Tag Archives: photo shoot

Lovebirds spotted at Hollywood Beach

Right before leaving for Alaska, on a lovely and breezy Sunday evening, I had the privilege of taking Jamie and Taylor’s engagement pictures.

I had only met them once before, in a very noisy bar and in costume–at this Milano concert last Halloween. But I kind of felt like I knew them since Jamie grew up with my friend and bandmate Carrie. Carrie happened to tell Jamie that I kinda like taking pictures, Jamie emailed me, I enthusiastically accepted. And that’s the story of how we connected.

Jamie and Taylor hiked up to the Northside of Chicago where I live, and we took the pictures at Hollywood Beach, just minutes from my apartment. It was such fun to get to know my neighborhood from a behind-the-camera perspective.

I climbed up on top of that very lifeguard stand to get some cool angles, but unfortunately a lifeguard across the beach spotted me and began to shout, vigorously blowing his whistle. Then he started running towards me, sand flying.

I was compelled to make a hasty retreat.

Hey, anything for a good picture, man.

The wind in Jamie’s hair created some wonderful drama . . .

. . . though my wild camera settings did cause me to completely blow up the above picture. Don’t tell my Mom, but I kind of like it anyway.

The set of pictures I’m sharing today were the first ones that caught my eye the night after the photo shoot. I couldn’t resist working with a few of the images to see what things were lookin’ like (and to stop myself from worrying about the results) . . .

. . . but I worked on the rest of the 1,000 pictures during the Alaska vacation. And I’ll be sharing some more of their beauty with y’all on Friday.

That’s right. 1,000 pictures. I blame it on the photogenonnity of these two.

So smiley. So positive.

Ah, me. I love a good engagement shoot.

Kevin & Katina's engagement shoot

Last Friday, I had the honor of photographing our fellow church members Kevin and Katina to celebrate their engagement.

We wandered around the Millenium Park/Grant Park area for about 2 hours. The grass was green, the flowers in bloom, and the light was just perfect.

By the end of it, my dress was soaked through with sweat and my hair was clinging to my scalp in damp wads, but you’d never guess that they were uncomfortable at all. They looked fresh as flowers, I tell you. Sigh. I guess that’s what young love will do for you.

I was a little nervous since the only ‘official’ photo shoot I’ve done was for the Barretts last year, and that was at the height of my inexperience. Harsh shadows, overexposure, underexposure–it was certainly at the low end of my learning curve.

But I had no reason to fear this occasion–they were so photogenic.

So willing to comply as I put on my Bossy Pants and shouted “Now kiss her! Now look into his eyes like you’re seeing him for the first time!”

“Now lift her! Tilt your chin a little more to the left! Now do a pirouette on your head and dive into that fountain!”

I love telling people to do pirouettes on their heads.

One of my favorite things was finding ways to interact with the city itself. Like the beautiful curve of these columns . . .

. . . or the infamous metallic bean.

The busy city streets . . .

. . . or this empty paved lot:

Where else in the world are you going to come across a big empty stage graced with some abandoned and rusty chairs?

Capturing the beauty of our city along with the beauty of these lovebirds was a blast. I’d do it again any day.

At least any day that wasn’t 90 degrees.

Here’s a lil’ slideshow of some of my favorite shots. Enjoy!