Carolyn and Ben signed up for the downtown Boulder engagement shoot extravaganza. We started off properly with a pint at Conners. :>)
This entire shoot was performed within a one and a half block radius of the Steve Z Photography downtown studio! I’m psyched to have such cool locations at my disposal. Locals will recognize these lines as the curves of The Bandshell in Boulder Civic Park.
Across the street at the Dushanbe Tea House there was a wedding reception taking place. That didn’t stop us from borrowing the roses for a couple shots.
I really like laughing. Ben, I’m not really sure where you pulled this out of, but it makes me laugh every time I see it!
By this point in the shoot we were developing a powerful hunger. Fortunately, the Draft House was serving 50 cent wings. After some refueling, we were properly motivated to take some cool nighttime portraits in the alley around the corner.
Engagement shoots are so much fun! Getting to know awesome clients like these guys, mixing some social time with some creative photography . . . it doesn’t get much better than this. Thanks guys, I’m looking forward to the wedding!
My most recent engagement session was with Lauren and Rich. We met up at the Denver Millennium Bridge, which connects the Highlands to LoDo and the 16th Street Mall. Interestingly, the bridge is the first bridge of it’s kind ever built!
We had such a gorgeous day! After a few warm up photos, we stopped for a couple pints to chat about the plans for the big day. Not that they needed much warming up, as you can tell by the playful photo above! The shadows were my idea, but the pose was all them!
At the other end of the Bridge is Commons Park. There is a cool stone sculpture structure thingy there. Sitting down inside the walkway, we took some more intimate portraits. We decided to move on after almost getting run over by some skateboarders.
We arranged the shoot to occur in the early evening, and we were blessed with some magical light in the golden hour.
But as the sun set behind the buildings, we just kept on shooting. Lauren and Rich were a great couple to hang out with and willing subjects for all my crazy compositions. This fence made out of skis caught my eye.
We wound things up were they began, on the bridge over I-25. Because there is nothing more romantic than wire fence and headlights. Haha. Tune in again soon, lots more engagement portrait sessions coming soon!
Welcome to the third and final episode of the Kara and Jacob Wedding Photo Trilogy. The first shoot was the snowy engagement session in Boulder, the second was their wedding at The Grand Hyatt in Denver, and finally we have the shoot to rule them all! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more fantabulous, we are coming back at you with a fantastical, epic Sport The Dress™ lifestyle, action, portrait session from the Arapahoe Basin ski resort in Summit County Colorado.
Our happy couple is WAY into skiing. Like in the that Colorado ski/party lifestyle kinda way. Jacob even managed to sneak in a surprise proposal at this very ski resort. Last season Jacob brought Kara into this grove of trees, and started taking his skis off. Kara was totally confused, and she was like, “Um, why are we stopping here?” Usually people stop in the trees for ‘other’ reasons, but on that day, it was to make history.
After some posing, reminiscing, and scenic shots, we got busy with some epic action shots! I was skiing with my 2 strobe RadioPopper setup on a light stand so that I could really make the subjects pop from the background. We were treated with an awesome bluebird spring day in the mountains, but as you know that means extremely bright sun and harsh shadows. So I was blasting the strobes to overpower the sun. No worries about anyone getting blinded, sunglasses are mandatory up there this time of year.
After some warming up on the easy stuff, we headed up to our main attraction, the West Wall cornice. What can I say, Kara is a stud! Cornice dropping at 12,500 feet in a wedding dress!
The day was super fun, and we took a lot of shots on a lot of terrain. Tried and true ski activities such as catching air, bashing moguls, and bombing the groomers were all part of the itinerary. The couple always has fun, as they are the Rock Stars of the day and are getting cheers from the lifts all day long!
And when you live the skier lifestyle, and you have a once in a lifetime ski day in your wedding dress, there is only one way to finish off your day. Vodka shots from the Shot-Ski! Party on Kara, Party on Jacob. Steve Out.
Prepare to bathe in the glory of my most marvelous engagement shoot ever! That may sound over the top, but all the credit goes to Emma and Jasper and the fun energy that they put into this shoot. They hung out and watched me roll all over the ground and contorting into weird positions, and never once did they even make fun of me. We got so many winners that I’m going to post way too many, and I still won’t be able to show you all the ones I like.
We set out from my photo studio on a fine spring afternoon to cruise around the side streets and alleys of Boulder, looking for cool locations to shoot artistic compositions. I was filled with fresh new inspiration from my recent photo workshop. Without any particular plan in mind, we were able to uncover new spots like an anthropological expedition. Not too many people have probably ever seen this old wall mural, I know I’ve never noticed it before, as it’s hidden behind some very old trees!
Most of these shots were lit using my DIY beauty dish mounted on a light stand. I always try to keep my lighting subtle, so that you can barely tell that I’m even using it. Some people say, “I could have gotten that shot with natural light!” Hmmm. Maybe. But the illumination of the leaves behind the couple, and the accent light on the sides of their faces that separates them from the background really makes this next shot for me.
And now the fun begins! I don’t remember exactly how the subject of handstands came up. But I managed to figure out a hidden talent of Jasper’s and exploit it to the fullest. Love it!
There is a portion a photo shoot that is for the clients, and their friends and family. These are the safe shots. The traditional smiling at the camera, the capturing of the love the couple has for each other . . . then we have the shots for me! The shots for me are the ones where I try to push my creativity, and to express my quirky sense of humor. I crack myself up! So laugh with (at?) me while you enjoy the next 3 shots, taken with the funniest lens ever, the 45mm tilt-shift.
At this point the shoot was over, and we were heading back towards the studio, to meet up with Emma and Jasper’s baby boy, Judah. When we arrived, Judah was still half asleep from his nap, and hungry to boot. He wasn’t feeling quite up to his full baby modeling potential, I’m quite certain. Undaunted, I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get a few shots of the whole family. Because sometimes I take shots for grandparents as well. :>)
