Model:  Lindsey Nartker [Lindsey Nartker Designs]
Make-up:  DeVawn Testagrossa [Airbrush Michigan]

I stumbled across these images a few days ago and realized I had never blogged them.  Last year we participated in a local workshop with several of our fellow photographer friends for three days of model shoots.  One day was devoted to bridals, and Lindsey Nartker and her husband agreed to model.  Our friend DeVawn created a very edgy look that worked well with the grungy warehouse that was our set.  It’s always fun when we can work with other vendors outside of a wedding.  :)  Shoots like these are a fun way to recharge our batteries.

Andy did the post-production on the one above.  I think it’s epic.  We have to print this one up big for the studio.  :)

If you like this look and want to do something similar, consider adding a “Day After” session to your wedding package.  An extra session allows us to capture images in a location that would be impossible to get to on your wedding day due to time restraints.  For example, maybe you are planning a sophisticated downtown wedding, but you’d also love to get some pictures in an overgrown field at sunset out in the country.  Or maybe you enjoyed a traditional, classic-styled wedding, but you want to let loose and do something a little edgier or fun.  Talk to us and let’s brainstorm!  There are no rules with Day After sessions – and don’t be put off by the name, you can schedule the session whenever, in fact we recommend you wait a few days after the wedding so you have time to rest.  :)

We were thrilled when Jee-Young and David asked if we could start their session at their house so we could photograph their dogs.  Nothing breaks the ice better than getting to play with pets.  Their pups were super cute too, and made me want a beagle even more.  (My neighbors have a beagle and I want to steal it!)

Take a look at this handsome couple:

They were a little wary of us at first, but a few milkbones later and they were putty in our hands.   Andy has perfected this kooky noise that commands the attention of the four-legged.  It tends to come in handy for stuff like this. 

From Jee-Young and David’s home, we went out to downtown Rochester for the rest of their session.  They looked pretty stylin’.

At first we were not seeing much that we liked in the way of backgrounds, but the more walked, the more interesting stuff we found.  I think Rochester just got put on our list of favorite places for e-sessions.

I was so excited when I spotted this old fashioned delivery truck.  It was the perfect vintage-y green color.  I had to get them to pose in front of it. 

Do we not get the best looking couples?  Jee-Young, you are so beautiful!  I’m so excited to see all our brides this year in their gowns.  They are all knock-outs! 

We spent the afternoon wandering around the U of M campus with them, where they both went to school.

Life imitates art. 

We wandered over to the UMMA which had this awesome wall that we became mildly obsessed with.  I think this is my favorite image from the day, though it’s hard to pick a favorite. 

U of M is so beautiful, I always kick myself for not going there.  I wanted to take a year off after high school and figure out what I wanted to do as a grown-up.  To get my parents and guidance counselor off my back, I applied to one school, and won a full academic scholarship w/o trying.  (I still don’t get that one, I didn’t even have to write an essay!)  So I ended up at WSU, which well….was pretty ugly back when I went there.  I never did figure out what I wanted to do as a grown-up….ended up with more college credit than a grad student and no degree.  That’s what happens when you change your major every year and attend school year round with no breaks.  You burn out and end up being 2 credits away from a minor in 5 different unrelated disciplines.  Let that be a warning to you! 

We ended up on the north side (I believe!) of campus where there is this cool landscape feature I’m going to call the Sine Wave Formation.  I have no idea if that is its real name or not.  Basically it’s a bunch of hills who’s bumps correspond to the sine wave.  Seeing as how one of my brief majors was mathematics and I did some algebra/trig student teaching at WSU, I thought this was rad.  (And I also pity the dude who has to mow that thing!)

Random West Park Trivia:  We book a disproportionate amount of math nerds and marathon/ultra long distance runners.   (And I mean math nerds in the absolute BEST sense of the word, because math nerds rule.)

Seeing as I somehow managed to get to the end of this post without stating the obvious, but isn’t Jessica SUPER CUTE?   We can’t wait until August! 

