Chic & Moody Engagement Photos in Downtown Columbus

The lead-up to Ana & Stephen’s Columbus engagement session was full of nerves, on all sides. You see, Ana works for me. She started off as master assistant and quickly graduated to second photographer extraordinaire. Ana has one of the most natural, innate eyes for photography that I have seen. You’d think our working relationship would make for an easy session, but it was quite the opposite. I wanted to the engagement photos to be next-level perfection, which made me nervous (always does). Ana wanted not to disappoint. To make matters worse, smoke from Canadian wildfires fell on Columbus just before their engagement session.

A moody Atmosphere

The atmosphere at the start of engagement session was thick, to the point of causing the occasional cough. Ana asked me if I had any concerns about the wildfire smoke. She seemed worried. “No” I said, “look down the street.” The smoke was scattering the light, causing a certain dullness at a distance. “I normally have to work for that kind of contrast fall-off” I said. She could see the potential now.

Cookies, then Magic

Following at quick stop at Lion Cub Cookies (Ana & Stephen’s favorite) for motivational desserts, we headed into downtown Columbus, first stopping at McFerson Commons Park. Previously, I had photographed Ana & Stephen’s surprise wedding proposal at McFerson Park, so we had returned to the start. As day waned into night, we moved to the Scioto Mile area for the second half of their engagement session.