I recently photographed Matt and Julie’s engagement connection session here in Chicago, and it ended up being perhaps my favourite engagement connection session I’ve ever shot. Everything seemed to come together, from the lighting (finally good light here in Chicago!) to Matt and Julie’s interaction to the locations. I really felt inspired and energized by this session. We had such a relaxed time shooting, and it reminded me to encourage couples to not just choose a location based on places that are meaningful to you (although that can be important).

I think when shooting in really highly-packed areas, you end up being a little more inhibited, but I took Matt and Julie to some of my secret spots where we literally saw maybe four people the entire time, and as such, I found both of them to be a bit more relaxed and open in front of the camera. We also completely lucked out on some of the circumstances that happened (read on). Matt and Julie are both so stylish, kind and thoughtful, and have such a great aesthetic and eye that I so enjoyed shooting this session and cannot wait for their great June wedding here at a historic mansion just outside Chicago.

As we were strolling, we saw some puppies that caused us to ooh and ahh. As we sat down to take some photographs on steps nearby, the dog’s owner approached us and offered to let us shoot in his sprawling yard. From there, it was quite the adventure. We went up to a lovely roof deck with views of the city, and were then shown two abandoned properties he owns. They were the first to get electricity on the block, were last painted in the 30s and have been abandoned for decades. It was phenomenal and such a nice treat for the session.