I am so excited to share with you MORE of what Meuse Photo has to offer. Come read up on all the latest adventures I have been on!
Capturing Dark Academia in the Library Stacks
There’s something captivating about the dark academia aesthetic—moody, intellectual, and filled with the allure of hidden knowledge. If there is one thing I love it is a dark and moody vibe. Recently, I had the chance to bring this theme to life in a grad session, set against the dimly lit stacks of books. So this session was the perfect combination of vintage charm and academic intrigue. Just breath in the old book smell and prepare yourself for this dark academia grad session.
I met Audrey when I lived in the DFW area and I was mainly focusing on senior portraits. She was on my senior model team so I was able to take so many cute photos over the course of her high school senior year. Now flash forward four years I have moved to Lubbock, Texas. Audrey graduated high school and came to Lubbock for college. I say time and time again, one of my favorite things is being able to have multiple sessions with people. I tend to become attached to my clients because they are so cool and I just want to take all the photos of them. Being able to celebrate and capture someones life time and time again is such a surreal experience.
This shoot was a perfect reminder of the power of atmosphere. Framing the shots was an exciting challenge. Shooting from between the bookshelves added a sense of depth, creating immersive images that made the viewer feel part of the scene. The narrow aisles and towering shelves naturally drew the eye toward the model, amplifying the overall mood. Setting up the composition of each shot was cool with all the leading lines of the shelves and overhead lights.
So now that you have ventured this far, be sure to check out this blog post if you are currently looking for a senior photographer. For more dark academia content check out a senior photoshoot I did in a dark academia vibe house. And for current updates check out my TikTok and Instagram.
Photographing Josiah and Chloe’s Proposal Under the Stars in the Heart of Texas
There’s something undeniably magical about photographing a proposal, especially when it takes place in a setting as breathtaking as the middle of nowhere in Texas. lol. The vastness of the landscape, the quiet stillness, and the canopy of stars create the perfect backdrop for a moment to remember for a lifetime.
Texas is known for its wide-open spaces, making it the perfect place to have a cute star gazing date. Josiah chose his families farm to propose to Chloe because of its connection to his childhood and of course, the perfect location to see the stars. He wanted to share a piece of his past with her, a place that had shaped him and held so many memories. It was also the perfect place to get lost in the beauty of the universe, both literally and metaphorically, as they prepared to take this next step together.
After some time spent stargazing through a telescope, he then led her around the house where he had his proposal setup with a round arch draped in white tulle and string lights. Under the stars, in the stillness of the Texas night, he got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him.
Now for all my fellow photog friends. Photographing a proposal like this can be kind of tricky. Here’s how I approached it:
1. Embrace the Low Light:
2. The Right Timing:
3. Get all the info ( and then some):
Be sure to check out my latest wedding blog from Jill and Roland’s wedding at Firefly Gardens in Midlothian, Texas. Or check out my instagram for my latest photoshoots and events! Ok, that’s all, love you, byeeeeeee!
Alright, this will be my last wedding, because I just cannot top it. Just kidding, but really. Having a summer wedding in Texas can be hard, but if you are looking for the perfect indoor/outdoor venue Firefly Gardens is STUNNING. This venue truly stands out with its clean and elegant aesthetic. Pair that with all the green and white florals and you basically have a garden party in the making. I fell in love with so many parts of this wedding. The flowers, the DJ, the family, the wedding party and of course the stunning couple. I met Jill and Roland when I was photographing Makayla and Bruce’s wedding last year. You better believe I did a little dance when Jill reached out about photographing their wedding.
From our first video chat, to their engagement session at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, to the dance floor at their wedding, I have had so much fun getting to hang out and capture their love story. And now I am so excited to share just a small part of their story with you!
For more Texas Summer wedding galleries, go check out Alli + Jonathan’s and Kaua + Eli’s wedding gallery. If you want to check out my pricing and packages be sure to fill out a contact form and let’s chat!!
One of my favorite kind of couples to work with and capture their love stories are the people who are a little goofy. One of the first things Tory and Guillermo told me was, “We are just a little goofy together all the time.” Literally sign me up because I am also goofy pretty much 24/7. They have been together since 2018 and moved to Lubbock for college and you can absolutely tell they are best friends. Their dreams for their wedding were nothing too fancy, fun and boho country chic. And GIRL they did just that. By the time everyone reached the dance floor at Four Bar K we were all having a good time. Check out Tory and Guillermo’s wedding gallery below!
