joanne and kevin will be married this summer. joanne opted to have her hair and makeup trial on the same morning of her engagement shoot so that she could see how the look she was going for would work in photos. this is such a great idea. she even wore her wedding day shoes to break them in! i’m not going to tell you what fabulous color they are (trust me, it will be good!). one secret i CAN tell you is that their wedding will involve palm trees! after the shoot, they went for their tasting from their caterer. talk about a pre-wedding details marathon! i give them an A+ for having a productive day!
mamta and nishant had their engagement shoot in downtown chicago so that they could show their friends and family where their “home” was for several years. their upcoming wedding is in mumbai (formerly bombay). we met on an early brisk morning and avoided tourists, hitting many popular locations for photos in chicago. we talked a lot about indian wedding ceremonies such as mehndi and the sangeet/gaun parties, as well as the shaadi and mandap. the reason i really enjoy indian weddings is because of the many ceremonies that happen with a backdrop of such vibrant colors. mamta and nishant will have a five day wedding and hundreds of wedding guests. during our shoot, we talked about holi; i am dying to photograph the festivals.
i am the photographer stacey and steve chose to hire for their 2010 wedding at the garfield park conservatory. we scheduled an 8am shoot and made great use of a park during a relatively desolate time of day. the colors of the leaves were unreal. i like to think of an engagement session as a warm up photography shoot before the wedding day. they had quite the warm up before heading off to work.
jim and sharon are getting married very soon at the narnia estate, and since most couples have not been professionally photographed, they made time for an engagement shoot, which was a great practice run before the wedding. with every shoot, i can learn a little bit about personalities… jim and sharon are so fun to work with. they played it casual for the shoot, and wore jeans. sharon stepped it up a notch by coordinating her red top with a fun pair of matching red shoes.
i look forward to photographing your wedding at the narnia estate!
yesterday, alexa and andrew welcomed me into their chicago loft apartment for an engagement shoot. their sleek, modern loft is a strong contrast to where i will be shooting their new england wedding in july of 2010 – at the historic, seaside wedding destination known as the Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, which in my opinion is the boston area’s best mansion available for wedding ceremonies and receptions.
i was thrilled to shoot an engagement shoot in a home. there is a true connection couples have to the space that they have created. alexa and andrew had just gotten back from a vacation in the bahamas, and were at ease when i photographed them. for part of the shoot, they wanted me to photograph them cooking. this was such an original, refreshing idea. after prepping some apple cobbler together and having that documented, we headed up to the roof deck, followed by a walk around the neighborhood.
i encourage all couples to think outside the box to create some one-of-a-kind engagement photos. sometimes the greatest photographs can be made at locations closer than many think.
the challenge continues! more photos at millenium park! i love this white sculpture better than cloud gate. the sculpture has these curves that take your eye around the negative space in a manner that reminds me of the images of one of my favorite photographers, herb ritts. he played around with lights and darks and curves to create refreshing images within a tired genre. the couple i photographed for this engagement shoot is having me photograph their wedding at the newly renovated spertus museum. spertus is just as much a piece of art as it is an architectural marvel. we were able to walk around inside touring the stark, beautiful spaces where the wedding ceremony and reception will be held. i even bumped into someone who was a guest at another jewish wedding i photographed recently.
next month, i will be photographing a rooftop wedding for this fun couple. for their engagement shoot they coordinated two great outfits for two great locations. the first being the infamous bean and millenium park, and the second location being a historic beach house.
i thought it would be a challenge to photograph couples at millenium park while still keeping it fresh, because it seems like more and more people choose this location. the truth is, i am often inspired by my subjects’ personality and the colors they are wearing and try to compose my images in a way that compliments this.
before their wedding on the 24th of this month, michelle and tom wanted to meet to do a practice shoot since neither of them have never been in front of a professional photographer. michelle scouted out this kitschy coastal location and we saw many painted rocks, most of them were covered with short messages of love. i wonder if tom will come back in the wee hours and paint a message for michelle in time for their wedding.
who wants tom to paint something for michelle!?!? comment below!
lots of natural smiles, i think they are at ease with the camera!
we found what we thought was a time capsule but who knows. whatever it was, it wouldn’t budge and was staying shut.
along with my series of little vignettes of people, here’s one of their shoes. shoes show everyone’s personality.
we also found a nice arrangement of stones with a spot in the middle for a fire pit.
i wrapped up the shoot with a nice silhouette of the couple.
on a weekday afternoon, i shot jackie and mike’s engagement session entirely with natural light. we had really great colors to work with that were enhanced by the late afternoon color cast. i’m excited for their chicago wedding this autumn at the newly renovated mart plaza. thanks jackie and mike for such an incredible afternoon! for a full gallery of jackie and mike’s engagement pictures, click here.
