LGBTQ+ Engagement Photos at Tibble Fork | Utah Engagement Photographer
There are engagement sessions that are beautiful, and then there are the ones that just feel completely like the people in them.
M & J’s late-summer engagement session at Tibble Fork was definitely the second kind.
Recently engaged and planning an intimate wedding celebration next year, these two wanted their engagement photos somewhere in the Utah mountains—and because M loves the water, we knew it needed to be part of the evening.
We started along a mountain river in American Fork Canyon, surrounded by rocky riverbeds, cottonwoods, and that soft end-of-summer greenery before heading to Tibble Fork Reservoir to finish the night against the mountains.
And eventually, very much in the water.
A Late-Summer Engagement Session in American Fork Canyon
Late August gave us the prettiest soft evening light for this session.
We started down near the river, where M & J climbed over rocks, walked straight into the water, and settled into being themselves together. As the sun dropped behind the mountains, the light became softer and softer, giving us that beautiful even glow that works so well in the canyon.
Their outfits couldn't have fit the scenery better either.
Both wore a mix of blues and sandy neutrals with an elevated-casual feel—short-sleeved button-ups and shorts, with one patterned shirt balanced by a solid textured one. The colors looked incredible against the river rocks and mountain greens, complemented their blue eyes, and coordinated without feeling like they were wearing matching outfits.
Basically: this is how you coordinate engagement outfits without looking overly coordinated.
Engagement Photos That Actually Feel Like Your Relationship
One of my favorite parts of photographing couples is figuring out how they naturally work together instead of trying to make every couple look or interact the same way.
M & J have such a fun balance.
M is a little more relaxed and immediately ready to play, while J is a bit quieter and wonderfully patient. Together, they bring different sides out of each other—and you can see it in the photos.
There were piggyback rides.
Walking barefoot through the river.
Plenty of laughing.
And absolutely no hesitation when I suggested getting farther into the water.
By the time we reached Tibble Fork Reservoir, apparently we had abandoned any concern about keeping everybody dry because we ended the session with a full-on water fight in the lake (which, for the record, I fully support)!
Those are the moments I want your engagement photos to have. Yes, I will give you plenty of direction so you're never standing there wondering what to do with your hands. But I also want to create enough room for your actual personalities to show up, because your favorite photos usually happen somewhere between the beautiful portrait we planned and whatever happened immediately after it.
Looking for an LGBTQ+ Friendly Photographer in Utah?
If you're an LGBTQ+ couple looking for a photographer in Utah, you never need to wonder whether you're welcome here.
You are.
Come exactly as you are. Love your person loudly, quietly, ridiculously, tenderly—or some combination of all four.
Your relationship doesn't need to fit into traditional posing or gender roles for me to know how to photograph it. I'm paying attention to you: how you naturally stand together, who reaches for whom, what makes your person laugh, where you're comfortable being affectionate, and all of those tiny interactions that actually make your relationship yours.
Whether you're a gay couple, lesbian couple, queer couple, trans or nonbinary, I want your experience in front of my camera to feel comfortable, fun, celebrated, and completely normal—because it is.
Being an LGBTQ+ friendly wedding photographer means more to me than simply being willing to photograph every couple.
It means you shouldn't have to edit your relationship for your photographer.
You shouldn't have to wonder if holding hands, kissing, or talking openly about your wedding is making someone uncomfortable.
And you definitely shouldn't have to spend your engagement session worrying about any of that when you could be having a water fight in a mountain lake instead.
Planning Your Own Utah Engagement Photos?
You also don't have to be mountain-climbing adventurers to have incredible Utah mountain engagement photos.
M & J's session gave us riverbanks, cottonwoods, mountain views, the reservoir, playful photos in the water, and quieter portraits together—all within one relaxed evening.
That's one of the reasons I love photographing couples throughout Utah. We have an unreal amount of variety practically in our backyard.
I photograph engagements, proposals, intimate weddings, elopements, and full wedding celebrations throughout Salt Lake City, Park City, American Fork Canyon, and across Utah, and I'm always happy to help find a location that actually fits the two of you.
So if you're looking for an LGBTQ+ engagement photographer or LGBTQ+ friendly wedding photographer in Utah, come exactly as you are.
I'll bring the camera.
You bring your person.
And if the session ends with both of you soaking wet in a mountain lake?
Even better.
Say hello. Let's work together.
I would love to hear about you, your relationship, and what your dream photographs would look like!
