Engagement Photos: S+R

Of all the weekends to have an engagement shoot, we ended up taking these photos on THE HOTTEST WEEKEND in Chicago this year! The heat and humidity felt unbearable, but this couple brought it and made the day seem effortless. They were so fun and dynamic, every shot came out so perfectly!

We were asked to run around downtown for an urban photoshoot. We started out around Adams and Wabash and eventually made our way to Millenium Park.

As we passed by a row of newstands, I pulled out a couple copies of the RedEye for them to play around with. In the third photo, I asked for a surprised look from them...

Worst.Surprised.Face.Ever. Well, mostly R. Hehe.

We couldn't help but want to revisit this little spot directly north of CBOT on LaSalle. And yes I made them dance.

I think I got lucky with this one. I had a split second to take the photo and it was a little difficult with my fingers crossed ;)

We started walking north and stopped in front of 190 S. LaSalle.

I don't remember where this was, but that door was too impressive to pass up.

At this point, I believe all four of us looked at this display window and all had the same exact thought. And when we found out that R brought sunglasses, we knew we were gonna have some killer photos.

Our little mannequins.

Here is our superstar series- complete with top hat!

The classic ring shot.

What a gorgeous couple.

Thanks guys for making the best of the hot and sticky day!

Wedding Videography- I had no idea it could be this good

I feel like I've seen a fair share of really bad wedding videos and that's the main reason why I didn't even bother looking for a videographer for my wedding. However, when I saw this "wedding trailer" video, it made me want to get married all over again just so I could get her to shoot it! Sarah Krusen was the photographer who took my engagement photos but has since then moved onto video and man, I am just utterly amazed at how awesome this is. It's incredibly creative, modern and without an ounce of cheese. That's how I like it.

For more information, visit sarahkrusen.com or contact her at sarah.krusen@gmail.com

Engagement Photos: S+W

S + W presented us with a little challenge.  They were heading up from St. Louis for a friend's wedding, and they were not familiar with the downtown Chicago area so they asked us to recommend backdrops that would reference their faith as well as their love for the outdoors.  They also specifically said they didn't want to just stand next to a bed of flowers.  Hmmm, outdoorsy in the middle of the city?!! Never fear, we figured it out!  

So first, we spent some time at the Fourth Presbytarian Church on Michigan Ave.  I've never walked into the courtyard before, but it's quite beautiful!  

Then we headed to the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond (which is on the north side of the Lincoln Park Zoo) for the outdoors portion.  I think this space ended up working so incredibly well for them- we couldn't be happier with this set!

On the way back we passed a little park with a swingset and couldn't help but take these photos.

Lastly on our walk back, we quickly stopped by a building with ivy behind the Lincoln Park Zoo for this one.

Engagement Photos: D+S

Our next set of guinea pigs was a real engaged couple.  This time we headed around downtown Chicago for some fun shots.  Even I couldn't believe how well they turned out. I have to admit, this couple was naturally super lovey dovey which made our job a heck of a lot easier!  The running joke between the couple and their friends is that they're always being told to "Stop ogling each other!".  But hey, don't we all want a love like that? :)

We started the session at Castaway's and found our way up an incredibly red staircase.  The wind tunneling through was cold, but it worked well with D's hair ;)

We then drove around town to catch different areas such as the Financial District/LaSalle.  They're a couple that loves to dance, so why wouldn't I ask them to dance in the middle of traffic?

Apparently they're both Dunkin' Donut addicts- this shot came out just perfect!

We stopped by State street for a quick Chicago Theater pic.  These two are so incredibly adorable!

And then on to Newberry Library.  The sun came out just at the right time so that we could capture that dramatic sun flare! 

We like to call this our money shot ;)

And lastly, we took pictures at the Pancake House where they met while she was eating on the patio and he was right outside the fence waiting in line.  The rest is history!

(Post-Wedding) Engagement Photos: N + J

J and I have been picking up photography and have invested in a few pieces of equipment in the last few months or so. We wanted to experiment and this past weekend we used our newlywed friends to be guinea pigs in a post-wedding engagement photoshoot. We attempted to removed the typical cheese factor out and went into a more whimsical direction to match their quiet, quirky but fun personalities. Here are some of my favorite shots at the University of Chicago.

This one cracks me up though!