Engagement Session at Deep River County Park

July 14, 2014 Steve Vansak

Kurt and Katie are book lovers and their wedding next June is taking on a literary theme. It was only appropriate that we bring a little bit of Harry Potter to the mix during our summer engagement session at Deep River County Park. It was a great way to show off their theme and have some wonderful greenery in the shots as well.

A young couple reads Harry Potter for their engagement photos.

Deep River County Park is a mainstay for all kinds of photography sessions and I always try to come up with something different whenever I photograph there, While known for it's greenery, there's some great brick and texture near the building as well. We took advantage of this on the sunny side of the building as well as the shaded entrance.

An engaged couple holds hands in between a doorway surrounded by brick at Deep River Park.

A couple in love kisses at the entrance of the country store at Deep River Park.

I loved the rustic look of the old wagon wheel on the property so i simply let Katie and Kurt be themselves and we took a number of candid photos there as well as a stroll across the grounds of the old baseball field.

A candid moment by the old wagon wheel at Deep River County Park.

A fun stroll through the grass during an engagement session.

Katie's ring on the scrabble letter holder will look great in a Wish Book or Save the Date Cards...

Scrabble letter spell 'forever' with the engagement ring as the letter 'o'.

A trip to the iconic location would not be complete without gazebo shots as well as one of the famous bridges...

The iconic gazebo at Deep River County Park.

The famous bridge at Deep River County Park.

At the end of their engagement session, Kurt and Katie told me how much fun they had and this is always great to hear. I too had a lot of fun and love to photograph engagement sessions. It's a great way to get to know my wedding clients as well as get them used to being photographed. Come next June when Kurt and Katie will be married, they will be old pros in front of the camera!! :)

The sun shines through the trees as a young couple embraces along the river.

A young couple in front of the Sugar Shack at Deep River County Park.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Kurt and Katie's engagement session at Deep River. For more updates, subscribe to this Journal below and visit the Region Weddings Facebook page.

Engagement Photos at County Line Orchard

May 23, 2014 Steve Vansak

A young couple kisses from opposite sides of the fence at County Line Orchard.

Kristen and Ryan are getting married on October 4th with purple as their color. They had their heart set on engagement photos at County Line Orchard so off we went for a session all around the iconic Northwest Indiana venue. Special thanks to Roxanne (wedding coordinator at the venue) for her hospitality in letting us have free reign around the Orchard after hours.

Ryan is a southern gentleman from Missouri who just moved up here to be with his love Kristen. They are super sweet and at times I put them into cutesy poses and other times just let them be. Unfortunately, they got into a fight...

A young couple has a leaf fight at County Line Orchard for their engagement photos.

Just kidding. There was no argument here, just some playful leaf throwing . There just happened to be a photographer and his lighting assistant hanging around to capture things. :)

You can't photograph at County Line Orchard without featuring the big red barn doors in some shots or taking a sun drenched walk amongst the apple trees...

Engagement photo in front of the red barn doors at County Line Orchard.

An engaged couple walks among the apple orchards.

Temperatures were just perfect for our session with the grass dry enough for some lounging and cuddling...

Portrait of a soon to be married couple in the grass at the apple orchards in Hobart, Indiana.

A lazy afternoon at Hobart's County Line Orchard.

Kristen asked for a ring shot and she also wanted to who off her wedding colors so we opted for these purple flowers conveniently planted for us just outside the back of the building. I combined another portrait along with the wedding date for an engagement collage.

An engagement ring sits atop purple flowers with a photo of the couple and their wedding date.

The sun was bold and bright even toward dusk on this beautiful Spring day, but we used it to our advantage for some soft focus shots of the future bride and groom.

A soft focus black and white engagement photo of a couple snuggling in the grass engulfed in sunlight.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Ryan and Kristen's engagement session at County Line Orchard. Subscribe to this page below and follow Region Weddings on Facebook for more updates.

Hanging out at County Line Orchard on a hazy afternoon in the Spring.

The Purpose of Engagement Photos

March 16, 2014 Steve Vansak

Most wedding clients choose an engagement photo session of some sort. I offer quite a few different options and thought I'd go into the purpose of these sessions and tell you a little bit about them too.

I think the best reason to have an engagement session is the chance to capture yourselves as a couple without the grandeur or the pressures of the wedding day. It's just cool to have professional shots of yourself in regular clothing and to see yourself in a moment in time as most others see you. Engagement sessions are romantic, casual, relaxed. I encourage my clients to pick the engagement package that most represents them.

Some clients love the city of big shoulders and will choose my Chicago Session package. I love this session as it affords me a chance to really deliver unique and romantic images for my clients. There are just so many photo ideas there. I shoot it all in color, but then turn everything to black and white and make it all look like old film shots from the 1960's. You can see examples of the Chicago Engagement packages here.

Other clients despise the hustle and bustle of Chicago. If you are a couple who enjoys a casual stroll through Deep River County Park or a sunset off the beach, then you should choose a Local Engagement session. You can find more examples in my engagement gallery here.

So what do people do we these images? Here are examples of what most of my clients do with their engagement photos:

display a large print as well as other smaller ones at the reception hall as guests enter
use for Save the Date cards designed by me or elsewhere
have them on display at the reception hall in a Wish Book
display them in their new home

Another great purpose for engagement photos is getting used to being photographed. I spend the entire wedding day with my clients and I'm soon accepted in and trusted. This enables me to get great and fun candid moments. However, getting to know each other during an engagement session can break the ice even quicker. I've found that couples are much more relaxed in front of the lens after an engagement session.

There is no reason to take two dozen portraits either. Sometimes there is no need to even be facing the camera. Perhaps we want to show off the wedding date for some shots. Maybe we are going for a tender moment or two or just maybe we want to get a little edgy with some sex appeal in our photos. We can do all of these things. I'm very used to shooting for books, telling a story, so I like to provide you with many different images and looks.

I would encourage you to not be afraid of the dark either!! I often like to split my Chicago Sessions up between day and night shots. This can be done locally as well. It's quite unique to have night time images. Feel free to change clothes too.

Sometimes due to time constraints or budget, a couple may choose to get studio portraits done as their engagement photos. A couple of 8x10's in frames will be next to the guest book when friends and family sign in. It's another great and classy way to showcase your story. Since I do studio work as well as on location, I can provide you with this option as well.

No matter which option you choose for your engagement photos, I know you are going to have a lot of fun and cherish them always. I'm looking out the window as I'm typing this and can FINALLY see grass again. This tells me Spring is on the way and engagement sessions are just around the corner. Think about how you want yours to be and contact me here to get on the calendar.

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.