Downtown Chicago Engagement Photos

September 29, 2014 Steve Vansak

The future bride and groom wear Chicago Blackhawks jerseys that show off their wedding date.

I had loads of fun photographing Nicole and Allen's engagement photos in downtown Chicago. I will be shooting their wedding on September 19th next year and as you can see above, these Blackhawks fans know how to get the word out to friends and family. I foresee some really cool Save the Date cards arriving in mailboxes soon.

The couple chose the Chicago Sessions engagement package so they will have a color photo gallery as well as vintage looking black and white versions. As usual, we started with the arrival of the train at the platform in Indiana and then made our way all around the city. We stumbled upon Rudy's which is wear the couple dined when they visited Chicago when Allen proposed.

We used the grit of the city as our backdrop. The L train roared above and the now iconic blue bicycles were everywhere. It was a day of laughter as a photo shoot in Chicago can sometimes attract interesting attention from tourist.

The L train speeds past an engaged couple in downtown Chicago.

A young couple in love are about to kiss in downtown Chicago.

While we definitely wanted to capture the grandeur of the windy city, we also wanted some nice close up portraits for Nicole and Allen to show off to family and friends. The Chicago River and the Millennium Garden gave us both.

Holding hand with the Chicago River and city skyscrapers in the background.

Showing off the engagement ring inside the Millennium Garden in Chicago.

We ended our session in the evening hours overlooking the city skyline as it was all lit up. The glowing stars of the street lamps matched that of the glowing faces of Nicole and Allen. A perfect ending to a great day of engagement photos in downtown Chicago.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek. Follow this Journal below and visit the Region Weddings Facebook page for more updates.

Chicago Engagement Photos - Love, Leaves, Football, Trains and More

November 19, 2013 Steve Vansak

A groom to be dips his fiancé lovingly in front of the Centennial Park fountain in Chicago, Illinois for their engagement photo.

Jeremiah and Brieanne brought it all to their recent engagement session in downtown Chicago. We needed to show off Fall leaves to blend with their wedding next September. As Indianapolis Colts fans, their devotion to their team also needed to be included. They also fell in love with some recent night time Chicago skyline images I had done as well as my Chicago Sessions Engagement Package that features all the images turned into vintage photographs, evoking old film from the late 1960's and 70's.

So off we went on this brisk November day incorporating all the windy city has to offer. As is tradition with this session, we met at the South Shore train station with the train arriving to take our couple for their adventure.

A couple in love kisses on the platform of the train station.

I shoot these Chicago Session engagement photos in vivid color and then turn them into vintage looking black and white images afterward. Since this is only a sneak peek of last weekend's session, I'll mainly be showing the color versions today. The black and white versions will all be put into a book to tell the story of the day. However, the color versions will be available for the couple as well.

So, let's hop on board and see where this windy city adventure takes us...

A couple clutches hands while taking the train into the city of Chicago for their engagement photo session.

A couple in love shares a laugh on the South shore train going toward Chicago.

I tried to keep my eyes peeled for any Chicago Bears fans who might want to pelt my clients with rocks as they showed off their Indianapolis Colts pride. I can see this image as a Save the Date photo for sure.

An engaged couple writes their wedding date on a football while they kiss in the background wearing their Indianapolis Colts jerseys.

A groom to be tackles his fiancé while playing football in the park in downtown Chicago.

A couple smiles and embraces as they are surrounded by Fall color in the park in downtown Chicago.

Love and football had now been accomplished, now it was time to capture some Fall color. We weren't sure what'd we get this late in November, but I think it worked out pretty good. Brieanne and Jeremiah were up for anything as they braved the winds and the steadily falling temperatures.

A couple embraces as they take a rest during their Autumn engagement photo session in Chicago.

A couple playfully looks at each from each side of a large tree in Millennium Park.

I like to take a good amount of time when I do my Chicago engagement sessions, I do it because i really love it, but it also provides a great story for the album that is included. The city has a photo idea every ten feet it seems. We often take a coffee break and then onto another area. In this case, it was a terrace overlooking the skyscrapers of Chicago. We knew it was going to be cold at this point with nothing to shelter us from the winds off of the Lake Michigan. Brieanne and Jeremiah were very dedicated as I shot the scene a number of times to get the image just right.

The blue Chicago skyline at dusk with a happily engaged couple sitting on the terrace of the Adler Planetarium at the Museum Campus on the lake.

A couple embraces on the shores of Lake Michigan at night with the lighted Chicago skyline in the background.

