Part of my branding is to provide an experience that’s like no other, and nothing does that better than exploring a new territory. John and Rachael were heading to Chicago for a concert they were going to and I had the day available so I asked them why not do their engagement pictures in Chicago and having pictures that are very unique. They were of course all for that idea, so we planned a location and time to do the pictures. And before I go any further, I know what you are thinking, didn’t John and Rachael just get married, and the answer is, yes. They booked me just weeks before their wedding and it happened to be my only Saturday available that month so we did not have time to do the engagement session, so we decided to do it after the wedding. Who makes the rules that you have to do it before, right? 🙂 Anyway, we met up on a pier facing the city of Chicago at about 8:00 a.m. This was definitely my earliest shoot yet. Natasha and I arrived at Chicago the night before and I thought there was NO WAY we would be able to do a shoot without thousands of people getting in our way. However, I’ve never seen Chicago on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. I felt like I was back home. I think Keller Drive in Effingham is busier on any given day than Michigan Avenue was this morning. Michigan Ave was nearly empty!! At least empty enough to get some shots in middle of the road.
This was truly an awesome shoot. I love anytime I get to explore new areas and exploring somewhere like Chicago was like a kid walking into a candy store for the first time. Every where you look there’s a new photo opportunity. As we got closer to millennium park, we could hear music getting louder and louder, and as we approached the theater in middle of the park we saw that it was a health club that put on a free Zumba class every saturday morning, and there were literally hundreds of people in this massive theater dancing. It was so cool and so funny all at the same time. And those passing by couldn’t help but busting a move and/or snap a few pictures. So if you’re ever in Chicago and want to people watch, just head down to millennium park. All in all, the session was a blast, and I guess on top of it being an engagement shoot, it could be borderline maternity shoot to. Rachael was 4 weeks away from her due date I believe at the time of this shoot, and boy was she a trooper walking to all the different locations. With that said, on top of a huge congrats (again) on their marriage, a congrats is in order for their little one. 🙂
