Luke and Naomi | South Dakota Couples Photos

I’m going to start off by saying that South Dakota is a magical place. It is also somewhere I never expected I would visit. But life has a funny way of working out. My photographer friend Luke and I went to college together (you can see his work here https://www.lukewenkerphotography.com/ ), and a few years later he moved to South Dakota with his gorgeous girlfriend while she attended nursing school. He frequently texted me photos and drone footage of the “the most beautiful place ever” that was basically in his backyard. Despite seeing his pictures, I still wasn’t totally sold. Then I accidentally ended up planning a little roadtrip. And I figured heck, why not stop by? So I did. I spent three days exploring the Badlands and the Black Hills, camping, hiking, birdwatching, rock-climbing, and basically having the time of my life with these two. They are freaking perfect for one another, and it was so fun and relaxing to explore and sightsee while taking casual shots of the two of them being goofballs. The timing for my trip ended up being perfect too, because they moved back home to Oregon three weeks after I left, and I was SO happy that I got to document this special time of their lives living in such a cool place! Luke and Naomi, I love you guys, and I can’t thank you enough for hosting me