Chicago Engagement Photographer: Andrea & Stan
Andrea & Stan were actually guests at the same table I was sitting at during Maria & Dmitry’s wedding reception, so I was totally flattered that they remembered me when it was their turn to get married.
Wanting to try a location I hadn’t shot at before, I asked them to meet me at the Art Institute of Chicago. Some of my favorite shots are below:
The Best From 2009
It took me a little while, but I managed to put together a “Best Of” Archive from my 2009 weddings. Hope you enjoy and Happy Friday!!!
Engagement: Sara & Steve (My Sister!) – Part II
It is with mucho mucho fanfare that I worked with my sister and her fiance again. This time, Sara and Steve chose to shoot at the Garfield Park Conservatory:
Congratulations Sara =)
-Kuya
Engagement: Tiffany & Sebastian
Tiffany and Sebastian met through co-workers and friends, hanging out at bars and drinking.
What made this different though is that while everyone would be happy just chatting away with casual smalltalk and conversation, Tiffany & Sebastian would have serious conversations in the corner of the bar. Nothing was off topic. From Politics to Religion, the conversations they would have were not the usual barfare
Things blossomed on their own from there =).
It was incredible working with Tiffany and Sebastian. They were so incredibly patient while I ran around and worked like a fool to set up my shots =) Thank you guys so much!
Locations:
Chicago’s Shore
Gear:
Onto the images:
We went first to the Harold Washington Library’s Winter Garden:
While shooting, Tiffany randomly found a Post-It note with the words “Smile: =)” on them.
We put it to good use:
Since we were at a library after all, we decided to make use of the books also =D:
Along with that we did some fun things with the rest of the library:
Finishing up with the Library, we then went to the Chicago Cultural Center:
And finally to the shoreline in Chicago that could show a skyline at night =)
Congratulations again you guys!!! I can’t wait for the wedding in September!!!
Image of The Moment Monday: “The Skyline.”
“The Skyline.“
From the same shoot as “Nothing Else Matters.” and “The Proposal”. This couple was so much fun to work with and willing to deal with my experimenting =P This shot was a simple 180 degrees behind the camera front of the bean where the “Proposal” was shot.
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5
Using software that stitched images together, this is actually about 5 shots placed together from a tripod.
Happy Monday!!!
TGIF: Request Day
“The Proposal.”
This is for Emma who requested an image of Millennium Park’s Cloudgate, better known as “The Bean” to Chicago locals.
This is from the same shoot as “Nothing Else Matters.”
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5
For those of you that want me to photograph something for them please leave a comment below!!!
=)
Image of The Moment Monday: “Nothing Else Matters.”
“Nothing Else Matters.“
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
Another old image of mine, I was pretty nervous about this one as I believe it was my first engagement session. I totally did not know what I was doing back then nor did I know what to do with the couple.
One thing I eventually learned is that personally for me, the magic happens when you let the couple interact with each other and have fun with the shoot. After talking with this couple for a while, they eventually relaxed and started joking around, having fun.
I was still in the same situation however; I wasn’t sure about what I was going to do for the shoot. The couple was standing there waiting for me to tell them what to do.
And I was on the verge of a meltdown.
To give myself more time, I told them to hold each other’s hands while walking away from me.
Saying a quick prayer to the big guy up above for inspiration, I put the camera to my eye and hoped the shot would turn out.
And this is what I saw in the lcd.
=D
Engagement: Sara & Steve (My Sister!)
This past Sunday, my sister, her fiancé and I went out to the countryside -Sugar Grove, Illinois to shoot their engagement session.
I was nervous the entire time.
It’s one thing if you’re with a client when you’ve only just met them and they know you professionally…but it’s a different ballgame altogether when it’s someone that you’ve known all your life.
Someone whose shoe laces you purposely tied together cus you knew she couldn’t untie them. Someone that you’d say “EWWWWW” to when you were 8, she was 5 and your mom and dad would ask you to kiss her on the cheek for the camera.
In the end however, things worked out well and I got several sweet photos of Sara & Steve that I liked. I brought a Canon 5D Mark I and 3 lenses:
Here are my favorites and some stories behind them:
It's so subtle. It's Ninja.
Take 1: Steve was doing the sexy dance behind me while she was trying to get this right.
Take 2.
The Silly Gooses. (I know...I just don't like how Geese sounds...)
I think out of all the pictures, this one best describes Sara & Steve
The forest colors were incredible!
Then it started raining….
Fortunately it stopped and we managed to keep on shooting!
Congratulations again Sara & Steve =) I can’t wait for the wedding!
Love, Kuya
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Image of The Moment Monday: “Tease”
“Tease”
It was with much fanfare that my sister and her fiancé asked me to photograph their engagement session.
I couldn’t have been more excited =D
However…as I’m not completely done with the images just yet, I’ll have to give you a teaser:
Happy Monday and a wonderful rest of the week!!!
