Welcome to the Friday UnRecipe post for paid subscribers, a behind-the-scenesy photo essay. Next Friday, paid subscribers will receive a recipe featuring one of my favorite treats: homemade peanut butter cups. As always, thank you for being here! Learn more about my work here and browse past editions here.
In the poll that I took at the beginning of this year, you said you wanted more photo essays. I cannot express how glad I was to read that because I dearly love collecting the photos I make and putting them into a digital scrapbook for you to enjoy.
I’ve been thinking about scrapbooking a lot lately. It was one of my favorite hobbies as a kid, and I definitely envisioned myself a professional scrapbooker at some point in the future. I’m still not completely sure if that’s a real job or not—please hit reply if you have insights into this—but one thing I have realized is that my job now feels like a sort of scrapbooking, especially on nights like this one.
As you likely know by now,
and I have collaborated on quite a few experiences, photo shoots, and other projects in the last few years. Every time I get to work with her, something special emerges: something that’s made up of a million different elements coming together to make a magical moment. It feels like we’re scrapbooking an experience together, and having the privilege of (even attempting to!) capture those moments is one of my greatest honors.Late in 2024, Emily created the most gorgeously elegant cake and tablescape to celebrate the winter solstice. I showed up with my camera and a light, and hey, presto: some gorgeous images of a beautiful night emerged. (PS: if you want to come hang out with us while we do projects like this, head over to this page to read more about our July 2025 retreat! Only 8 spots remaining!)
Right!? More photos from this perfect night are featured below. Make sure to click on them to enlarge them! Here’s a quick BTS video to show you where we started:
A key factor for this shoot: lighting. We turned the overhead lights down low and let my strobe and candlelight do the work. What do you think?
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