Couples | Hannah Rose Gray

Couples

The joys of living in such a diverse state is shoo

The joys of living in such a diverse state is shooting cactus one day pine trees another and red rocks the next. #arizona🌵

The most perfect of spring days in Sedona, Arizona

The most perfect of spring days in Sedona, Arizona Katie and Derek had for their destination wedding day!

These kind of wedding days are my very favorite. People haven’t seen each other in a long long time, it was a destination wedding so everyone was in full vacation mode, and you could feel the love in the room.🥰 Also, not to mention Sedona was in all her glory- sunny and warm!

This is my Grandmother. Her name is Betty Quinn. S

This is my Grandmother. Her name is Betty Quinn. She is 83 and she’s been my best friends since day 1. This is also my cousin Shannon holding her freshly finished HANDMADE wedding dress from her other Grandma the morning of her wedding. Pieces of both Grandmothers wedding dresses were taken to make hers along with new fabric.
This photographs makes me cry because when these two women pass to the next life I still GET to hold on to this to remember my Grandmothers face and her emotion, which she has a lot of.

THIS is why I’m a photographer, for moments like this.
I could care less about instagram, about getting into publications or featured, or really about what any of you think of me or my work.
I care about documenting the moments around me for my family and friends.
I have photographed my closest friends since I picked up a camera at age 12 and it’s not stopping.
I have photographed almost ALL of my closest friends weddings, families, births, and life.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t want to photograph random people off the internet. BUT when I do get those inquiries, like last nights wedding, those people turn into friends not strangers. I never show up to a wedding day being a stranger. I know your story, your personalities, your favorite book, and the ugly parts of your relationship not just the good. I make it a point to make friends with both mothers, bridesmaids, and all the aunties.

I’m not here to be a random photographer.
I’m here to document my family. #theHRGway

MODEL call for a fun styled shoot @kimduncandesign

MODEL call for a fun styled shoot @kimduncandesign is planning MAY 12th!!!! DM us if you are interested!!!

I love food. I love food so much that I make it a

I love food.
I love food so much that I make it a point every single day to make a hot meal
sit
enjoy it
with myself or with friends
It’s everything about the table, about the smells, the tastes
that I am overly enthralled by.
What happens at the table happens no where else
and I will die on that hill.
Food unites us
gathering for a meal
talking for hours
the process of cooking
or baking
does something to me.

But then you add photography to the mix.
MY TWO LOVES 📷 🍳
Photography + food

I always wanted to be a food photographer
but not a boring menu photographer more like…
lifestyle mixed with documentary mixed with crisp imagery

When you look at my photographs I want you to feel something
I want you to almost taste what that meal is
dream about it all day
and go home to cook it.

I love food because without it, we aren’t human.

All photographs taken 2020 at @shiftflg in Flagstaff.

THIS COUPLE- I freakin love them, I’ll keep them

THIS COUPLE- I freakin love them, I’ll keep them forever. haha!
They met years ago.
Fell in love.
Got married.
Then shit happened.
They got a divorce.
But that’s not the end of the story.
They started talking again years later.
Fell in love or let’s say rekindled the fire!
He proposed again 🥰
And decided to get eloped in Chile.
Then the borders closed 2 weeks before they were to go.
Decided to get eloped in Sedona,
On one of the most perfect days in Arizona to date.
They exchanged vows.
Cried.
Laughed
Danced in the sunshine.
Remembered why they love each other and why there is no one else for each other.

I love stories like these. It’s messy and not perfect and just the way it was suppose to be for them. Trust the process.

It’s in the hands that hold us that we learn to

It’s in the hands that hold us that we learn to hold ourselves.

VERYYYY excited about this proposal because... I m

VERYYYY excited about this proposal because... I mean it was so beautiful I’m happy for Carlos & Chloe but also because this photo means my team is expanding!! My sweet new associate photographer Jessie from @nettikphoto is now working under HRG! Soooo much more to come on this note but for now Instagram world needs to know I have TWO associate photographers and my dream is coming true of growing a creative team. 🎉🎉🎉 #dreamteam PC: Jessie @nettikphoto

That one time I cut my hair short and went super b

That one time I cut my hair short and went super blonde after a break up...😂
Come on let’s be honest you have been there too!!!

