I took three things away from Dana and Nick’s glorious Chicago summer morning engagement session….

Every now and again I’ll get to a shoot location and be completely bowled over by how perfect everything is: the lighting, the way the gray sky seems to melt into a pale lake as fresh pools reflect the seagulls overhead. A calm, dark forest that is straight out of an enchanted Grimms Fairy Tale (minus all of the awful stuff, obviously!).

The morning of Brian and Kelsey’s engagement session was definitely such an occasion.

I met this wonderful pair on St. Paddy’s day downtown (one day post parade so it wasn’t the green apocalypse you may be imagining) and the sun seemed to be shining just for them. Having both grown up in the Chicago area, they wanted their engagement session backdrop to be representative of the backdrop to their love story. Sweeping skylines, dazzlingly blue skies and the shimmering waves of Lake Michigan lent even more beauty to this shoot. Scroll on down to check out some of the magic!

On an EXTREMELY  hot July afternoon, I spent an hour or so strolling along Chicago’s beautiful shoreline with Shannon and Matt during their engagement session. Because we are warriors!

Shannon and Matt (who are every bit as sweet as they are gorgeous, by the way. Sometimes the lord gives with both hands, I tell ya!) …