Their Session: Coastal Chic In-Home Session, Asbury Park, NJ

OOOOH MY GOODNESS I’ve been itching to share these beautiful souls with the world since the moment we photographed their sweet in-home session! This gorgeous coastal chic property we found on Home Studio List was the perfect setting to show off Kerry and Joel’s love! Kerry is one of my close photographer friends who is truly such a light in my life, and Joel is truly such a perfect partner for her! When I say these two have a connection, I mean that kind of love you hear about in songs, you watch in movies, and you read in books! It was so beautiful and romantic to witness their connection in person. WHEW, I can’t wait for you to scroll through these!!

Their Love Story

If you know Joel, you know he’s such a sweetheart and has had the biggest heart eyes for Kerr since they met! He said, “We met on the moon. That’s where my heart was when I saw her!” JOEL, you freaking cutie.

Kerry told me, “We actually met as many couples in their 20’s do: at a bar. We were both out with some friends. The music was so good- like late 90s/early 2000s jams (this bar knew their clientele). When Shania Twain’s “Man, I feel like a woman,” came on, Joel and I caught each other’s eyes and sang the title line across the dance floor to one another! From there, he bought me a drink and we talked for the rest of the night. Actually, we’ve been talking ever since that night.” Remember how I said their love is like a movie?! Yep, major chills over here!!

Here’s what they love about one another!

What I love seeing with these two is how much they adore one another’s quirks and uniqueness. They truly celebrate each other no matter what!

Joel: “There is so much that I love about Kerry! I love that she knows who she is and she’s confident in herself. I never feel like I have to worry about what she’s saying, I know she’s always genuine and real.”

Kerry: “I love the way Joel goes after life, full-speed. He’s always dancing and singing and making me laugh. Whether in the car or in the kitchen he’s always his goofy self and I basically can’t stop smiling around him.

These two started dating just before the COVID-19 shutdown, so their date nights look a lot like surprising one another with their favorite take out or setting up an at-home fancy dinner- linen tablecloth, candles, and all! They also took a pretty spontaneous road trip just before COVID-19 and ended up getting stuck in Florida for about a month. So, you could say they love road trips, too!

Kerry & Joel,

You already know how obsessed I am with you two, but getting to be a small piece of your powerful love story through this session is truly an honor I can’t put into words. Your friendship and support has always meant the world, and I know that our paths crossed because we were meant to be in each other’s lives. Grateful for your friendship and the opportunity to capture your love story so early on. Love you both SO much!! xo

A tip for couples from Kerry as you’re going into your session:

“Plan a couple of outfits that you absolutely love and feel confident in! Then let Tori do the rest. Allowing her to really step into her zone of genius and work her magic was so fun to witness and be a part of. We absolutely LOVE all of our photos and immediately printed them to hang on our walls!”

Their Session Experience:

Being that Kerry is a wedding photographer herself, I was super curious to hear about their experience being on the other side of the camera! She said:

“I love the way you direct and pose so I automatically trusted you. It was fun to be led into different poses and looks! I love how you really use all of the space you have to work with in creative ways so even if a similar prompt is used a few times throughout a session, the look is a little different in each location. Our session was the first time I’ve really had photos taken as a couple so it was definitely nerve racking at first, but you were sure to give us a ton of direction so any nerves melted away as we focused only on what you were guiding us to do. And we were both so comfortable. I was trying to remember some things to use for future sessions, as well!”

In-Home Session Planning Tip:

It’s super important to have great natural light when it comes to in-home sessions, so you’ll want to keep this in mind when deciding if your home or a rented space is the best option for you! This is why I loved working with Home Studio List – the property owners KNOW they have amazing light inside as well as tasteful and thoughtful aesthetics.