Our first real view of Shenandoah National Park came as the sun began to rise at the Stony Man overlook…

We had been planning engagement photos for Angie + Tyler practically since they got engaged. While we shoot many beautiful couples, these two are family to us (Angie is Chris’ sister). Our original plans of flying to Iceland and doing an epic photo shoot on a volcanic crater was foiled by cancelled flights, but we found this beautiful national park in Virginia just about 4 hours away from where we live – and couldn’t help but want to adventure there.

The night before, we stayed locally at a nice AirBNB – complete with a cat and pool table for good measure. We all woke up around 2am, got ready, then set out for our drive into the park.

For the uninitiated, Shenandoah National Park is comprised of many views and hiking trails that all stem from the main road – Skyline Drive. Driving through the winding roads in the pitch black morning hours is a little unnerving, and a little boring at times since you can’t actually see the amazing views all around you!

But! It was all worth it. We arrived at the trail head for the Stony Man overlook, and practically sprinted the mile or so to the summit. We were met with high winds and an incredible overlook with gorgeous rolling mountains. Sunrise seemed to last an eternity, and being able to see as the light gradually changed was in itself hypnotizing.

For an adventurous couple like these two, who had previously thru-hiked half of the Appalachian Trail, a photo shoot like this just made sense. Angie decided to wear a stunning royal blue mermaid dress…well, the images can speak for themselves!

While we could have easily ended the day there, we went and explored more of Shenandoah – finding our way to Dark Hollow Falls to end with a challenging hike and some more casual photos.

Hands down, Shenandoah National Park is one of the best places for engagement photos in Northern VA and we will definitely be visiting again in the future. For now, enjoy these stunning adventure session photos!!

Stony Man Summit

Dark Hollow Falls

Looking for an adventurous engagement or couples session like these two had?! Send us a message, we’d love to chat together about all the awesome possibilities to plan for an epic session for you.