We normally head towards Packwood, Washington for a Mt. Rainier elopement this time of year, but this time we were invited to do a beautiful creekside cabin couple’s photoshoot for Emily & Stephen’s 3 year anniversary. See the beautiful photos below and how we got the lighting we did!
Cabin Couples Photos Pinterest Inspo
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How to plan the perfect lighting
First, we planned the perfect lighting for our shoot. We arrived early to Packwood, WA and scoped out the creek to see where the light was going to be. Our goal here is to get it RIGHT BEFORE it dips behind the hill to give a faux golden hour effect. Find the spot you want to take photos and pull out your phone.
Next, you’re going to download the app “Lumos” and track where the sun will be. The yellow is showing you today’s tracking of the sun’s movement across the sky. The other colors will show you different seasons throughout the year if you ever want to plan ahead so you don’t have to drive out again. Here’s a June 18th screenshot from our app.
With the help of the app I could see that the sun was going to dip behind this hill just after 7pm. Since Emily and Stephen wanted a two hour photoshoot, we did 1 hour at the cabin and the last hour here at the creek. With this game plan in mind, we needed to be here by 6pm to shoot a faux “golden hour.”
Cabin Couples Photos
Therefore, here is our 1st hour at the cabin. It’s giving all of the Pinterest vibes for cabin couple’s photos. Want that hazy look from the kitchen photos? Buy our favorite Atmosphere Spray from Amazon!
Creekside Couples Photos
Finally, for the 2nd hour of the photoshoot, we drove 10 minutes down the road to the local river that runs through Packwood, WA and shot during the faux golden hour. As you can see, it looks like sunset with those natural sun flares hitting our camera lens! It also gave the water an amazing sparkle. So worth the extra location scouting with our Lumos app! Sadie, their golden retriever had extra fun here chasing sticks in the water while Emily & Stephen dipped their toes in and explored the wildflower meadows.
The Cinematic Edits
I love shooting horizontal when the landscapes are THIS GORGEOUS so here are some my favorite cinematic photos from both spots, displayed in a vertical tier stack for easy saving to Pinterest!
