Posts tagged Cleveland lifestyle photography | Page 7 of 9 | Columbus Wedding Photographer

Stephanie & Ben – Music Lovers Engagement

I think it was very clear to Stephanie what she wanted to do for her engagement session. While Stephanie and Ben got engaged at the Cleveland Zoo, she wanted to incorporate something much more important for their engagement session. I was not surprised either. From the get-go, we shared a mutual love for music. Whenever we chat, we end up exchanging our current music notes. Stephanie and Ben introduced me to The Dawes and Head and the Heart. I made sure they knew about Iron & Wine.

Stephanie and Ben wanted to include the idea of live music in their engagement session. They love going to concerts and listening to music together at home. So, we planned to hit the Collinswood Arts district for a visit to the Beachland Ballroom and Music Saves. I would have loved to inside the Beachland, but their was some crazy children’s show going on. I was just happy to visit some great new locations. While it was mid-November, we did also want to include the fall colors where possible. Thankfully, our weird weather this year kept the leaves around a little longer. We headed to one of my favorite places, Cleveland’s cultural gardens where we found a yellow ginkgo sea.

A few of my fun favorites are below. The photos might look a little familiar – one is currently featured on my home page. Enjoy!

Stephanie and Ben - music lovers engagement session in Cleveland

The Collinswood Arts district is such a great place to visit. It’s so colorful and has lot’s of indie music options.

Stephanie and Ben - music lovers engagement session in Cleveland

You can only see a small part of the mural above. You’ll have to trust me – it’s crazy! As for Stephanie and Ben, it’s so nice when they laugh together, or at me!

Stephanie and Ben - music lovers engagement session in Cleveland

The winds may have striped the leaves from the trees, but the color was all around. The yellow ginkgo leaves seemed to carpet everything.

Stephanie and Ben - music lovers engagement session in Cleveland

I still cannot remember what I said or did to elicit the reaction in the last photo, but I love it. Maybe Stephanie will remind me one day. That’s all for today. I have been on a tear lately with new content on our website, so make sure to check back often. Also, give us a “like” on Facebook where you can find our most current work.

Molly & Zac – Summer Simplicity

[UPDATE – we just posted Molly & Zac’s wedding of family, love and seersucker]

An engagement session that feels simple is usually a great one. Working with Molly & Zac felt very simple and comfortable from the beginning. I consider all of my clients to be friends, and this was especially so for Molly & Zac. Prior to working with them, I already considered Molly’s family to be personal friends, but that’s a story for another day.

Molly & Zac gave me creative freedom for their engagement session. We decided to keep it nice and simple. We spent a gorgeous afternoon walking around various neighborhoods in downtown Cleveland. Making it better, it was a warm and comfortable afternoon with amazing light.

We were also lucky! Below are a few of my favorite photos from the session. You’ll notice an Air-stream trailer filled with vintage clothing. We just so happened to stumble across a street fair with the trailer sitting at the end. It was a totally fortunate accident (wink, wink).

Molly and Zac's simple summer engagement in downtown Cleveland

I love that Zac is gently holding Molly’s hand above. Her smile is priceless as well.

Molly and Zac's simple summer engagement in downtown Cleveland

Molly is a true Clevelander, so we made sure to stop by a true Cleveland institution. In hindsight, we should have stopped longer and had a beer!

Molly and Zac's simple summer engagement in downtown Cleveland

The last photo is one of my favorites from the summer. It’s an image I had stored in my head for months. I was waiting for the right couple and the right time. For Molly and Zac, it the setup was perfect, but their execution was even better.

That’s all for today. As always, find us on Facebook to keep us with our current work. And, more coming to the website very soon.

Elise- High School Senior Portraits Around Lakewood

I focus on weddings around the Cleveland area almost exclusively. However, I’ve spread out a little lately to take on some high school senior portraits for students around Lakewood and Rocky River. The sessions are a welcome change from weddings. Instead of working hard for one client over months and photographing large groups of people, senior portrait sessions offer a completely different approach. I love working with a single student for a few hours at a time. The concentration on just one person can have magical results. So I was happy to take on another senior portrait session when Elise and her mother, Mary, contacted me.

All three of us wanted some variety in the pictures, so we planned the afternoon session for multiple locations around the Lakewood and Cleveland areas. After a little time in my Lakewood studio, we headed out into the beautiful October weather. We shot a little in Cleveland’s west flats, as well as locations around Lakewood.

For each senior portrait session, I like to include something personal about the client. For Elise, she was absolutely in love with her mid-eighties Mercedes Benz. This opened us up to shooting at a location I had on my list for a long time – a simple car wash in Lakewood. I knew the light streaming through the wash bay in the evening would be truly magical. In the end, the shots at the car wash turned out to be my favorite, and we happily avoided the standard car wash cliches.

Here are just a few highlights and some personal favorites –