Chicagoland Forest Preserve – Renee + Justin

When someone says the band name “Smashing Pumpkins”, the first thing that comes to mind of course is Renee and Justin’s engagement session in a forest preserve with a big moon in the background! So our challenge that we set out to conquer was a large moon which Renee wanted in the engagement photos. The challenge being to find the location where we should plop this giant moon down! Middle of a busy street? Too easy. Off near a rundown building? Not a bad idea, but that location didn’t jive for Renee and Justin. How about in the middle of the woods where you have to walk over logs, try not to get tangled and avoid all of the mosquitoes? Perfect!

We met at a forest preserve not far from our studio in Northbrook. After hauling all of our gear into the woods it of course began to rain. But we’re Chicagoans! A little rain won’t hold us back. With overcast skies for most of the session we were able to play with the lights and colors a bit more. This is what gives their images a less contrasty and somewhat softer feel. After several hours of shooting and a warning from the forest preserve police that they were going to be closing soon, we captured just a few more images down by the river (no van) before heading out!