After night fell, we used the city lights as our backdrop for romantic shots of the couple together celebrating their upcoming marriage. It was a wonderful experience for me and one I think they will cherish forever. There will be many more images to come from this session. For updates, stay tuned here and the Region Weddings Facebook Page as well.

A couple tenderly embraces as city lights blur behind them at night.

A newly engaged couple smiles for the camera on the streets of Chicago at night.

Romantic Engagement Photos in Downtown Chicago

September 27, 2013 Steve Vansak

An engaged couple takes a romantic dip on the streets of Chicago.

If you follow this Journal, you may recognize the following image. It is the signature opening shot of the Chicago Session, my romantic engagement package of a day in the windy city. This is the session in which I meet my couples at the train station and we shoot on the train and of course all around the city. I then take the color images and turn them all into black and white and make them look like old film shots from the 1960's and 1970's. This post is merely a sneak peek with many more images (including the black and whites) to come. For now, we will mostly show the color images. To view more of these types of sessions, go here.

A couple in love huddle up on the train platform in East Chicago.

Kate and Greg were a bit nervous when they arrived at the train station in East Chicago. I can't say I blame them as I'm sure they thought of walking around the city with a camera and lighting on them would attract attention and they'd rather be anonymous. However, natives of Chicago are used to all kinds of activity and they paid us little attention. Soon they were doing romantic dips in the street as well as casually hanging out for candid moments to be captured.

A close up photo of an engaged couple holding hands on the train.

A candid moment between a romantic couple in a garden area in Chicago.

A couple in love share a romantic kiss on a park bench in Chicago during their engagement photo session.

I love going into this city for these engagement sessions. Using the buildings as our backdrop can make for some wonderfully dramatic images. I also love the character of the city and how we can wander just a few feet and have 12 different photo ideas. It's also nice to just have my clients take a rest while I spy on them from a distance making images.

A couple sits at the edge of a flower garden with the tall buildings of Chicago in the background.

An engaged couple overlooks the Chicago River during their engagement session.

Please stay tuned here and on the Region Weddings Facebook Page for more updates on Kate and Greg's romantic engagement photos in downtown Chicago. Once all the black and white images are ready with all of their film textures, etc. I will be sure to post a followup.

A loving smiles at the camera with beautiful red and pink flowers in the background.

Chicago Skyline Engagement Photos

September 12, 2013 Steve Vansak

A soldier and his fiancé embrace in front of the Chicago Skyline at night for their engagement photo.

Alicia and Kyle chose the Chicago Sessions Engagement Package and we could not have had a more pleasant day and evening in the Windy City. Our day started in Northwest Indiana where we met at the South Shore train station and took the signature shot of the train arriving to whisk our happy couple away for their photographic adventure.

For this particular engagement session, the idea is to take cinematic images around various areas of Chicago in glorious color and then turn them into black and white images that look like old film. The color versions are always available and even sometimes preferred, such as the image above with our couple embracing in front of the lit up Chicago skyline. This was taking during the famous "blue hour" after night falls.

A soldier and his fiancé gaze at each other on the train platform as it arrives to take them to Chicago for engagement photos.

Once the train arrived, I hopped on with Alicia and Kyle and "spied" on them from across the aisle as we made our way to the city.

An engaged couple holds hands on the train as they make their way to Chicago.

One of the "must have" locations on our itinerary was the Chicago River where Kyle proposed to Alicia on a chilly New Years Eve with her family looking on from the surrounding bridges. We reenacted this wonderful moment as I stayed out of the way and let the emotion come forth.

A soldier proposes to his fiance at the Chicago River.

A bride to be embraces her fiancé in an emotional re-enactment of his marriage proposal at the Chicago River.

While the Chicago Sessions are supposed to capture a day in the windy city with the great cityscapes as our backdrop, I do like to take a few close up portraits of my couples to have for themselves and family.

Portrait of a bride to be and her fiancé in front of a beautiful bed of flowers.

Just before dusk we took a taxi to the Adler Planetarium terrace for images with the Chicago Skyline as our backdrop. We awaited night to come and the city lights to turn on.

The Chicago skyline fills the background for an engagement photo from the Adler Planetarium terrace.

Once night fall was fully upon us, it was back downtown to use the ambiance of the city at night for some unique after dark engagement photos of Alicia and her favorite soldier.

A soldier and his girl take in Chicago city life at night for their engagement photos.

A couple sit in the center median of Michigan Avenue at  night with car lights surrounding them. — A couple sit in the center median of Michigan Avenue at night with car lights surrounding them.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Alicia and Kyle's Chicago Session engagement photos. Many more images, including the entire black and white set to come. For more updates, stay tuned here and like the Region Weddings Facebook Page.