A Lighthouse Climb, a Motorcycle, and a Little Second Shooter: Meredith & Ryan's St. Augustine Engagement Session

Engaged couple face to face on a blue motorcycle during their St. Augustine engagement session

Some couples are fun to photograph. Meredith and Ryan are fun to be around, full stop. They never stop smiling at each other, and they’re kind to everyone around them. Their chemistry is real, and so is the adoration underneath it. That kind of connection can’t be posed, and it shows in every frame.

I recently shared their wedding day at Bowing Oaks, so it felt right to go back to where their story started with me: their St. Augustine Lighthouse engagement photos, taken a few Decembers ago during Nights of Lights.

Creating the Concept Together

I’d known Meredith and Ryan for a while, which made dreaming this session up together so easy. We started with what they love:

• Doing life as a family. Ryan’s five-year-old son is a huge part of their world, so I talked them into a two-part session with him included.

• Riding together. Ryan loves his motorcycle, and he loves having both of them on it with him.

• St. Augustine itself. This city is part of their story, and they wanted it in the photos.

With the lighthouse decorated for the holidays, Meredith had one request: a Christmas card photo. She also styled the entire session herself. Meredith has impeccable taste, and it shows, from the polished holiday look at the lighthouse to the laid-back denim for the ride.

Family standing in the 1871 doorway of the St. Augustine Lighthouse beneath a Christmas wreath

Black and white family engagement photo in a St. Augustine Lighthouse window

Part One: The St. Augustine Lighthouse

There are 219 steps to the top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse, and Meredith climbed every single one in heels without one complaint. She is my spirit animal. 🤣

We stopped along the way at the lighthouse’s gorgeous windows. At the top, we hit sunset, and it was windy, beautiful, and a little crowded, since it was a Friday evening during Nights of Lights. They just laughed through it, completely wrapped up in each other.

Back down in the courtyard, the keeper’s house was dressed for Christmas, which gave Meredith the holiday card she’d dreamed of. (Fun fact: the lighthouse still uses one of these photos on its social media, which makes me so happy!)

Meet My Junior Second Shooter

Then I did one of my favorite things. I handed Ryan’s son my second camera and told him he’d be shooting alongside me for the rest of the night.

He loved it. He photographed everything, but mostly Meredith and Ryan, and a few of his shots made it into the final gallery. When a child has a job during a session, they’re part of the story instead of waiting on the sidelines, and their parents relax in a way no prompt from me could manage.

Young boy photographing his dad and future stepmom on a bench under string-lit live oaks

Young boy kneeling in the grass with a camera during a St. Augustine family engagement session

Part Two: Backroads and Blue Hour

Next, we met at an old dirt lot on the edge of downtown. Ryan brought his bike in the big enclosed trailer from his landscaping business, which doubled as the most practical changing room I’ve ever had on a shoot.

The plan was to photograph them riding through downtown, but traffic that time of year was gridlocked. So we pivoted and took the backroads instead, mostly the two of them, with Ryan’s son hopping on with his dad a few times. Sunset turned to blue hour, and St. Augustine gave us one of her epic, colorful skies. (Such a show off.)

We finished back at that overgrown lot with the broken fence for night shots on the bike. I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. Those backroads and that scrappy little lot turned out better than anything I’d planned. I still think about this evening: a few hours with two of the warmest people I know, making art together.