welcome to the blog
where real people doing real
things are documented
IN true-to-life color
When Joey moved to Colorado, the first brewery he walked into was WeldWerks Brewing Company in Greeley, Colorado. It was only fitting to go back to this magical place with both Julia and Joey for their engagement photos. These two are king and queen of a cute meet story, starting their dating adventure at Joe's Pizza and Joe Coffee in New York City.
Read MoreWhen videography team Alyssa May and Michael of LaBanca Productions reached out about needing some new headshots, I was absolutely honored. I had the chance to first work with these two back for Becca and Mike’s gorgeous fall wedding, and was blown away by their communal and caring nature. Over the years we’ve gotten to be fast friends, and I was over the moon when we had a chance to team back up for Amanda and Brian in downtown Chicago last year.
Read MoreChristina and Dane had to reschedule their California wedding date not once, and not twice, but three times before they were able to finally tie down a date at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in Dana Point for their upcoming wedding. It was only fitting after doing our first engagement session at Victoria Beach, to catch back up at Vasquez Rocks, and repeat the glorious process!
Read MoreMeeting Sarah and Jake at Red Rocks Park in Morrison, Co for their engagement session was the perfect snowy beginning to our future relationship. There is not much better than a quick snow storm and 20 degree temperatures to bring everyone just a little bit closer, including these two sweet souls for their engagement pictures! After countless reschedules involving beautiful locations all over Colorado, we were blocked at every turn from restrictions, colossal snowstorms, and schedules. Luckily for us, we finally found a time and a location we could meet at, and the winter weather was definitely in our favor- even if it was just a bit chilly.
Read MoreWhen I had my first phone call with Jordyn and Matt, I knew that they were two humans I was going to love working with. They were on a last minute vacation with their family, shouting above the background noise to schedule an engagement session at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Hills. I love this place for all the incredible tide pools, and background diversity. (It even makes a great spot for a few maternity photos, as I’ve found out before!) Even though we were not blessed with a typical California sunset, Jordyn and Matt lit up the area with their shining personalities, and obvious love for each other.
Read MoreColorado is the ideal destination to experience some fall colors, and it makes for the perfect location to take some fall colored photos together. Guanella Pass is an incredible example of a location just brimming with beautiful yellow and orange colors, and a great Colorado spot to capture some engagement photos, especially if you have a dog! Which Hayley and Nate do!
Read MoreThe best part of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is that you can stop absolutely anywhere (within reason!) and take some incredible engagement photos. This is such a welcome ideal when it is the middle of fall, and the aspens are a beautiful shade of yellow. Kayla and Kyle had dreams of getting married the weekend we met up in RMNP, but Covid had other plans and we instead embarked on an adventure to find the fall colors these two love.
Read MoreAfter Shayla and Dave insisted on climbing mountain sides at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Co, hanging out at 12,000 feet at the top of Trail Ridge Rd for the end of their engagement session was a breeze. Pun intended, because we were all frozen within minutes from the wind! The tragic wildfires lately have made sunsets around our beautiful state of Colorado incredibly hit or miss- and we were so lucky to get a clear evening on top of the mountain.
Read MoreRocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is such an incredible place to visit during the fall season. Filled with aspens, a view of the mountains, and a crystal clear lake, Bear Lake on Bear Lake Rd was the perfect place to do some engagement session exploring for Shalya and Dave. Sitting around 9500 feet, this beautiful alpine lake sits beneath Hallett Peak, and reflects all of the colorful aspens around the trail.
Read MoreKaren and Kyle live in Chicago, IL and chose their local neighborhood to start their engagement session out, for none other then their adorable Husky mix Mason. Mason gets a little excited around new people, so it proved best to keep him around his stomping grounds! Afterwards, we drove down to the Chicago Riverwalk in Chicago, IL; to get the skyline views that these two live in Chicago for! Built alongside the Chicago River, the Chicago Riverwalk is home to not only incredible restaurants, but parks, residential areas, and architectural wonders. To see all these things, you can not only walk along the 1.25 mile long route, but also kayak, riverboat, or paddle board.
Read MoreIt was pretty easy to pick a location for Amanda and Brian’s engagement session, since their one requirement was it had to be dog friendly for their Golden Retriever Charles. We decided to meet up at the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL; home to the famous honeycomb sculpture and picturesque views of the city skyline. I absolutely love photographing at the Nature Boardwalk, as it is truly an urban oasis in the middle of a bigger city. Filled with ponds, and native landscaping, Lincoln Park Zoo’s South Pond has far surpassed its humble roots of mere decoration; into a thriving habitat.
