Category Archives: Engagement

Gwen + Jaime

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I meet my clients in many ways, both common and uncommon. Internet searching falls into the common category. A more uncommon way is to meet them while completing a bicycle tour of Boulder County brewpubs dressed in a costume. Since Gwen and Jaime fall into the latter category, I knew they would be up for both some common and uncommon engagement shoot locations.

At the time of our engagement session, the fall colors were in full swing. I’m a sucker for the changing colors, and made sure to visit a nature setting to get those sweet photos for Mom. But after that, we headed over to a location that I’ve been meaning to use for years, but have never quite remembered to visit. This concrete spillway is a super unique location where I can get creative and capture images with stunning geometric patterns. The stark colors and lines draw me into funky poses, Blue Steel expressions, and fiance shoulder presses.

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Jennifer and David .:. Engagement Photos

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Are you ready to check out some engagement photos taken in downtown Boulder? I know, I know, you’ve been waiting around for weeks and weeks thinking, “When the hell is Steve Z ever going to blog creative and magical downtown Boulder engagement portrait sessions? I mean, I know he’s always busy shoot something or another, but there just aren’t many blog posts coming along, especially ones taken in downtown Boulder that will melt my face off with creativity, lighting, composition, and dead sexy couples who are so in love it makes my own relationship seem inferior. I mean, what, is he going to wait until all the leaves have fallen off the trees so that it is completely obvious how far behind he is on his blogging?”

My answer to that line of thinking is apparently, “Yes.”

I’m thinking that all my summer and fall portrait shoots that haven’t been blogged are going to be looking pretty good when I post them this winter. I mean, I could blog in the summer, when everyone in Boulder is outside doing sports and not blog stalking, and all the other photographers are blog blogging away and oversaturating your Facebook News Feed. I could have done that. But I believe that it will probably be even better for me to blog when it’s mud season and you can’t ride or hike because it’s muddy and windy, and it’s still too early to ski, because then, oh yes then I will have you right where I want you. You will be a captive audience just sitting around bored waiting for something interesting to come along, and then I will hit you up side the head with a blog post filled with fantastical engagement sessions like this one with Jennifer and David. This is a blog post about Jennifer and David, remember? Enjoy Jennifer and David’s engagement photos, because they are super rad and totally deserve to be worshiped.

A couple leans on a yellow wall for engagement photography in Boulder, Colorado

A couple touches fingers, I know, it's weird

A couple kissing on the stairs

Portrait of a couple in front of an ivy covered building

Jennifer and David's Engagement Photography

Engagement Photos don't all have to be serious

Engagement photos at the playground, some serious, some not

Dramatic Engagement Portrait in Boulder as the sun sets over the Flatirons

My favorite part about this last shot is not the kicking sand, the pink toenails, or the backlit foot hair … it is the strobe reflecting off of the inside of David’s mouth.

A couple in bare feet jumps over the photographer

Aubrey and William .:. Engagement

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Shooting photography is like cooking a fabulous meal. Everyone can purchase the same ingredients, but the result varies due to the technique and vision of the creator. Today, we are going to cook up a big bowl of awesome with Aubrey and William’s Denver engagement photography.

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If variety is the spice of life, then I’m addicted to sprinkling diversity on my portrait shoots. Finding new and exciting places day after day in Boulder can be a challenge. I can still find new little nooks and crannies to whet my appetite, but the town just isn’t big enough to be completely satiating. Denver on the other hand, is a trip to the All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet. These brightly colored buildings are absolutely delicious!

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When I’m looking to add spice to a photography shoot, I often reach for the tilt-shift lens. Just like Tabasco, too much will overwhelm your creation, but adding few drops here and there tastes oh so good.

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Sometimes great recipes happen by accident. This was supposed to be just a test shot, but I had forgotten that I had left my Pocketwizard flash trigger on, and the strobe just happened to be pointing at Aubrey. I tried to recreate the shot lighting them both … but the results ultimately just didn’t taste as good as this one. I love being lucky.