I don’t talk much about heartache on this platform because believe it or not I’m a littleeee private about my love life. I’m an open open book in person but for whatever reason social media feels disconnected from the heart for me. But I’ll try 🙂

I’m 29
I’ve had 4 massive heart aches since I started dating at age 15 with the last completely destroying my concepts & expectations around marriage and love I had built up for so many years leaving me with grief and the chance to reevaluate it all.
And I regret none of them.

One day I will write a novel about all my break ups (cause there are many in-between), all the ups and downs, the funny stories and the heart wrenching ones. But these guys have taught me more about myself than..well my own self. I don’t say that lightly or to discredit my process.
I trust and know myself BECAUSE of heartache.
I know what I want, I know where I’m going, I know how strong I can be BECAUSE of pain that is a form of grieve, anger, + loss.
I’m grateful for those men.
For letting themselves share life with me for a short bit of their journey.
We all influence and change each other.
Despite the pain, despite the insecurities, the drama, I would do it all again
because it brought me to who I am now…
and who I am now is strong, kinder, more aware of how my actions affect other people.

We are all just trying to figure it out…but we get to do it together even if it’s for 10 days, 5 months or 70 years.

Have grace on yourself and for the ones who have loved you and the love that wasn’t meant forever, just a short time.
Trust who you are suppose to be with you will at the right time and not a moment sooner.
It’s already set in the stars and written in the sand.
(That is my sweet therapist Deanna’s words…not mine. I’m learning this just like you are)

-for the heartaches

Sedona I’m obsessed with you. I’m so happy you

Sedona I’m obsessed with you. I’m so happy you are only 45 mins away from my house and I get to visit you weekly.. sometimes I’m with you more than Flagstaff town. I’m okay with that 😘🏜 #arizona

thank you Earth. for letting me create magic thro

thank you Earth.
for letting me create magic through photographs.
We have this really cute thing going between us.
It’s BECAUSE of you though. I play about 10% of the role.
Yes, the humans are beautiful and amazing in photographs
and sure their celebrations are fun
but
it’s you that creates the beauty.
It’s in your rolling lush green hills and
the bluest of blue waters,
it’s your bright shades of orange in the canyons and desert
and your tall sturdy trees that remind us we come from the dust of you.
I literally cannot do my job without you. I wouldn’t like the photos. They would be…blah.
It’s your textures, your colors, your elevations that give life to my photos.
But not only my photos, you give life to me.
I am amazed by how you sustain me, grow me, heal me.
I’m obsessed with you, in all the right ways.
I need you.
Earth, I love you.
#earthday

Remember that one time I bought a $15 dresser at S

Remember that one time I bought a $15 dresser at Savers and turned it into a modern new one for my guest room?!! That happened right before I left for Hawaii and never shared it.
Here is all the deets:

Time: 5 hours or less
Total Cost: $95
Dresser-$15 Savers
Paint-$15 @kellymoorepaint Enchanted Forest ( I was matched Luxe which is @joannagaines top color of the year)
@bbfrosch paint transformer- $15
Wax to seal -$9
Hardware from TJ MAX-$34

1.I ripped off base board and middle boards- cause….no thank you 1980’s
2.Took off hardware
3.Sanded down using orbital sander 120 grit so it wasn’t shiny in any spots. The BB Frosch paint transformer really helps in this area so I didn’t need to do a complete sand down.
4.Mixed paint with @bbfrosch
5.Painted two coats
6.Put new hardware on (one got messed up…can you tell which one?)
7.Wax seal it twice!

I’d say it was a successful flip! Now I need to find another place to use this paint cause I’m obsessed with this color!!!

#DIY #dresserdiy #bbfroschchalkpaintpowder #bbfrosch #bbfroschinspiration #whenhannahmakesthings

Ehhh 💍!!!! Just the cutest surprise proposal I

Ehhh 💍!!!! Just the cutest surprise proposal I photographed Sunday evening! While on a trip out from Oklahoma with their best friends, Johnny proposed in Sedona to which Andrea was VERY shocked. He actually faked getting on one knee a few minutes before to “tie his shoe”. That one got her. So a few mins later he actuallyyyy got down on one knee to propose she was shocked! In all the right ways! #sedonaproposal

Loveeeee this shop with my whole heart 💛 Not ju

Loveeeee this shop with my whole heart 💛 Not just because the food is amazing but the business owner I’ve come to know over the years is a gem- @chrishawaii !! Thank you for always hiring me every single time I visit and giving me all the colorful, healthy, yummy food!!!