Tory and Guillermo’s wedding day was filled with so much laughter and a whole lot of a good time. I am so thankful they trusted me to capture their love story! Be sure to check out Ali and Jonathans Wedding Gallery or if you are interested in booking your wedding fill out my contact form here!!
I love senior photos especially cap and gown graduation photos. Sometimes cap and gown photos can start all looking the same. So I made a list of my top few favorite poses for your cap and gown graduation photos and made a guide that I use during every cap and gown photoshoot to ensure you are not just getting the basic photos everyone else has.
Okay, she is ICONIC. Tossing your cap in the air literally screams I’m done, and expresses all the joy that comes with graduation. I like to to do this pose one of three ways depending on what my client prefers. I will either have them throw their cap directly at me or straight up in the air. Both are cute, but be sure you don’t throw it into a tree. I have absolutely had that happen. LOL. If they would rather not get their cap dirty, have them hold one corner of the cap out in front of them and move it around to get movement in the tassel.
It can feel awkward if you have no clue what to do with your hands in a photo. When in doubt use your props or clothing. One photo I love getting is having my grad grab either one or both corners of their cap and tilt the head. It adds a touch of whimsy to the pose. I mean what does that actually mean, i have no idea. That is the vibe I get from this pose, like you have to hold on tight to your cap for just a bit longer of it will literally fly off and the next leg of your journey will begin.
Show off your stylish side by casually throwing your graduation gown over your shoulder. A majority of the time my seniors do not want a lot of photos with the gown zipped all the way up. So my favorite way to show off your cute outfit you are wearing to graduation is to throw on your hat and toss that gown over your shoulder.
Many poses for your cap and gown graduation photos are you standing. Switch it up a bit and take a few sitting on some stairs or kneeling down. Stairs are a great tool because you can pose on them in so many different ways.
Create a focal point by holding your graduation cap in front of you. This pose draws attention to the symbol of your achievement while also highlighting your facial expression. This is also a great pose if you decorate the top of your graduation cap.
Bonus Pose: Posing with Your Stole and Graduation Cords
Don’t forget to showcase your academic achievements by posing with your stole and graduation cords. Drape them elegantly around your neck or hold them in your hands to add depth and personalization to your photos. These accessories represent your hard work, dedication, and academic accomplishments, making them essential elements in your graduation photo shoot.
For even more tips, ideas, and inspiration for your cap and gown graduation photos, check out this comprehensive posing guide available on Etsy. With detailed instructions and creative suggestions, this guide will help you make the most out of your photo session, ensuring that every pose captures the spirit and significance of your graduation day. Click here to access the guide and elevate your graduation photo experience!
Your senior year is a whole vibe. It is a culmination of memories, achievements, and milestones. It’s also a time of change, transition, and sometimes a whole lot of senioritis. One of the most cherished traditions during this time is the senior photoshoot, aka spending an ample amount of time with your photog bestie (that’s me, Brittney). You get to capture who you are in this moment. One phrase I hear more than anything is, pleases help I am so awkward, I don’t know how to pose. GIRL, I’ve got your back. Here is a small guide to posing for your senior photos.
1. Choose the right photographer for you: Well that seems obvious. But this is a super important detail you cannot skip. I like to meet up with my senior clients to chat about life and their session. This could absolutely be done over email, but the purpose of chatting isn’t just to plan your session. It is an opportunity for us to make a genuine connection, for my clients to get comfortable with me. By the time your session rolls around you are comfortable with me and by extension, more comfortable behind the lens. You want to choose a photographer who you are going to feel comfortable with, and who you vibe well with. Here is a blog post that will guide you in different qualities to look for.
2. Express Yourself: Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine. Whether you’re a bookworm, an athlete, an artist, etc, incorporate elements that represent who you are into the photoshoot. Props can be very helpful because our hands can feel awkward when you don’t know what to do with them in photos.
3. Clothing: Where clothing you are comfortable in and really expresses who you are. When you are posing for your senior photos and wearing an outfit you hate or don’t feel like yourself in, that can come across in the photos.
