Bonneville Utah Salt Flats Bridal

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JORDYN + LYLE

I was so pumped when Jordyn said she was down to head out to the Bonneville Salt Flats for her bridal session with Lyle.

It’s about a 2 hour drive from SLC to the salt flats, and honestly, it’s kind of a boring drive. However, Lyle is my brother and I was perfectly content to sit and chat with him as we made the trip out. There’s been a lot going on lately in the world, and it was so fun to hear my younger brother’s opinions. We chatted non-stop the whole way. When we arrived, I realized how long it had been since I’d shot at the salt flats. They truly are so magical. We drove out onto the alien-like terrain and made our way across the flats, heading north to be closer to the mountains. I got Lyle all set up for the first look and led Jordyn out behind him. Lyle had the cutest response when he first saw Jordyn. He covered his mouth and bent over in awe. He was blown away. I could see at that point that we were going to have some issues because my eyes immediately started welling up with tears. This is my baby brother, and I am so proud of the person he’s become, and so happy he’s found someone so perfect for him. With so much pain and suffering in the world today, it was so beautiful to see new love in its truest form. Ugh, I’m tearing up now just typing about it.

Jordyn is a graphic designer and totally gets photography. She was a little worried leading up to the shoot that the images would be boring since the salt flats are such a simple terrain. My goal with this shoot was to show how dynamic the flats can actually be. Because everything is white, the terrain can actually change hues before your eyes, depending on your relationship to the sun. Shooting the sun behind the couple creates soft, warm tones. Shooting with the light on the couple creates more of a purple ton in the ground, with a warm tone in the skin. Shooting at an angle creates more of a pure white look. Either way, I honestly don’t shoot with cool tones very often, so it was fun to challenge myself both while shooting and while editing, to emphasize the cool tones in order to be true to the location. I also wanted to create a more interesting shoot by switching up my focus and angles and playing around with unique exposures. Anyway, to summarize, this location was a blank slate and a photographer’s dream.

Also, Jordyn rocked it with the wind. I had no idea it would be so windy out there, and it was a little nerve-wracking at first. But after a few minutes, Jordyn trusted me and sank right into it. Wind makes for amazing photos, but you really have to just let things ride and embrace it, or you’ll be constantly trying to fix yourself the whole time, and it will be difficult for me to get good shots.

Also, special thanks to my girl Erin at Urban Chateau. She kills it.

Vendors:

Florist: Urban Chateau
Brides Dress Shop: The Perfect Dress
Groom's Suit: Tailor Coopertive
Jewelry (earrings): Stil Works
Invitation Suite: Bride (Jordyn Chung-Hoon)
Makeup: Bride