engagement shoot

Life Events That Require A Photographer

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There are a lot of events in life that can be fun or exciting time. During these times you may want to consider inviting a photographer to capture the moment for you. Some events you may not even think of, which is why I made a list of life events that require a photographer. 

Engagements- Getting engaged is an exciting time in one’s life. It’s also one that should be professionally documented with photos. Whether you want to hire a photographer to take pictures of your spouse as you surprise them and propose or you’ve already proposed and just want to stage some photos for invitations and memories, a photographer can help you get the perfect pictures to remember this special occasion. 

Weddings- This is another big event in your life that you’re gonna want to document and look back at over the years. A professional photographer can capture both planned and candid moments of your day. They can make sure they get pictures of not just you and your spouse but your family members and the decorations as well!

Maternity- Having a baby, especially your first one can be an exciting and new experience for both you and your partner. This is another occasion that should be documented not just for you and your spouse but for your future child as well to look back on. A photographer can help you come up with themes and locations for this type of shoot. This will also be a good time to help the pregnant person feel special and pampered. 

Baby Showers- This event is another one that you’re going to want to capture once again not just for you and your partner but for your future child as well. This is a great time to capture family members as well who you maybe don’t get to see as often as you would like. 

Newborn Babies- New additions to families are another great time to get pictures taken. Newborn photos will be the first professional images you get of your bundle of joy and can share with the whole family. These pictures are especially important if you want to start a photo album for your child or family or use some of the images in their baby books. 

Significant Birthdays- These photoshoots are super fun for everyone to look back on over the years to see how you or your child have grown over the years. It’s also a great way to celebrate another year of life. Some birthdays people like to highlight include one year, ten years, sixteen years, eighteen years, twenty-one years, twenty-five years, thirty years, forty years, and fifty years. 

Senior Portraits/Graduation- These are important pictures to highlight yourself or your child when you graduate from high school or college. These pictures are a great way to celebrate graduating and starting the next chapter in your life. These pictures can also be useful for graduation invitations.

Prom- When your child goes to prom they are going to want some photos to remember the day and to show off to their friends and family members. These pictures can be great memories for them to look back on especially since some of their friends who they may take pictures with that day may be moving away for college soon. 

New Holiday Portraits- During the winter holidays, it’s a great time to take some family photos. These can be used for holiday greeting cards or just as a way to update your current family portrait. 

New Family Portraits- Family portraits are important so that you can have photos in your home and photos of everyone together at one time. It only gets harder to get family photos with everyone together s everyone gets older with busier schedules. If you welcome a new addition to the family or it’s been a while since your last family photo that means it’s time for a new family portrait. 

New Business Ventures- If you’re entering the workforce, starting a business, or haven’t updated your headshot in a while that means it’s time to get some new headshots. Headshots are essential when reaching certain work milestones. They can help give your client or job a good first impression of your personality. 

I hope this list was helpful to you and I’ll see you all next week!

4 Awesome Wedding Venues in Cincinnati

Photog Blog

Cincinnati has a lot of amazing wedding venues. If you’re new to the area or never looked at wedding venues then this post is for you. For today’s post, I’ll be highlighting 4 awesome wedding venues that I’ve shot at.

Ault Park- This is a beautiful and huge park where a lot of Cincinnatians host their wedding during the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I recommend hosting your wedding here in the Spring if it’s warm enough so you can see all the beautiful flowers blooming and maybe even the cherry blossom trees! In the gallery below you’ll find some pictures I took at the park. 

Abby’s Farm- This is a beautiful venue that gives you both a farm feel and a river view. There’s an indoor venue where you can host the reception or your wedding, a huge outdoor area where you could also have your wedding and reception, and a gazebo which is fantastic for photos. Find pictures of the farm in the gallery below.

Gorman Heritage Farm- If you love nature or farms then this may be the venue for you. This farm has a sunflower field in the summer that is truly a spectacular sight. This venue can be good for engagement photos as well. It’s a stunning sight that will truly wow your guest. You can find pictures of the farm and the sunflowers below. 

Sugar Event Loft- This is an indoor venue that I have shot a couple of weddings at and it is always decorated beautifully. The lighting is well and once you leave the indoor venue you can go outside to the Liberty Center to take some outside pictures with your bridal party. 

I hope this has inspired you to take a look at a couple of Cincinnati Wedding venues. Let me know your favorite venue in the comments section.

Most Romantic & Photogenic Places to Get Engaged in Cincy

Photog Blog

You’ve found the love of your life and now you have to plan a romantic and picture-worthy place to ask them to marry you, but where can you find such a place? Luckily for you locals, Cincinnati is a very beautiful city. In this blog, I’m gonna tell you five of the most romantic and beautiful locations to get engaged. 