Read MoreAnni and Robert have been together for 5 incredible years, and it is so easy to see their love by the way they look at each other. We decided to meet up at the Naperville Riverwalk in Naperville, IL for their engagement session, since Rob is from the area and grew up loving the river that ran through the downtown area. These two were originally getting married in Chicago, IL this fall, but just like many other couples, Covid-19 had other plans for their wedding journey.
Read MoreWhen talking with Sarah and Kris about their upcoming engagement session, we knew we wanted to photograph in Wicker Park, a super dog friendly neighborhood in Chicago, IL, and create some fun urban neighborhood pictures. Sarah and Kris have an absolutely perfect 8 month of Golden Retriever named Mac, that they like to take everywhere (obviously!). We started our session at The Royal Grocer, a dog friendly bar they frequent often with Mac, and afterwards basically were on the look out for some cool bricks! We eventually found ourselves on the doorstep of the The Charleston Bar Chicago.
Read MoreBrainard Lake Recreation Area in Boulder, Co is the absolute perfect place to take engagement pictures- especially if you have a beautiful Siberian Husky named Akira, and a love of dog kisses. Or at least Carla and John thought so! We decided to hike pass Brainard Lake, and focus on shooting at Long Lake. the lesser known sibling to Brainard, with just as beautiful views, and a few less people. This string of lakes (which also includes the incredible Lake Isabelle and Isabelle Glacier) are a part of the Indian Peaks Wilderness protected area in north central Colorado.
Read MoreI love shooting in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, because you can always find such an incredible variety of beautiful places to go. Emma and Aaron started their summer engagement session at Bear Lake, and even though it is June; there was still snow on the ground! Sitting at an elevation of 9,450 feet, this picture perfect Colorado alpine lake creates beautiful reflections of Hallett Peak, and other surrounding peaks in the Rocky Mountain ranges. Between practicing their wedding first dance and cuddling on rocks, Emma and Aaron had what anyone could describe as a perfect Colorado engagement session.
Read MoreIf you’re a photographer, close your eyes, because I definitely walked away from this incredible Rocky Mountain National Park engagement session with 3800 images. But I mean, when your couple is as awesome as Emma and Aaron, it’s so hard to not spend the whole summer Colorado day with them! After creating some beautiful images at Bear Lake, we went to Moraine Park next to the river, and the light there was nothing short of a blessing. Between practicing their first dance, attempting to practice their favorite reception dance moves, and busting out the champagne- it was almost like a picture perfect wedding day rehearsal.
Read MoreHorsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins, Co provided the absolutely perfect place for Cristiana and Killian to celebrate their engagement. Dog friendly, and close to Denver, Colorado, Horsetooth Reservoir is surrounded on the eastern side by the Rocky Mountains, and is known as one of Colorado's most scenic outdoor paradises. This was my first visit, and I have to agree!
Read MoreAlex and Brian had a beautiful fall colored engagement session at the Lincoln Park Boardwalk in Chicago, IL, and honestly the colors could not have been prettier. Chicago, Illinois is honestly pretty year round, but little did we know that the colors in Lincoln Park were going to be on fire during their engagement session. Starting off at the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, we walked over to the famous honeycomb, ending next to the Lincoln Park Zoo South Pond. All of these incredible locations are right next to each other, and add for such a fun variety for an engagement session!
Read MoreShannon and Robert chose Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Co for their engagement session for one simple reason: motorcycles. The scenery isn’t bad either, as Garden of the Gods is home to an abundance of beautifully colored rock formations. A couple of hours South from Denver, Colorado, Garden of the Gods provides an incredibly picturesque location for not only hiking, rock climbing, but also engagement sessions and other photo-shoots.
Read MoreThese two and their beautiful story in Chicago, IL was featured on Popped!
There is so much that I love about Valerie and Cody and our engagement session around Chicago, IL, but how much they love Chicago is definitely the highlight.
Our engagement session tracks their love story, and the places they went leading up to Cody’s winter proposal. We started off our engagement session at Elaine’s Coffee Call in Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL; the very first coffee shop these two frequented together, and traveled out to The Art Institute of Chicago in downtown, where they would wander around the art, or Cody would wait for Valerie to get out of class. Our last stop was definitely the most meaningful, as Cody proposed to Valerie on a winter Chicago, IL day at the Oak Street Beach, a few minute walk from the picturesque North Avenue Beach.
Read More