4. Confidence is Key: Stand tall and own the moment. No one else who can do you like you can, so own it, be who you love to be. My favorite moment in a photoshoot is when I get some amazing photos and show my client the back of the camera and their first reaction is WOW. I didn’t know I looked like that. GIRL, YES YOU DO!!! I always like to say my first job is taking photos and a close second is your number one hype girl. If you are silly goofy, great let’s do some silly goofy photos, if you are fancy and like traditional photos great, we can do that.
5. Location Matters: Choose a location that complements you. Whether it’s the beautiful outdoors, a vibrant urban backdrop, or a cozy indoor studio, the right location can enhance the mood of your photos. I recently had a client who can get anxious around other people, so a low profile location was key. Express your anxieties because your photographer will help you out.
One of the classic poses for senior photoshoots is donning your cap and gown. For more in-depth guidance on posing for your cap and gown photoshoot, check out this comprehensive Senior Posing Guide available to download on Etsy. Happy posing!!
We are currently in the midst of graduation season so we have to talk about finding a senior graduation photographer. Right now, seniors are mostly checked out, or cramming for their last final. Juniors are gearing up to step into their final year. As you start thinking about your senior photos, choosing the right photographer is so important. And tbh, it can be overwhelming. These are the photos that will most likely hang in your parents house for the next 50 years. These are the photos you will show friends or your partner years down the road to show who you were. Let’s make sure your grad photos are a success and share who you are right now. Here are a few essential qualities to look for in a grad photographer:
1. Experience and Portfolio: I always say the first step is to stalk their social media. An experienced photographer will have a diverse portfolio that shows off their skills in capturing individuals in a flattering and expressive manner. Ask yourself, does this photographer capture all skin tones well? Do they work with all body types? When I look at their work can I see myself in the subjects of their photos?
2. Style Compatibility: Every photographer has a unique style, some photographers edit bright and airy and others dark and moody (I’m your dark and moody editing kind of girl, because I love all the dark and moody vibes). Consider the style that resonates with you and aligns with the vision you have for your photos. When you hire a photographer you are also hiring them with their own personal editing style.
3. Personality and Communication: AKA vibe check. Building a rapport with your photographer is essential for a relaxed and enjoyable photoshoot. The vibe is everything. Personally, I do this by meeting up with my clients not only to chat about their session, but to get to know them, form a genuine connection and to see if we vibe well together. Every senior graduation photographer may do this through email, a phone call, video chats, etc.
4. Professionalism and Reliability: having to guess when you will receive photos back, or what the expectations are for your session is just not cool. Professionalism is non-negotiable when hiring a photographer. A red flag in my book is when a photographer does not have a contract in place. A contract will protect both parties and set expectations before the shoot even begins.
5. Positive Reviews and Recommendations: Read reviews from past clients or seek recommendations from friends, family, or peers who have had positive experiences with your photographer. Word-of-mouth can be a valuable resource in finding a reputable photographer.
When you look back in 20 years at your senior photos you want the photos to reflect who you are. By considering these qualities when hiring a photographer for your senior graduation photos, you can ensure your photos will not only be tailored to who you are but it will be a fun and rewarding experience.
How does that sound?
To tell you that I was excited for this portrait session will not even begin to cover it. Hey guys I’m Brittney, and I am your photog bestie! I met up with Addy a few months ago and we started planning her senior session. My biggest take away from our meeting was she did not want your “typical” senior session. She came ready with lots of inspo and we got to planning. 4 words, dark academia portrait session. And I am totally here for it. Here was the vibe we were going for during our planning for the first part of her senior photoshoot:
All the art museum, meet me at the underground library, running through London streets, dark academia vibes. Our only problem. We don’t live in London, with cool libraries or art museums. We really don’t have anything like this where we live. After going back and forth on a few possibilities Addy and her mom remembered a friends house that is decorated beautifully but it definitely fit the mark. It had also just gone up on the market. So we bought it. lol. JK. but they did let us take photos before they moved everything out and let me just tell you.. it was stunning, it gave us all the dark academia vibes we could want without actually booking a trip to London. (But don’t tempt me, because I will do it).
The day came and after I got home and immediately uploaded the photos. Jaw on the floor. I loved them so much and for sure fit the dark academia portrait session vibes. Check them out!