  1. Ault Park- This is my favorite park in all of Cincinnati! It’s huge and offers you so many different places to propose. There are Cherry Blossom trees that bloom usually around March and April and are perfect for pictures and a romantic gesture. You could also go to the Brumm Garden wedding area, which has a gazebo-like area with plants surrounding it. It’s also very picture worthy and romantic. Another great option is the Pavilion, which has a great view of the park. Finally, there’s a botanical garden if you like being surrounded by plants.
  2. The Chateau Laroche A.K.A. The Loveland Castle- This is an authentic castle, what could be more romantic? The castle has many entrances and exteriors that are photogenic and your partner will love feeling like royalty during the proposal. There are also gardens surrounding the castle for our plant enthusiasts. You can even bring lunch and sit at one of the tables to have a meal together after the proposal, or before if you need an excuse to bring them to a castle for the proposal. 
  3. Eden Park- Another great option with lots of beauty. This park has a beautiful giant fountain in the center of it, which is a great option for proposals. Near the fountain is a beautifully decorated gazebo that’s great for privacy and pictures! Another area is the overlook up the hill of the park which allows you to see the Northern Kentucky skyline. Finally on the opposite side of the overlook is a pretty garden and a big lake with a bridge over it. This is yet another great option at Eden Park to pop the question at.
  4. Sharon Woods- This beautiful park is great if you want to be by a large body of water when you pop the question. There’s a waterfall in the woods with a balcony overlooking it. There’s also a bridge over the water that would be perfect for the occasion. 
  5. Devou Park- (Technically in Northern Kentucky but for our purposes we’ll call it Cincinnati!) – This park is so gorgeous! There’s an overlook that shows you the Cincinnati skyline. City skylines can make for great pictures! There’s also a gazebo near the overlook that would be great to utilize. 

There you have it. Five awesome locations in Cincinnati to propose at. Hopefully, you’ll choose one of them and if you do, I hope you’ll consider giving me a call to photograph you and your significant other!

8 Engagement Shoot Ideas to Make You Say I Do!

Photog Blog

Engagement shoots are a fun time to celebrate the next step in your relationship and also a good way to get some awesome photos with your fiancé. If you don’t have an idea for the type of engagement photoshoot you want I’m here to give you five ideas that’ll make you say I do!

  1. The Fairy Tale-This theme is all about recreating your favorite fairytale or creating a whole new one! You can recreate a look by your favorite Princess and Prince (maybe even change it to two princesses or two princes, or nonbinary mages; we’re all about inclusion over here.) or you can just dress up as the King/ Queen/NonBinary Royal that you are! Fancy dresses, crowns, tiaras, and thrones can all be used in these types of shoots. 

2. All The Romance- Picture this. A gazebo decorated in beautiful lights just after sunset. In the center of the gazebo are you and your fiancé sharing a kiss or maybe dancing, whatever you think looks best! Still don’t see the vision? Okay, try this: One half of the couple on their knee proposing to the other who is standing up. They’re on a bridge covered in beautiful decorative lights. (I like the decorative lights look personally) There are many ways you can create romantic looks like these that remind you of a rom-com.

3. The Adventurous Couple- This theme allows you to explore beautiful parts of the city or maybe even beautiful places outside of your city! This theme could happen on top of a mountain with one person proposing to the other, on a beach with the couple walking during sunset, on top of a cliff with a couple sharing a kiss, or in an open field with one part of the couple picking the other spin their arms! The possibilities are endless.

4. A Night On The Town- This option is perfect for those couples who want something simple and in the heart of the city. This photoshoot would take place in a crowded part of the area or downtown. Pictures would be taken of the couple hugging by large beautiful buildings, walking down city streets together while holding hands, or even just standard poses in your favorite part of town. 

5. Straight Out of A Movie- This one is fun if you like t cosplay or if you just have a favorite movie as a couple. In this scenario, the couple would dress up as characters from any movie (or television show) and recreate the movie poster or scene from a movie. Common examples of movie scenes that are sometimes recreated include The movie poster from Queen and Slim (with them next to a car), the Notebook rain scene, and the Titanic Boat scene.

6. Glamorous and Sexy- For the sophisticated couples, this shoot involves you grabbing your most fabulous Tuxedos or Gowns, getting all dolled up, and taking glamour pictures. This can be done well in a studio or outside. If you like this theme but are a little awkward/uncomfortable at being “sexy” (like me) your photographer should be able to help you come up with poses!

7. A Walk In The Park- For our Nature lovers, this is the perfect concept for you! You’ll be in either a park, the forest, or the woods. Sitting or posing by trees and getting pictures with beautiful flowers. You can also go to a local sunflower field to get some beautiful romantic images. Or if you’re more into the country look, you can try a local farm–with permission from the owner of course!

8. The Blissful Boat Ride- A beautiful concept, this photoshoot requires you to get out on a lake or river and ride in a boat while the photographer captures some posed and candid images. You can simply talk to each other and look out to the shore when doing candids. And you can do some seed poses for the staged ones.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your engagement shoot! Good luck!

4 Reasons You Need a Surprise Proposal Shoot

Photog Blog

So you know you’ve found the person that you want to marry and you just need a creative way to propose. What better than a surprise Proposal shoot to capture the moment forever? Here are four reasons you need to do a surprise proposal photo shoot. 

  1. Capturing a happy moment. A lot of times during engagements the special moment is only captured on cell phones if at all. Having this moment professionally captured will help you get an authentic reaction when you pop the question. It’ll also be professionally taken and Instagram-worthy. 

2. Less stress planning for the wedding. If you do a surprise proposal shoot, you won’t have to prepare and look into engagement session costs later down the road if you don’t want to. This will be one thing you can cross off your wedding checklist and one less thing to stress about when planning your big day.

3. Multipurpose use of photos. The photos taken at this session can be used on Instagram, as save the dates, and/or as wedding invitations. If you use the photos as part of your invitation or save the date, you’ll be able to get your money’s worth and check another thing off your wedding planning list. 

4. Less stress planning the engagement. If you don’t know how you want to propose to the love of your life, we photographers can help you come up with an incredible, creative, and picture-worthy surprise. We can walk you through any ideas we have done or seen in the past so you don’t have to!