Ashleigh Miller Adventure Wedding and Elopement Photography

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7 Tips for a Sunrise Session

Sunrise Photography sessions are perfect for weekend warrior couples! They're so used to getting out in the Wilderness at dawn, why wouldn't they do it for their engagement or elopement? It's the best time to be out in the Great Outdoors… quite, peaceful, tranquil, with an Alpine glow that only a few get to see! It’s the perfect way to start your favorite day. It’s intimate and the light is so dreamy! Here's some tips to check out to see if a sunrise session is for y'all.


  • Get your nails done! The week before the photography session or elopement go get some gel nails so they're already to show off that ring! And men, you can go with them and get some pampering yourselves, make it a weird date night!

  • Pack the night before! That way in the morning of all you have to do is get all pretty and grab some coffee and food and hit the road!

  • Be a morning person! If you're one of those couples that are cranky for like 4 hours after you wake up... at sunrise session might not be for you! We can’t have you looking half asleep and cranky! But if you're like me, and just need a cup of coffee to get going or you wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed, sunrise is THE BEST!

  • Make sure you get plenty of sleep! Try to switch closer to the sunrise time as soon as you can so you are waking up a little earlier to prepare for the photography session. Weekend warriors around here usually already have this nailed down are are part of the 5am club already. Usually, yall will be so excited on session days or elopement days the adrenaline will keep you going and looking awake!

  • Let’s make sure your close by to the photography location! The closer photography session or elopement location is, the smoother the morning will be. If it’s going to take place 3 hours from where y’all got some shut eye, in the summertime you’ll be waking up at midnight! Which means you might as well not even go to sleep so you might look sleepy. So if you need to just camp near the spot or make a whole weekend of it and stay in an Air BNB, do it! Make the best out of it and make it a romantic date weekend! Hehe, an excuse for a pre honeymoon weekend!

  • Get your hair done the night before! It’ll save you so much time in the morning. You can get your hair fixed up the night before by a stylist so that in the morning you can do a little prepping to complete the look. That way it’s a 15 minute fix, max, for your hair. Just talk to your stylist to find the best do for the session! That way, in the morning, its only final touches to the hair and doing your makeup. You can also find a makeup artist for early morning sessions if you want the pro look for your wedding!

  • Drink Water! I feel like this is a tip for everything in life but drink a bunch of water! There's nothing like being dehydrated, having scaly skin or yacking to make you not feel gross.

Weekend Warriors are perfect clients for a sunrise session or elopement because they're used to getting up early to get out into the Great Outdoors. Now all they need to do for photography purposes is do a little extra prepping of their outfits, nails, hair and packing so they can look wide awake at dawn after I getting plenty of sleep close by. Sunrise Sessions and elopements are for adventurous couples who want an intimate experience with fabulous light in the mountains.

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