Stephanie and Scott

Emily and Kurtis

Kellie and Brian

Sunday afternoon I drove up to Ogden for an engagement shoot with Kellie and Brian.  Kellie and Brian are getting married next August.  We took a few photos at a gazebo just on the west side of Ogden.  Then headed out to Brian's parent's farm for some additional photos.  I love the opportunity to shoot any photos on any farm.  They have limitless possibilities and provide a lot of backgrounds.  Kellie and Brian had a specific shot they wanted with an awesome tree.  We started there and then walked around the farm taking shot after shot until we'd circled the farm about 3 times.  The shoot went great and we are really looking forward to next year's wedding.  Below are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

Mallery and Ben

Sunday morning I had the great opportunity to photograph engagement photos for Mallery and Ben.  Ashley and I will be photographing Mallery and Ben's wedding next September.  We took all the photos downtown in the Court ave. area.  If you follow our blog much, you know we love this area.  I love when we go on a photo shoot and I hear things like "i'm not photogenic" or "what should we do".  Then the photos turn out like these.  Clearly photogenic, clearly knew what to do.  Some might ask, what to do?  The answer is simple.  Be yourselves.  That is what these two did and the photos turned out great.  Below are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

Jessica and Brett

As you may remember Ashley and I gave away some engagement sessions to couples with awesome engagement stories.  Jessica and Brett our another pair of our winners.  I won't repost the entire story here, but here are the highlights....Jessica is a huge Christmas fan and always wanted to be proposed to on Christmas Eve.  Jessica was graduating from the University of Iowa in May and didn't believe her boyfriend, Brett, would be able to make it.  However, Brett had arranged to make the trip back from Tennessee and surprised Jessica with a Christmas in May.  He had setup a Christmas tree complete with gifts.  Jessica worked her way through all the gifts until she opened the last one.  It was a Precious Moments figurine of a proposal.  Brett got down on one knee and popped the big question.  Awesome story, one which my proposal story does not come close to.  These two will be married next July.  Below are a few of our favorite shots from the shoot.  Congratulations Jessica and Brett.

 

 

 

Three Sunday Engagement Shoots

On the 27th Ashley and I shot 3 engagement shoots.  Each was incredible in its own way.  We hit so many different backgrounds and locations.  In the morning I was in Ames with Christine and Derek, at noon Ashley and I shot photos with Laurie and Matt in studio and at Saylorville Lake, in the afternoon we ventured downtown with Carmen and Ron.  It was an awesome day and the photos are the proof.  Find their blog posts below....

Christine and Derek

Laurie and Matt

Carmen and Ron

Carmen and Ron

To cap off our trifecta of engagement shoots on the 27th, we photographed Carmen and Ron around the Court Ave. district in downtown Des Moines, IA.  Shooting in the court avenue area is always interesting because of how many people are in the area.  It was especially busy due to Wicked being in town.  Carmen and Ron handled it great and we were able to get some really fun shots.  Court Ave. is easily becoming one of our favorites spots to shoot.  Below are a few of our favorite photos.

 

 

 

Laurie and Matt

On the 27th of September, Ashley and I photographed engagement photos for Laurie and Matt.  I was traveling back from a morning shoot in Ames, and missed the studio shoot.  Ashley took care of it and we moved outside as soon as I arrived.  We traveled up to Saylorville Lake and got some shots both at the Visitor's Center and down by the water.  Watching these two hang out together will put a smile on anyone's face.  They had so much fun and you can tell that it wasn't just because they were on a photo shoot.  They were enjoying every moment and are perfect for each other.  We sent them out into a field and they came back with every plant form stuck to them.  They were awesome sports about it.  Below are a few of our favorites.

 

 

Christine and Derek

On Sunday, September 27th, I headed to Ames to shoot engagement photos with Christine and Derek.  We started out on the ISU campus near the Memorial Union and ended up at a park north of Ames.  They had some specific ideas of shots they wanted which always makes things easier.  It also helps them put their own little touch on their engagement session.  The weather was great and the photos turned out perfect.  Below are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

Micci and Devon

Wow...these two were fantastic.  On Sunday I drove up to Ames, IA to shoot engagement photos for Micci and Ryan.  We spent a lot of time in downtown Ames, in back alleys, and in the middle of the street.  It was a pretty quite Sunday and not a lot of people out and about, so we were able to get a ton of shots.  They had some great ideas of their own and then I threw out all the ideas I could come up with.  It wasn't a HOT day but in the sun it was warm...we clung to the shadows.  It is always best for most photos anyway.  When then headed to the park where they actually got engaged and snapped some more shots.  I had an awesome time and these two were great together in front of the camera.  They were very relaxed and engaging with each other.  Below are just select few of our favorites.

 

 

 

Nikki and Drew

Yesterday, Ashley and I photographed engagement photos for Nikki and Drew.  These two are getting married next year at the Simon Estes Amphitheater.  We shot their photos downtown in the Court Ave district.  Nikki and Drew have an awesome little dog named Remy that broke out his best Fabio moves during his portion of the photo shoot.  Remy is a street tough little Mini-Dachshund strolling the mean sidewalks of Des Moines...ok, maybe that was a bit over the top.  Remy rocks.  Enough said.  Nikki and Drew were great to work with and Nikki, the self-proclaimed, best self shooter even got the chance to self shoot one shot of herself and Drew.  See the first photo below for the results.  Best self shot photo ever.  The shoot was all sorts of good all over downtown.  The shoot featured many things...a dog, the homeless, old underwear, a stopped train blocking us from getting to our shoot destination, mac and cheese for dinner and much, much more.  It was an awesome time.  And one last note, like to give a special shout out to the cousin in the loft with the hangy thing.  Below are a few of our favorite shots...