I had NO IDEA when I moved to Arizona the gold tha

I had NO IDEA when I moved to Arizona the gold that was just around the corner. 🌵🏜🏔☀️
This state, it’s diverse. It comes with many different colors, textures, and elevations.
Every single day I drive down to Sedona I feel at peace. I get it why people come here from all over the world to rest and relax. It doesn’t feel like I’m “doing work” when I shoot there, it feels like I’m playing and creating magic with the rocks and sunshine.
I know that sounds super hippie dippy but it’s true.

Ryan and Corrine’s session was one for the books! My dear friends who live on Big Island are also wedding / elopement photographers and killing the game. @alohazoephotography I’m so happy I was able to photograph their engagement session years and years ago.
:)

Sunshine, red rocks, & white dresses. Some of my f

Sunshine, red rocks, & white dresses. Some of my favorite things ☀️

Invisalign before & afters: I never had braces bu

Invisalign before & afters:
I never had braces but decided at 28 it was time!!! The year with masks... honestly the best year to do it! 😂 I thoroughly enjoyed this process, watching my teeth transform from week to week. It was actually hard to find photos of what my teeth really looked like in person. Mostly just started to overlap each other bottom ones were so crowded they were pushing one wayyy out. More than anything it was just an interesting process I’m happy I did for the last year. @naz_ortho did an amazing job and so happy with @invisalign process. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #invisalign

Some weddings you don’t forget. They are pretty

Some weddings you don’t forget. They are pretty magical and memorable.
Like Cameron + Jenn’s Sedona wedding in 2018. Full of color, different traditions, and a disco party for a reception. One of the best dance parties I’ve ever been to!

Now back to the regular scheduled programming : we

Now back to the regular scheduled programming : weddings 🥰
Come on wedding season, I’m ready for you. You have heard me say many many many times, just as much as I believe in work rest is just as important. You cannot produce consistent work without rest. You are not a robot. You are human. I use to feel bad about taking rest days, saying no when other photographers are saying yes, and prioritizing my health over making money. But not anymore. I love my clients and want to give them 100% of Hannah at every wedding and I’ve learned to do that I must rest in between. I’m more jazzed, excited, and prepared to shoot this next season. So here we go!

Alsoooo, thank you to @thebrandadventures for hooking me up with new @monatofficial products. Let’s get my hair back to health and hydration.

Why do I keep returning to Hawaii year after year?

Why do I keep returning to Hawaii year after year? Because it’s a place I know and my body can rest. I love love love traveling to new places but there isn’t the same level of rest in newness. In Hawaii I know I get to snuggle my sweet friends and we’ll get dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant. I know we’ll go to certain beaches and we don’t have to go searching for new ones. In Hawaii I can trust the waters will be deep, blue, clear, and always there.

The Benedictines believe in work, rest, play, pray. I’ve overworked myself this year. I went too far this year. I said yes to wayyyy too much for my life and my body. To others it could have looked like too little but I knew it was too much for me.
So I rest. I go still. I sit at the bottom of the ocean (as far as I can, this time was 80ft deep) and let my mind be clear again. I find the voice of God under the water. I play in the waves and in nature because work can’t and won’t be my whole life... but why and how has modern day America so convinced me it should be my number one? I’m unlearning so many years of ideals that couldn’t be further from the way my body and soul know it should be.

Things make more sense under water. I feel way more clear and sure that time is my friend, not something slipping from my hands at every minute.
I’m so grateful to be reminded of how time and the union with it can actually let me be present with the humans around me.

So happy to be with my friends and Ian’s brother the last 10 days. We shared amazing meals together, so much laughter, and created new memories in the ocean.
I’m grateful to have Ian apart of my life. He is everything I needed in this time and pushes me into the present moment. He reminds me that life is both deep and funny. Here is to rest, play, and pray. I didn’t do much work and that’s pretty good for me.