Katya and Frank – Love From The Northwestern
If there’s one time I enjoy going to school, it’s to capture photos. Katya and Frank both graduated from Northwestern University and while they currently reside up in warm and sunny Minnesota. When we discussed where to do their engagement images Northwestern was one of their suggestions because we would likely not be able to cover it on the day of their wedding. We met up on a somewhat cold yet warm, kind of cloudy, somewhat sunny, mildly mild, a little rainy, a little more downpour like, and then back to totally 100% sunny typical Chicago day. Wandering around campus there were tons of fantastic places to photograph!
To view Katya and Franks entire gallery click here: Katya and Frank!!!
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To view Katya and Franks entire gallery click here: Katya and Frank!!!
Veronica – The Flower Lady
Some of you may or may not know that I have not long ago opened up a studio in Northbrook, IL which is just a hop skip and a jump away from downtown Chicago. It’s become sort of a little home away from home for me and quite a cozy place to meet with clients, edit and just generally hangout. Here at the studio I’ve got a couple neighbors and one of them whom I got to know is named (as you may have guessed) Veronica.
Veronica is best represented by the title of this post as truly being the flower lady. She always puts together some funky and unique flower arrangements and if I sit outside her studio long enough, sometimes she’ll toss some flower my way for my own place. We got together on a nice and toasty Saturday morning on a beach in Highland Park for a couple portrait shots. We had a great time and I even got my mom and girlfriend in to assist on a few of the photos! And now on to the portraits!!
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Sister Portrait Session Chicago
When you think of a family portrait session, or one with siblings…it’s not often that alley ways and loading docks come to mind. However I like to mix things up a bit and capture images that are something that’s “a little different”. If looking at the camera and saying “cheese” is what you want, then I’m not the photographer for you. Ruth called me up and suggested we do a shoot. We chatted about hair, makeup, and wardrobe and then set out on a nice cloudy day to capture the following…
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Julie and Seth – Chicago Cultural Center
After a busy busy time of photographing all over Chicago the entire summer being full of weddings and portraits, it’s now time to get back to some blogging! Julie and Seth had their wedding at the Chicago Cultural Center. Being that we’re in Chicago it of course started off as a nice and mild day, then turned into a storm, and not long after that became sunny and humid. We began at the Swissotel in Chicago, migrated our way over to the lake front and then to the Chicago Cultural Center!
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Joanne and John – Good morning!
If we lived in California, or even on the other side of Lake Michigan then getting those sunset images over the ocean or lake would all be done in the evening. However in Chicago, if you want to capture photos that appear with the sun nice and low over a body of water…then you’re going to be waking up nice and early to catch the sunrise at 5am. When I spoke with John and Joanne, about their engagement photos…one of the first things that came up was doing the shoot on the lakefront. So with a nice 4am alarm clock I was off to the beach! As soon as we started you would never know that we were all running on just a few hours of sleep each and they were posing in no time!
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How long does capturing a portrait take?
The timing of your wedding day or portrait session is one of those things which seems easy to plan, but may require a closer look and more planning. The question is why is it so difficult to plan out a simple schedule? It’s not that it’s difficult to plan out a schedule, where it becomes tricky is that you must have an understanding of how your photographer operates and the process of creating an image.
When we take a closer look at planning out your wedding day schedule, the first thing that you must ask yourself is “What is most important to me?” To some couples it’s their wedding album images, while others may prioritize video or the reception entertainment. Your priorities and preferences are a good starting point when it comes to setting your schedule for the day. If photographs and memories of your day are very important to you, then a good amount of time must be allocated for capturing those memories. What is a “good amount of time”? This is a question which is best answered by the photographer with whom you are working with.
The schedule that we follow in my studio is that we arrive approximately one hour before the bride is ready. I work with the bride to capture images of details, hair/makeup, and the girls having a fun time. This is also enough time for me to capture images of the guys as they get ready as well. Once the bride is dressed and ready to go, we spend about 20 minutes doing bridal portraits.
Then we move on to the part of the day which many feel shouldn’t take as long as it does…portraits of the bride and groom. What’s important to understand here is that a professional photographer will rarely just point a camera at you and capture a perfect image. More often than not there will be other sources of light used to create your images or a variety of other photo equipment which professional photographers use. This is where the time comes into play so that each image captured can be well lit, posed, and composed. For the bridal portraits I advise the brides that I work with that three hours is a good amount of time. It seems like a long time and for a professional they should be able to work much faster than that, however you must remember that on your wedding day, everything takes just a smidge longer than normal. You’re now riding in a larger limo perhaps and not your personal vehicle, makeup retouches, coordinating the entire bridal party…all of which takes time. And one of the biggest reasons for the three hour window is so that you are not being rushed! Your portrait session is typically your final moments together alone before the chaos and excitement of your ceremony and reception. It should be a time for you to relax and enjoy each other’s company and not simply be rushed from pose to pose. Your portrait session should feel like a nice deep breath of fresh air.
The same idea caters to an individual or family portrait session. I always tell clients that they should not approach their photo shoot as just a portrait session. In fact the words “portrait session” to me sound like something I would go to Sears for. Your photographer is there to capture you…the true image of you, with just a click of the shutter button on the camera. If you have a busy day at the office before and then have 20 minutes for a portrait session before having to run off to pick up the kids from day care, then perhaps that will show in your images. What if instead of approaching it as a portrait session as indicated by a small time slot on your calendar you were to take your significant other out on a lake front picnic which you planned in advance. Bring along some candles, your favorite bottle of wine and approach the entire evening as a “date” for which I will be with you for a brief period of time for some relaxing and fun images…how would that experience compare to just being a time slot in between other busy events on your calendar?
Keep some of these ideas in mind when you’re planning your wedding day or other photo session and you just might be surprised at how the entire experience may end up being a lot more fun and relaxing. As always, please feel free to comment or send an email to mike@novophotography.com
Masha’s Portrait at the Palmer
There’s one key thing to remember when you’re going to photograph in a business such as a hotel. Even if you call a hotel and say “I’m staying there, can I have my portrait captured by a photographer?” You may very well receive a “yes” from the manager of managers himself…however when you show up to photograph, all of a sudden they’ll forget what you’re talking about and you’ll be chased all around the hotel by security. And boy are they on you in a hurry.
We showed up at the Palmer Hotel Chicago and met with Masha in her room who was all set and ready for her portrait and jaunt around the hotel. She wanted something that was slightly more high fashion and we immediately began thinking of something in a more formal dress. Initially we had a fantastic concept planned out for an early morning portrait out on the streets of Chicago, but the weather was a bit cold and rainy so we did the portraits in the hotel.
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Long Grove Engagement Session
It’s not often that someone else steals the spotlight from a couple that’s being photographed for their engagement session, but it does happen from time to time. In this instance we have Marley. Marley is perhaps one of the most mellow pups you could ever meet. Mellow in terms of attitude however Marley will choose whatever path he likes when it comes to posing for images. So there were a couple moments where we would pause to “reset” him, but otherwise he was a fantastic edition.
Tanya and Jim wanted to have their engagement photos in a spot which has somewhat of a relaxed feel. One such perfect spot is in downtown Long Grove. So long as there isn’t a chocolate or strawberry fest going on at the time, there’s typically quite a bit of space for some fantastic portraits. And it’s spots like this which can really make you appreciate a city such as Chicago. If you leave Long Grove, you can be getting skyline shots of Chicago in under an hour. With so many locations to select from, this truly is a fantastic city in which to be a photographer.
And now…onwards to the images!!
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