We shot three engagement sessions in one weekend, which all had the following things in common:

• Everyone had great outfits and accessories.
• Cooperative weather!  (If you live in MI you know how exciting this is!)
• The guys randomly picked up the girls w/o us asking.  (Love when that happens!)
• Our couples picked great locations that gave us lots of variety.
• Everyone mentioned they saw our pets on the blog. 

All these things made for a very fun weekend!  We started off meeting Valerie and K.C. who came in from Chicago.  We photographed their session all over downtown Royal Oak, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places for engagement sessions.  There’s tons of cool places to explore within walking distance.

Valerie and KC did a fantastic job – they were super comfortable in front of the camera, Valerie’s got amazing eyes that melt the camera, and they are cute even when they think you aren’t looking.  They made our job super easy. 

I want to type “Love it!” under all of these…so I won’t, at risk of being redundant, but I am really  happy about these! 

We stumbled into this awesome sushi place where the staff was kind enough to let us take a few pictures.

I have a thing for random alleys with good pockets of available light. 

Valerie & K.C. are getting married this September at the Detroit Athletic Club.  I just know Valerie is going to be amazing in her dress – looking forward to it! 

John & Kami are the coolest!  We had so much fun at their e-session.  We love when our clients are up for anything and just want to have fun.  We hit up a bunch of locations, met their pups, and ended up shooting well into the evening.  It was great!

On the left is the first place we stopped, The Rock on 3rd in downtown Royal Oak.  John & Kami met here, so we had to check it out!  Plus, you always know you are in for a good session when your subjects want to grab a beer first.    On the right is the Main Art Theatre.

This couple is so fun and goofy so we knew they would be a good match for our iPad idea.

AWESOME!  (You must, must, MUST check out the animated gift preview we posted earlier if you  haven’t yet.)

Sometime between hitting the bar, some back alleys, the railroad tracks, and starbucks, we found time to take a quick detour to get some photos of them with their lovable dogs.

I love how you can only see the top of John’s head in this one. 

And then there is this:

OMG those ears!  So cute!

Random parking structure = win.

Naturally we ended up at the Fire Station….why  not? 

Kami & John have a rather epic wedding planned for the first week of June with some amazing photo opportunities in the works.  (Seriously, it will make you jealous!)  We cannot wait! 

Isn’t she gorgeous?  This is one of my favorites! 

I love this sequence too.

This is around the time where Fred confessed that he learned all his cool modeling moves from America’s Next Top Model.   We can respect that! 

Stacey & Fred – thanks again, we had a great time and we are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!  Just a few more days to go!

Radness ensued last night, as Kami and John gave us their personalized tour of Royal Oak for their engagement session. Here is just a taste of what went down, in an epic journey of theater romance, iPad masquerading, Parking Garage love, and your friendly neighborhood fire station. MORE.TO.COME.

P.S.> Have you played with the iPad yet? Pretty RAD!

Heather and Tom are getting married TOMORROW!  I figured I better hurry up and blog about them already!  (Told you guys we were behind!)   We met up on a very chilly day back in December and wandered around downtown Birmingham.  They were real troopers – it was really cold!  Heather & Tom picked one our favorite venues for their wedding  – River Birch Lodge in Hartland, MI.  We are very excited to see them tomorrow – I hope they are getting plenty of sleep tonight!

So this ring here?  TOM MADE IT!  How awesome is that?  He started with clay and came up with the design himself, then took it to be forged.  (This is so super cool because the last couple that we photographed at River Birch also had their rings custom made.)  I love how simple and elegant this ring is….it has a very smooth band with a bevel set diamond – so it won’t catch on anything, which is perfect for Heather’s active lifestyle.  But it doesn’t stop there….when Tom was ready to propose, he decided to be a little crafty.  So he purchased a Monopoly game, and shrink-wrapped the ring in with the game pieces for Heather to find. 

Ok, time for bed!

I had to take a quick breather from editing though to share an image that caught my eye while editing Stacey & Fred’s wedding.  Their wedding was beautiful and we’ll be posting their slideshow and proofs shortly.

Until then, here’s a teaser: