Portrait of a Young Couple

02/22/2023

(Tucson, Arizona)

If opposites attract, then Serena and Caleb’s bond through their communication couldn’t be stronger. In their differences, how do they discuss mental health, polyamory, their future, and their pasts?

Click the photos to read excerpts from Serena and Caleb's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/serena-caleb

//

Serena speaks at the pace with which a hummingbird beats its wings: she replied to most of my questions with answers lasting 15 minutes and winding through context, caveats, and philosophy.

Caleb speaks more like how equal opponents play chess: short moments of conviction amid long pauses of silence and thought.

Serena spoke of the positives, as well as seeing growth. "For better or for worse, he’s so calm and stable that I've never had to worry about if he's angry at me, which was life-changing,” she said, “because my family gets angry a lot, about a lot of things, whereas he just doesn't even talk, let alone yell.”

But opposites also oppose, and the same differences in communication that drew Serena and Caleb to one another also led to conflict and compromise. Caleb told me about how, over time, he’s learned to validate Serena's experiences and to do his best to listen and learn. “If I ask how she’s feeling and she’s unable to respond verbally, but I make a specific noise or body movement that I can do with her, it can feel much more like we understand each other than if we just try to talk,” he said.

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

01/04/2023

(Cambria, California)

A pair of q***r, Christian women connect over their love for making music, and create harmony at the intersection of their faiths and identities.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Megan and Sherell's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/megan-sherell

//

“I sometimes couldn’t see past my own two feet, but I knew I was walking in the right direction,” Megan said about thinking of her and Sherell’s future. “It wasn’t always about seeing the future or marriage or our being together long-term, but I just knew this is right, you know? Like, I didn’t see it turning out any other way.”

They are content with accepting, in their words, “Whatever God puts on our hearts.” “Listening for and hearing God’s voice is a huge part of my story and how I live,” Sherell said. “Stopping and waiting for God to speak and help make decisions.” Megan added, “I have moments where I have a feeling, and Sherell will say, ‘That’s the Holy Spirit, God’s voice,’ and later on it just becomes obvious that God was pushing us in one direction or another.”

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

12/08/2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/style/young-couple-wedding-photographer.html

Portrait of a Young Couple is in The New York Times!

I’ve always been anxious when seeking press or external validation for this project because of the inevitable rejection that follows. The reality of leaving a traditional career and starting something from nothing is that, while it is deeply meaningful internally, it can also be deeply isolating externally.

I’ve often wondered if anyone, besides the small community of people I’ve met in my travels and those who’ve stumbled upon this work, care at all about what I’m doing.

Which makes it all the more emotional when that work is, in fact, recognized and validated by a publication like the Times 😭

Thanks to everyone who’s followed the past three years. I’m slowly working through a big backlog of stories, and I hope you’ll read and love them when they come out 🫶

Shoutout Hannah Edgar for your care in interviewing and writing, and Noah Kalina for the beautiful photos.

-vincent

Vincent Po, an engineer turned itinerant photographer, has been shooting weddings in exchange for room and board for the last two years as part of his Portrait of a Young Couple series.

11/29/2022

(Manhattan, New York)

A young Muslim couple’s faith steers their lives in New York City and their love for one another.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Fatima and Ibrahim's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/fatima-ibrahim

//

“We immediately connected through God, more than anyone else I had ever encountered before, even other Muslims. I had learned to look for religion and character in a potential spouse, character defined by a relationship with God, self and other human beings. And that’s what I found in Fatima. She treated me, my family, and society with such love, grace, and generosity. I could not comprehend the sakina”—peaceful tranquility—“the energy, and all-encompassing mercy that emanated from her soul. And I fell in love.”

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

07/13/2022

(Dana Point, California)

He was a Republican. She was a Democrat. They worked in politics. Could it be any less obvious?

Click the photos to read excerpts from Kim and Cody's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/kim-cody

//

When Kim and Cody first learned of one another in 2016, in an orientation booklet for a political fellowship they were both about to start, each found the other on Facebook and was instantly turned off.

Cody was a Republican, while Kim was a Democrat, and like an awkward uncle who never fails to be a parody of himself, their profiles only reinforced the other’s stereotypes. Cody’s featured him brandishing a fish and using an “obviously fake” last name (”Storm? Really?”), while Kim’s featured her giving a speech at a conference looking “so pretentious” in the exact way Cody expected of someone who’d gone to college in San Fransisco.

But when they met, nuance and shared experiences replaced the stereotypic caricatures Kim and Cody had created for each other. They discovered that they'd both been raised by single moms for much of their childhoods; how the financial and emotional struggles from that time motivated them to enter politics in the first place; that they loved California, and claimed their half (NorCal for Kim, SoCal for Cody) the better one.

They'd both spent years advocating for people whose circumstances reflected their own upbringings; low-income families, or those who didn't really have a voice. "We shared those values, regardless of our politics, so that even if we didn't agree on specific policies, we could at least recognize and respect the other person's opinion,” Kim said.

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

05/31/2022

(Seattle, Washington)

No longer bound by others' judement or negativity, Mariah and Corbin establish the witchy, full-hearted lives they've always wanted.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Mariah and Corbin's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/mariah-corbin

//

If in a few decades time our species still exists, and Seattle's streets are neither underwater nor on fire, you might run across two women whom neighbors describe as witchy yet affable, crotchety yet full-hearted, and know that Mariah and Corbin have succeeded in building the life they want to live.

"We definitely want to be that weird couple that has a lot of strange stuff at home, like taxidermy or costumes," Corbin told me with the enthusiasm someone might have in describing what they would do if they won the lottery, "and we're already starting now."

In their small one-bedroom apartment near downtown Seattle, you'll find decorations and keepsakes that are uniquely theirs: paintings of Mordor hung on the wall; a flower pot made from the head of a cabbage patch doll; a quote from Michael Scott ("We are all homos. Homo sapiens"). All of which, together, sketch the life of two women no longer bothered by others' judgements or opinions.

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

12/21/2021

(Charleston, South Carolina)

Michael spent his 20’s in prison and solitary confinement; Shannon spent hers pursuing a career in film and traveling the world. What binds their stories together?

Click the photos to read excerpts from Shannon and Michael's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/shannon-michael

//

When Michael was in prison, he didn't think about his wedding. But he did think about his funeral. And he wanted it to mean something. "I thought, What will my funeral look like right now? What would people say? He robbed me. He hurt me. He was never a happy kid. It would be the saddest funeral ever. Hardly anybody was gonna show up. And I told myself: If I get another chance at life... if I don't die here in prison... I'm going to make sure that my funeral is going to be beautiful. That people are going to have good things to say about me."

Michael had begun to cry; Shannon wrapped her arm around him. "And I'm proud to say, right now, people would. I did end up getting another chance at life. I've been the best person I can be… even when no one's looking…” He sniffed, and smiled at Shannon. “And it's working."

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

11/23/2021

(Enid, Oklahoma)

After battling alcoholism and addiction for 20 years, Ty and Lindsey reflect upon the wedding day they never believed could happen.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Ty and Lindsey's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/ty-lindsey

//

“Most days, things are just surreal,” Lindsey told me one evening at her and Ty’s home. “Ty and I used to joke about it… drunk, laying in a hotel room somewhere… how, oh, maybe, one day, we’d end up together. And our kind of love now is the love I never believed in. The stuff you see on TV, where you're like, 'That's not real. There’s no way.'”

Ty smiled, and added, with no small hint of disbelief, “I thought about her a whole lot when I was in treatment, because it helped me keep going with some sort of positivity. I would fantasize about this very day. Our wedding day. Someday. And it wouldn't even be as good as it really is in real life.”

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

11/02/2021

(Matawan, New Jersey)

Two q***r women raise their son with a tireless conviction sculpted by trauma, conflict, and comedy.

Click the photos to read excerpts from A and Z's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/a-z

//

As A and Z shared the story of how they met, they often turned to each other; smiling, giggling, filling in details the other omitted. There was an unmistakable joy in this lighter, happier conversation, one that we only reached after spending the previous hours wading through topics—depression, abuse, resentment, forgiveness—of a far heavier nature.

"We often diminish the cuter moments in our story, because the rest of it tends to overshadow those tender, butterfly feelings we had when we first met," Z mused. A added, "It was so easy to be with her. I thought she was very magical and... ethereal. Very siren-like and mystical. I was so enamored."

She paused, and thought some more. "Oh also, she smelled really, really good."

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a photojournalism project to document how couples live and love across all backgrounds and identities. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

08/24/2021

(McKinney, Texas)

A pair of high school sweethearts builds a worldview wiser than their years.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Angie and Jerry's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/angie-jerry

//

Angie and Jerry are high school sweethearts. They met in choir, and became close during and after rehearsals.

At first, their friendship was purely platonic; neither would describe their love as one of "first sight." "But as we talked more and more," Jerry said, starting to smirk, "I was thinking, ‘Yo, low key? She's getting a little prettier every time we talk.’"

Angie looked at Jerry with a smile and side-eye of playful offense. "Not what you want to hear when you're about to get married," she said. Jerry chuckled back. "Hey, but look at you; you're gorgeous now!"

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

08/03/2021

(Tybee Island, Georgia)

A foster dog adoption brings together two single parents with dreams of building a healthcare company and their own woodworking business.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Nedda and Jon's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/nedda-jon

//

By the third date with Nedda, Jon was already joking that he needed to start saving for a ring. Just a few weeks after they met, they both brought their kids to meet each other, and they quickly developed a bond as strong as real siblings, fighting with one another while also being fiercely protective.

Jon told me that much of his and Nedda's connection was built on the independence each already carried in their lives. "I've never in my life been with someone that didn't *need* me. Maybe they needed my paycheck, or the roof over their heads, or food, or something else."

"But when I started dating Nedda, she already had her own family, her own tools, her own food, her own everything. She didn't *need* anything from me. But, she still *wanted* me to be around. And that's a completely different feeling, to go home and know that she doesn't *need* me there, but that she *wants* me there. It’s so much better.”

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

06/15/2021

(Savannah, Georgia)

After secretly eloping in 2017, two West Point graduates look back on building relationships with each others' families, and look forward to the lessons they'll carry from the Army to their futures.

Click the photos to read excerpts from Mike and Ciara's story, and read their full story at portraitofayoungcouple.com/stories/mike-ciara

//

Above the area where Mike and Ciara held their reception was a small balcony, from which, if you were watching a few hours later as everyone rang in the New Year, you would've observed a few things:

First, empty tables left unfilled by guests who decided, last minute, not to attend.

But second, an unmistakable gratitude radiating from those who did attend;

the gratitude between Ciara's father stepfather and father, acting like they were brothers;

the gratitude of a sizable crew of West Point alumni reliving their college days and progressively losing their footing as they drank and danced;

the gratitude that a year as painful and isolating as 2020 could end so joyfully and surrounded by so much love.

//

Portrait of a Young Couple is a project to document how couples across all backgrounds and identities live and love. Learn more at portraitofayoungcouple.com

Special thanks to for his photography for this story