At our last Sag- Ja Wedding fair event which took place in Vorchdorf  in the Spring of this year, prizes were awarded to  visitors as part of  the evening entertainment. I offered a portrait session as one of the prizes and was pleased to greet the winners some months later at our chosen location of  Traunkirchen , a charming lakeside town on Traunsee lake in Upper Austria. The lovely young couple, Selina and Bernd, were engaged and in love and planning their wedding to  take place a year later. Selina came prepared with  some lovely dresses , summery and feminine and she had a few unique requisites and changes in her bag. We began our session by some old wooden sheds nestled in a corner by the lakeside.We noticed that one of the sheds was open and that the atmosphere inside  was cozy and warm, complete with fireplace and  charming weathered couch, backed by beautiful doors and soft light falling through the large wooden framed windows. At that precise  moment,  we met a man who turned out to be the owner of the gallery opposite the shed and invited us to use the spaces we had discovered. This we did with great enthusiasm, as the weather seemed to be dimming with each moment. I grabbed the chance to set up some off camera flash enhancing the interior of the shed. Selina and Bernd , shy at first in front  camera, seemed to enjoy the staging more and more as  they warmed up to the shooting experience. They shared their special connection with me and even  took me up on my challenge to have a dance together. This they did with such natural grace and charm, that I had no need to prompt them into poses.On this particular day the weather had been going through it’s caprices, changing within minutes from sunny brilliance to threatening stormy skies. And because we realized the situation was precarious, we decided to quickly chance locations and catch some lakeside images while the weather seemed kind. Once outside by the sheds at the lakeside the waves began to dash against the banks and no sooner had we begun to shoot some carefree scenes, the storm took us by surprise and pelting rain drenched us within  minutes.It was all we could do to run under cover and I was able to get my camera into safety but  we were all soaked by that time. Selina and Bernd had clothes to change into and I remained rather soaked, but we were invited by the gallery owner to come into his gallery where he happened to be preparing for an exhibition. He offered us coffee and dry chairs and wonderful conversation with a small circle of friends that were there. Once dried , we thanked our hosts gratefully and decided to continue our session in Gmunden at Toscana  park. By the time we were there, the storm had abated and we found gorgeous places in between the trees and grassy fields. It was here that we took advantage of the low light and approaching sunset.

The  narrow strips of sand along the lakeside and finally a pier reaching out into the water offered the perfect places for the closing scenes of a wonderful  portrait session.