Monique & Robert | Las Cruces & White Sands Engagement Session

I’m always so interested to learn how my couples find me! The majority of the time, they’ve either been referred by one of my other clients (thank you thank you!), they’ve seen work I’ve done for a friend in a social media post, or they’ve been following me for a while already on Instagram.

But Monique and Robert’s story about finding me is particularly interesting because neither of them is on social media, and yet they still came across my work through a Facebook search for local wedding photographers! Monique told me that when she started searching through Facebook, there were a bunch of photography pages to wade through, but nothing stuck out–until she got to my page (and that was a huge compliment, in my book!). Once she landed on my page, she figured out really quickly that I’d actually photographed her cousin Bri’s engagement pictures and wedding this last summer–how fun is that?! I think it was meant to be. 🙂

Robert and Monique met 9 years ago–on MySpace (remember when?!). They somehow were MySpace friends without knowing each other–and it all started when one of them finally sent a “who are you?” message to the other–like “Hey, who are you and why are we MySpace friends??” Haha! I love it.

Their fall wedding is going to be held at the lovely Blue Door Venue in Las Cruces, and from what Monique has told me about her colors, style and decor, I’m really excited to see how it all comes together! It’s going to be beautiful!

One thing I’ve learned from shooting engagements and weddings is to be adaptable–because almost every time I’m behind the camera, something comes up that wasn’t exactly planned for. Being a photographer means putting in a lot of planning, and then thinking fast on your feet when things don’t go according to plan!

This session was no different and the two things that totally didn’t go as planned were 1. I woke up on Saturday morning without a voice (which I’ve got to say made for an interesting time taking pictures!) and 2. We got caught in a wind/sand storm at White Sands!

I totally didn’t expect to not have a voice, and it was BAD that morning–but thankfully by the time we started shooting, I’d managed to coax a tiny bit of it back with cough drops and herbal tea–but there was definitely a lot more gesturing than usual, and I had to be careful not to overuse it, for fear I’d lose it completely before the session was over!

And the wind–when we started, we had great light, temps and even the wind was only gusty, which I could totally work around! Buuuuuuut…..then we got to White Sands, and for real a wind storm hit right as we started shooting! The air was thick with sand and almost entirely blocked the sun out, which was crazy!

So obviously, that affected my shooting circumstances, and I impulsively decided to turn these two around the other direction in an attempt to find better light–and the result is that Monique and Robert totally ended up looking like they were floating in a cloud (you’ll see what I mean when the pictures switch from the mountains to White Sands!). Even cutting our time there short, we still got some beautiful shots! Scroll to see more!

Monique and Robert, thanks so much for hanging out with me and laughing with me (or at me!) when my voice cracked, faded in and out and generally sounded like a toad! Thanks for dressing up (you looked amazing!!) and making your engagement pictures–the FIRST pictures you’ve ever had taken!–such a special occasion! I’m so glad for the opportunity to know and serve you in this capacity, and I cannot wait for your September 2019 wedding!!

Hugs,

Erin 🙂

  1. Naomi Bencomo says:

    I’m Monique’s sister…I absolutely love them! They brought tears of joy to my eyes! Thank you for capturing these precious moments and unforgettable memories!

    • Erin Richins says:

      Ohhhh Naomi, that makes me so happy! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’ve loved getting to know Monique and Robert, and I’m so looking forward to their wedding in September!

  2. Nicolette Muñoz Barrientos says:

    Beautiful pictures! I can’t wait for the wedding!

  3. Bri says:

    Beautiful as always! Every time I see your work I fall in love 😍
    Super happy for the lovely couple!

5

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

photography by erin richins
 kind people are my kinda people