Do you love them? I love them. Actually I am obsessed with them and will probably make this my new personality. Just kidding mostly. If you want to check out another session that is a little extra and just as fun and fabulous go check out this blog with Brielle! Soon I will post the second part of Addy’s photoshoot and we will just call that half the dreamy nature portrait session and it is so good.
I spent weeks, maybe months looking and LOVING all of these Taylor Swift Eras Tour outfits. LIKE DYING. At one point my entire TikTok for you page was just the Eras Tour. I would get so excited anytime another Swiftie came across my For You page that was going to the Dallas show the same night I was. I am a big reputation girlie so my outfit was obviously centered around that, midnights vibes, and most importantly being comfy. Here is a look at the fun outfit I wore to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour!!
Not going to lie, I had my outfit done and ready at least a few months before my concert date. I decided to DIY the disco ball had like a week before. So by the time all the mirror pieces came in the mail I had like maybe 2 days to do it. It took me the FULL 2 days to make it. I was sitting at my desk for hours and hours. Worth it in the end because now I have a cool had and it really made my outfit perfect. Just a tip if you decide to make it, I tried putting like 5 rows of the mirror tiles on at a time, I ended up taking all of them off and doing one row at a time. It looks a lot better that way. And of course everything coming together for that night!!!
The Taylor Swift Eras tour was so much fun, absolutely a night to remember. Now the morning after, I looked like a piece of hell spit me out and left me there to die. I still had jewels in my hair, my body exhausted after a night of singing, dancing, standing and jumping. Bright and early we headed to a photoshoot scheduled with a fellow Swiftie. I first saw Jose on Tiktok showing off his STUNNING mirrorball inspired Eras Tour outfit and I immediately knew I wanted to work with him. So I followed up and we made plans to meet up for the shoot! GUYS. His outfit.. actual perfection. Take a look at some of the shots we got!!
As always if you love these portraits and want to see more, check out my gallery. And let’s work together. I am in desperate need of another fellow Swiftie photoshoot so lets chat!!!!
Pride month has officially been over for a bit. That always makes me sad. Hi all, it’s Brittney your photog bestie and today I want to share the pride self portraits from a session I did at the beginning of June. If you are following me on Instagram or TikTok you might have seen a few photos from the session but here’s a lot more. June might be over, but you can still support the alphabet mafia community year around. I hate when corporations are just here for some rainbow capitalism. So don’t be like them and go support your favorite LGBTQ+ creators and businesses. Here are a few of my favorite places you can donate money and small businesses you can support.
The Trevor Project: Starting with one of the most well-known LGBTQ+ charities, The Trevor Project focuses on providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth. Through their 24/7 helpline, online chat, and text support, they offer a lifeline to those who may be struggling with their identity or facing discrimination. Your donations can contribute to saving lives and fostering a supportive environment for vulnerable LGBTQ+ individuals.
GLAAD: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is an organization committed to promoting positive representation and accurate portrayals of LGBTQ+ individuals in media and entertainment. By advocating for fair and inclusive media representation, GLAAD helps combat stereotypes and fosters a more accepting society. Your donations help amplify LGBTQ+ voices and stories, challenging societal norms and encouraging acceptance.
National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE): As the leading social justice organization devoted to advancing the rights of transgender individuals, NCTE focuses on advocacy, policy change, and education. Through their campaigns, they address issues like transgender rights, healthcare access, and anti-discrimination policies. Donating to NCTE can aid in securing equal rights and opportunities for the transgender community.
Rainbow Certified: I have stickers, enamel pins, and their new rainbow fanny pack and I absolutely love all of them. I love this small business because they are really good and supporting a lot of different sexualities and have something for everyone. Also if they have any stickers that have been discontinued sometimes they will throw them in with your order so then you get fun surprise stickers.
Queerly Nostalgic: I have not had the chance to order from them, but they have some really cute stuff. So you should order and let me know what you get because they have some really fun stickers and all the Fletcher and Taylor Swift things you could want.
Rose Gold Co: I like this small business because they are VERY inclusive and have a lot of different options for every letter in the alphabet mafia. Instead of just focusing on what have been the “main sexualities/genders” they try to cover everyone. So no matter who you are you can find something that is you. I got a cute bucket hat and bi bracelet here and love them.
Be sure to check out my previous blog posts and let me know what you want to see next! Show me your pride self portraits you took this year, post and tag me on IG or TikTok!