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After all this talk about food, we found ourselves ravenously hungry. We decided to take a break and refuel our empty bellies, fully intending to continue gorging ourselves after dark. When the eating is this good, you just find yourself powerless to stop even when you know you’re full.

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I’m often creatively inspired when I’m out and about at night. Sometimes the locations aren’t even new, they just look so different when man-made lighting takes over from the sun. Larimer Square is a great example of a location that would be so-so during the day, but is simply awesome at night. If I combine the ambient overhead lights with creamy bokeh from my Nikon prime lenses, then I’m serving up a bowl of ice cream and chocolate sauce for desert. Rich, sweet, decadent, and completely unnecessary, but a completely satisfying way to wind down an indulgent evening.

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I hope you enjoyed my playful post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you Aubrey and William for a memorable smorgasbord of a photo shoot. After all, this was just the appetizer, and I’m looking forward to the main course at the Red Lion on October 2nd.

Lauren and Michael .:. Engagement

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The one question that I always ask my wedding clients is, “What’s your story?” The sociologist in me loves to hear the different circumstances that have brought couples together, and the path that led them to become engaged. Sometimes, the beginning of the tale is fairly straightforward, such as “We met online” (which I’ve found to be extremely common this year). Other times, the story has all the twists and turns of a Harlequin romance novel. Lauren and Michael first met when they were in high school. Well, Lauren was actually in 8th grade, and Michael visited her middle school as a freshman to speak to the class about transitioning to high school. She immediately caught his eye, which makes perfect sense to me. A year later, he tracked her down, and they began an on and off relationship that continued throughout high school.

During the college years, Lauren and Michael went their separate ways and moved on to different parts of the country. But Michael became best friends with Lauren’s brother, which kept them connected. Eventually, fate prevailed, and our heroes found themselves back in touch in the same town once again. That inexplicable attraction that drew them together as kids once again pulled them back together.

These are the stories that draw me to wedding photography. I love the concepts of fate and romance, even during times of doubt. I tend to find myself involved in non-linear relationships, and it’s always encouraging to meet couples who have overcome differences, distances, and disputes to connect with their soulmate; that special person with the undeniable pull. Congratulations Lauren and Michael; I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

Colorado engagement photography couple in the mountains with a dramatic cloudy sky

Romantic engagement portrait in the grass of Chautauqua Park

Romantic engagement portrait in the backlit grass of Chautauqua Park

Engagement Portraits in the field at Chautauqua Park in Boulder

Lauren and Michael's engagement photos in Boulder Colorado

Engagement Portraits on the rocks overlooking the mountains at sunset at Lost Gulch Overlook in Boulder Colorado

Portraits of a young couple in front of a textured rock covered with lichen

Portrait of a couple watching the sun set over the mountains of the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Boulder Colorado

Engagement Photos on Tennyson Street

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I worked with Karen and Ken to come up with a concept for their engagement photo session that would be unique and memorable. We thought that it would be fun to get some shots at an amusement park, where we would find motion and laughter and some great night shots as well. Lakeside Amusement Park is nearby their Denver home, so we headed on down on an evening after work. I immediately noticed that the giant white wooden wall in the parking lot would make a great backdrop, so we began shooting there. It wasn’t long before we were greeted by a security guy, and sent to the main office to get permission to shoot. Oh, permission. Right. It appears that you can get permission to shoot there … but you can’t photograph on the rides, or capture any aspect of the area that shows how run down it is … oh well, never mind thanks.

Fortunately Karen and Ken are super laid back and have a great sense of humor, so we quickly came up with a Plan B. The Tennyson Street area was the logical choice since they were having their monthly First Friday celebration. We were definitely ready for a glass of wine as this point, so we strolled through a few of the galleries in between shoot locations. I always enjoy checking out local art, as do our couple du jour, since Ken is an artist and painter himself. Another crazy thing that happened was that I wound up running into the Highlands Cruiser Ride, which makes two Denver engagement shoots in a row that I’ve run into Marco!

It was a bit of a rough go there for a while, but things always work out, and I wound up shooting at a new area of Denver where I’ve never been before. Thanks guys for an entertaining Friday evening, and I look forward to your wedding in September.

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