Alex and Nick - Kalamazoo moody engagement photos

Alex: "We already had traditional engagement photos taken when I proposed"

Me: "Okay cool, how about we do ultra-moody UN-traditional engagement photos then?"

I’m a huge fan of alternative engagement portraits, and Alex and Nick were absolutely up for the challenge. I completely embraced the opportunity to go full “fine art” mode, and sent them a mood board with style inspiration in preparation. When going for a more monochromatic look, I want a simple, usually urban, location that doesn’t have a lot of color naturally. A parking garage is one of my favorite go-to spots for this reason, but this time around, I wanted something new with lots of leading lines, and this set of bleachers completely spoke to me.

The weather may have felt super inhospitable when the shoot day arrived, but they came prepared with all the moody layers to fight even the coldest winter day. This was also the perfect trial run for their January wedding photos (Pocket warmers are key), so win-win all around.

Thanks for being rockstars with hearts of gold you incredible humans!

Olivia and Tom - Kalamazoo Kik pool engagement photos

Olivia and Tom are incredibly special people. I had been following Olivia on Instagram for a while, and was such a fan of her creativity and artistic mindset. When she reached out to me, and we started talking engagement photo details, I was completely over the moon when she suggested Kalamazoo’s Kik pool as one of their locations. I had my eye on it for weeks, and was just dying for the perfect couple to shoot there, and oh my goodness were they ever the perfect couple!
I could not think of a more ideal person for Olivia than Tom. He matches her energy, her creativity, and her joy for life. When I asked Tom when he knew he wanted to marry her, he said he couldn’t put his finger on a specific day or moment, but it was the years of becoming who they are together, and building their life. Knowing when you don’t want to spend the rest of your life without your person is such a crazy wonderful thing, and that is exactly what they found.
The engagement shoot was full of so many laughs, dance-offs, and all the color your heart could want. Congratulations Tom and Olivia, I can’t wait to see the dance moves on your wedding day!

McKenzie and Brandon - Chicago engagement photos

McKenzie and Brandon moved to Chicago and immediately felt right at home. They embraced both the urban environment and natural parks near their home, and knew they wanted to incorporate the windy city, as well as their furbaby Theo, into their engagement photos. When our first engagement shoot day got rained out (One of the many reasons I trust weather predictions about as much as I trust a 5 year old who tells me my hair looks fine), we picked an early July date and watched the forecast like a hawk. The day finally arrived, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky!
The two of them had one request though: They wanted the essence of Chicago as a resident would see it, not a tourist. Rather than showing attractions or main streets full of people, we walked around their neighborhood and adventured into the Wrigleyville area, looking for great textures and settings. They were up for anything, and we had an incredible time documenting that.

Congratulations McKenzie and Brandon!