One more engagement session blog post for a couple who is now married. :)

I met up with Christine and Andrew at North Park on another fantastic early fall evening. We began their session just in time for that tasty soft light that happens right before sunset. Christine initially reserved me last year to photograph their wedding, but this was my first time meeting either of them. The first thing I noticed about Christine was how beautiful her eyes are, and how she positively lights up around Andrew. These two are so comfortable and at ease around one another; the depth of their connection was evident within just a few minutes of meeting them. What a gift to spend your life with someone you can laugh so easily with. Here are a few of my faves from their session:

That delicious light. This is my favorite image of the two of them.


The three of us were chatting as we walked around the park taking photos; about books, their upcoming wedding, how they met, her pending move to Chicago. As we were getting ready to say goodbye, Christine turned to me and asked if she had ever told me why she chose me as their photographer. She had come across my website early on in their planning and loved my style, but she kept looking. She would come back to my website from time to time during her search, and every time she looked through my images, she would cry. That was how she knew she wanted me to photograph her wedding; I was the only photographer who made her cry by looking at images of complete strangers, so how much more connected would she be to images of her friends and family?

Can I just say, as a photographer, an artist, and a person, how meaningful and humbling it is to hear something like that about your work? About what is essentially an extension of yourself? It's such validation when someone else connects with your vision; with your own small way of seeing the world. I cried on the way home. Thank you, Christine, for sharing that with me. 

Here's how you know I'm busy: when my blog is silent. I'm so busy shooting, shooting, editing, shooting, answering emails, shooting some more, and then editing, that blogging falls to the very bottom of my to-do list. And it's true- I'm in the home stretch of my busiest time of year right now, which means many long days and nights editing everything I've been shooting, designing albums, revising albums, ordering and delivering albums, editing, editing, editing, meetings, physical therapy (long story), appointments, phone calls, and trying to keep on top of emails. In about a month, things will be slowing down in terms of how much I'm shooting, so I'll have a chance to catch my breath. In the meantime, another sign I'm crazy busy right now is that I'm just now blogging engagement sessions of couples who have already gotten married. Yikes!

Such is the case with Dana and Chris. We met up at Chris' former boy scout camp near Seven Springs, where Chris spent a great deal of time as an adolescent, and returned as an adult to help manage the place. It was a beautiful evening and the light was warm and perfect as we began the session. I had met Dana almost a year prior when she reserved me to photograph their wedding day, but this was my first opportunity meeting Chris. As a couple, I found them genuine, lighthearted and caring. They are both quick to laugh and share a similar sense of humor. We had a great time exploring some of the beautiful grounds of the camp as the light turned to dusk. Here are a few of my faves from the session:

Such beautiful light:

I think this one is my fave. They are so comfortable and natural together. I thought this was a great moment between them.

Ok, as promised, here are some more images from Amanda and Greg's engagement session in the Southside.

As lovers of Straub beer, it was only fitting that we met up at Dee's Cafe for a few before we began the session.

I'm skipping town for a few days to spend time with a good friend I haven't seen in way too long, but wanted to get a few shots up from Amanda and Gregs engagement session before I leave:

I instantly loved Julia and Mike when I met them last year to discuss their wedding plans, so I was looking forward to seeing them again for their engagement session. We decided to meet in Lawrenceville, a neighborhood they've grown to love, as it is where they purchased and renovated their first home together.

It was a beautiful, although unseasonably warm, spring day in Pittsburgh, so we spent some time walking around one of the local parks and catching up on t he last few months since we'd first met (Julia passed her bar exam on the first try. Go Julia!).

Here are some of my faves from their session:

I think this one is my fave

Karen and Ben are one of my many couples planning their wedding from out of town, so even though they booked me last year for their wedding, we just met for the first time this past weekend when they were in Pittsburgh doing some wedding-related things. Much to my delight, they are ultra fun and super fabulous.

We met up at Mellon Park and started the session with a little kite-flying. There was a slight breeze that day; just enough to get the kite in the air a few times (but not really enough to keep it afloat for long.) Still, it was fun trying. :)

Some of the things I love about Sharon and Jason:

• they have a great connection and chemistry together
• we have similar taste in music :)
• they are both talented musicians- Sharon sings and plays the guitar, and Jason plays the guitar, drums, keyboard...
• they recently moved back to Pittsburgh and purchased their first home together, which is really fabulous

So when we were discussing where to do their engagement session, Sharon suggested taking the photos at their new home, which I loved. Here are some of my faves from their session:

I think this one is my favorite from the day. I totally adore this shot:

Dook and Justin live in Vegas. That makes them cooler than me. They are getting married this Friday. I can't wait.

I met up with Lori and Aaron last weekend to photograph their engagement session. This was the first time we met- they both live in New York so our correspondence thus far has been through email and phone conversations. It's always a little harder when your first actual meeting coincides with a photo session, as I feel like there needs to be a certain level of trust to get really great images. Fortunately, we all totally hit it off. These two are so sweet and fun and just generally awesome to be around, that a few minutes into the session we were all laughing and having a great time. Plus, they were willing to try every crazy idea I came up with, and even offered up fun suggestions of their own. I love that! I'm sooo excited to photograph their wedding in a few months.

On to some of my faves from their session:





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Lori and Aaron- thanks so much for a great night! I've been scouring Google for 80's movie posters all week. ;)