 

 

 

Mike and Rachel

Last night I photographed an engagement session for Mike and Rachel.  They are an awesome couple from the midwest and met here in Des Moines at Drake University.  We started the session in Valley Junction and then headed over both Water Works Park and Gray's Lake.  The weather was perfect.  Nice cool temperatures, some sun, and some wind.  Made for great photo opportunities.  We had a lot of fun and they were great to photograph.  Below are a few of our favorites!

 

 

 

Ben and Arley

Last Tuesday I photographed engagement photos for Ben and Arley.  We headed downtown and covered some new ground that I hadn't photographed on previously.  As you head towards 4th street and Court Avenue downtown there are some awesome buildings and alley's.  We had a great time and while shooting down there puts both the photographer and the couple on display for all, they handled it perfectly and we had a great time.  Below are just a few of our favorites!

 

 

 

Melissa and Andre - Contest Winners #1

Ashley and I gave away three free engagement sessions this year.  We picked winners randomly and based on engagement story. We had a lot of entries and 3 were selected.  By chance, we were already invited to photograph Melissa and Andre's wedding and they won one of the three shoots. 

July in Iowa can be hot, humid, and stormy at times.  On Friday it was a little of all three.  We headed to downtown Des Moines with Melissa and Andre.  The area around the river and the area near the old train depot are always hot spots for Des Moines photographers.  The alleys, buildings, and general backdrop give many picture opportunities.  We sometimes do similar photos at each shoot, but at the same time ALWAYS have something new come from each shoot.  This one was no different.  We started out on the pedestrian bridge near Principal Park.  It was a little rainy, more misty than anything, but quickly stopped and allowed us to get the shoot in.  We ventured down some new alley ways and around some new spots.  Melissa and Andre were great to work with.  I don't think that Andre liked that I brought a camera along, but he was more than a good sport about getting all the photos we wanted.  They were great about going down alley's and the other spots that we choose for the shoot even though they had to put up with me saying we were done and then running off another 100 photos at various locations from various angles.  Either way, these guys were awesome and we are really looking forward to the October wedding!  Below are a few of our favorites...

 

Jill and Travis

Last Monday I had the opportunity to photograph engagement photos for Jill and Travis.  Ashley and I will be shooting their wedding this upcoming September.  This shoot was actually a reschedule.  We previously had a date set but were forced to cancel due to sporadic weather.  At 3pm when we canceled the shoot it was so dark in West Des Moines that the light sensors had tripped and the evening lights had come on around the area.  At 6pm, the scheduled time, it was blue skies and sunny...that's Iowa weather.  We headed out to Gray's Lake and found some great backdrops.  As a lot of you probably know, Gray's Lake is a hot spot on warm summer days.  Monday was no different.  It was a little warm and the place was packed.  We moved around the lake and got some great shots.  Young Braden even took some pictures.  I handed him one of my cameras and let him snap away, while I got shots of him (see below).  Jill, Travis, and Braden were great to work with and we are looking forward to the big day!  Below are a few of our favorite shots!

 

Allison and Jason

On Monday I was able to get out and beat the weather to photograph engagement photos for Allison and Jason.  We headed to the Rose Garden and even took a few at the art center.  While I was warned about someone's dislike for photos, Jason, these two were just fine and the photos turned out great.  Here's to hoping the weather holds off for the upcoming shoots this weekend!  Congratulations Allison and Jason.

 

Amella and Damir

The Rose Garden is a great place to have photos taken and definitely one of our favorites.  On Sunday Amella and Damir chose the Rose Garden to have their engagement pictures taken.  As much time as we spend there taking photos you'd think at some point we would run out of ideas....not the case.  These two were great to work with and open for some of the goofier shots we requested of them.  In the end they turned out great.  These two are comfortable around each other, really know how to make each other laugh, and it really shows.  Congratulations to these two and good luck with the upcoming wedding!  (P.S...we are also doing a downtown night shoot next week with these two, so watch for those photos.)

 

Maddie and Kyle

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get out and photograph Maddie and Kyle's engagement photos.  They were looking for some shots downtown and it was a perfect day for photos.  These two drove into Des Moines from Minnesota and were ready to go upon arrival.  Engagement shoots are great because it gives us the opportunity to work with each other before the wedding day and get to see how each react to the photo shoot process.  These two were awesome and got me really excited for the big day in September!  And although you couldn't tell it from our favorites here...they didn't kiss in every picture but these two are great together and especially in front of the camera.  Below are just a few of our favorites.

 

 

Engagement Session Contest

Our engagement session contest entry deadline recently passed.  Ashley and I have scoured through all the entries and in the end we selected three winners.  We couldn't cut it down to two.  We are contacting the winners and will be posting photos and stories soon.  The winners have some great proposal stories!  Thanks to all that entered!

Nicole and Josh Part II

Yesterday I ventured out to Saylorville Lake with Nicole and Josh.  We originally scheduled outdoor photos but poor weather forced us to complete just studio photos.  Well we got the outdoor stuff rescheduled and made the most of our time.  I had a blast and these two were so much fun!  We climbed up and down the side of the lake and they trekked with me as I tried to figure out where we were headed and what location we would shot at.  In the end we made it through the shoot and turned out some great shots.  Below are just a few of our favorites.