  One of Ashley's instructions was for us to touch noses in some of the shots, and he still jokes all the time for us to 'touch noses.'  Our favorite picture is one where we are touching noses, and I'm so thankful that we have such a positive memory that makes me smile every time I look at it.  Phillip was not looking forward to the pictures on the wedding day, but ever since our engagement session with Ashley, he has nothing but positive comments and actually has suggestions for things he would like pictures of! Talk about a change of heart! We are both looking forward to the pictures that we are going to get on our big day- and that was because our engagement session was such a success!"  -Phillip & Julie

     "I was a little skeptical about engagement photos. I felt that they were an unnecessary expense that could be avoided. However, we took our engagement photos a few weeks ago and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Even though Jonathan, my fiancé, and I are pretty good in front of cameras, Ashley's guidance was really helpful. She told us how to pose in a variety of ways and so we didn't look so stiff (Jonathan had to do some lunges to loosen up- haha!) Also, she watched out for good locations as we walked through downtown Winchester, which will also be where we are talking pictures on our wedding. Ultimately, I think it was a great trial run to prep for the big day. I have spent countless hours trying to perfect details of the wedding and I am thankful to have peace of mind about the photography due to the wonderful engagement session. I can't wait to see the pictures from our wedding!" -Jonathan & Elyse

I could continue on this topic- but I hope that gives you some clarification about engagement sessions and why I love them!