I was recently asked by Julie and Mike to shoot their engagement photos. I don't normally shoot a lot of portraits so of course I immediately said yes!
Once again Chicago's winter was brutally cold and we had to scrap our first session. Luckily the backup date saw temperatures soar the unlikely high of 30! Fantastic, we were good to go.
Julie and Mike are a young and fun couple who live on Chicago's near north side. For the actual shoot I wanted to accomplish 3 things:
- Find a location that was meaningful to Julie and Mike's everyday, non-engagement shoot lives.
- Not freeze. Hopefully this spot wouldn't be too far away from our cars.
- I wanted to capture the city in the shots in a cool way since they liked my urban landscapes.
After talking to them we decided that North Avenue Beach would be a great location. The couple was up for it and as soon as they agreed to head over there I knew the shot that I wanted to get.
I love Chicago's skyline from this vantage point. It seems incredibly close and I knew I wanted to capture them against the backdrop of buildings. as you look at the scene you realize that Lake Shore Drive carves a gap in the skyline leaving just enough room for Julie and Mike to squeeze in. By stepping back a bit and using a longer lens I was able to make them part of the skyline. Mission accomplished.
The fact that Julie wore the perfect red coat on the otherwise very gray day was just icing on the cake!
