Kim and John met working at a restaurant together when they both lived in Albany. They were apart for a while when John moved to the NYC but of course the call of the city (and perhaps John?) brought Kim to Manhattan shortly thereafter. We met them on a bright and sunny day in NYC for session in Central Park. We love shooting in Central Park because no matter how many times we shoot there it never gets old. There are so many pretty spots then you add in some pretty light and BOOM! you have one amazing engagement session. It didn’t hurt that despite the fact that Albany had already lost all its leaves many weeks before, New York City was still awash in beautiful fall colors.

Once we were done in Central Park we took a cab to Times Square. I am not sure how but even on a Wednesday night in November it was really busy. NYC always manages to live up to its reputation as the city that never sleeps. After a quick outfit change we headed out to brave the cold and get some cute night shots in the center of Times Square. It was a little crowded and crazy but I think the pictures were so worth it.

We hope you are enjoying the last of the 2011 sessions. Check back next year for pictures of Kim and John’s beautiful wedding at Canfield Casino. Canfield is definitely one of our favorite locations in Saratoga Springs and we are so excited to be a part of their wedding day!

Yeah, we had killer awesome light the whole day. Loved it!

The cute couple didn’t hurt things either!

John obviously makes Kim really happy, and we LOVED capturing that.

Gonna get a little dark and moody on this one. I love spots like this in Central Park.

This one is my favorite, and lisa’s favorite too!

Golden awesomeness.

All the leaved had changed, but most hadn’t fallen off yet. Absolute perfection.

This next one was our Facebook teaser. Make sure you like our page if you haven’t already so you can be the first to see their wedding pics! This is the famous Mall in central park. It’s ALWAYS swarming with people. Isn’t it amazing to see it empty? Wonder how we did it? Well, I’m not saying we jumped over any barriers or gates to get this shot, because that would be wrong…

Off to our favorite little spot in Times Square to finish off the night.

So romantic…

Gotta show off the bling to finish it off with our signature shot.

We hope everyone enjoyed these and that you’re all as excited as we are for their Canfield Casino wedding next year! This will also be the last new stuff you’ll see on the blog till after the holidays, so we wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays!

We met Laurie and Joe just three months before their wedding in the lobby of a hotel we were staying in while visiting Manhattan to shoot Kelly and Brian’s engagement session (if you scroll down to the post before this, you can see their wedding!). A month and a half later we were in Manhattan and Astoria, Queens to shoot Laurie and Joe’s awesome engagement session. On the day of the wedding, they opted for a first look which allowed us to give them some private time to see each other for the first time and get all of their pictures done before the wedding, as the sunset ceremony wouldn’t have allowed us time after the wedding.

The ceremony and reception were held at The View on the Hudson, which is located in the cute little town of Piermont, NY, Just across the Tappan Zee Bridge from New York City. After a sweet indoor ceremony in the ballroom, they headed of to their cocktail hour filled with some AMAZING food. Our favorite part of the cocktail hour is seeing all of the interesting food displays and appetizers. Laurie and Joe were able to enjoy their cocktail hour and visit with all of their guest who had come from all over the country to their wedding. After, cocktail hour they entered into their reception and did probably to most beautiful and sophisticated first dance we have seen in a long time. Of course, we had to head outside and do an after dark session lit by the Tappan Zee to close it all out.

Laurie and Joe-Thank you for letting us be a part of your day. We loved getting to explore Piermont and meet your families. It was such a joy to work with you and we hope you enjoy your pictures!

Laurie and Joe got ready at the Pearl River Hilton, which is seriously one of the coolest Hilton hotels we have ever seen.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the hotel…

Time to head over to the View on the Hudson for their first look! Here are a few of Joe hanging out. He claims he wasn’t anxious yet:

And then Laurie showed up…

Yeah, sure, he’s not looking anxious AT ALL here

AND the reveal.

We love getting emotional moments like this during a first look.

Now, a few cool portraits of our Bride and Groom around downtown Piermont (it’s really small, downtown is kinda the whole city). It did have this really cool old steam engine though.

There were some elderly residents nearby that said we HAD to take a photo in the gazebo, so we obliged, but did it with our own style.

A view of the View on the Hudson. No pun intended. OK, maybe a little pun.

We just loved the view overlooking the Hudson, the docks, and the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The ladies:

And the gentlemen:

A little relaxation on the deck before the ceremony:

She was definitely ready to get the party going!

It’s ceremony time!

A nice moment with dad.

Even with the first look, the walk down the aisle was STILL really emotional.

The threat of rain may have moved the ceremony inside, but it certainly didn’t spoil the view.

The bride and bridesmaids had a shot later in the night, and I grabbed this shot of the bartender. I love it, so guess what? I’m posting it.

What’s a Scott Kretschmann wedding without the signature After Dark Session?

I love how they’re silhouetted against the Tappan Zee.

We’re going to finish off with the one you saw first, the facebook teaser. Goodnight everyone!

Welcome back to the second half of Laurie and Joe’s engagement session! We have been hard at work getting their pictures done in time for their wedding next month. After our trip on the subway (as seen in Part 1) we moved on to the place where it all began – a wine bar called Winegasm in Astoria, Queens. The name sounds a little strange but it is seriously the cutest little bar in Astoria. It was here over glasses of wine that Laurie and Joe met and fell in love. E-sessions are so much better when the locations are important and really say something about the couple. It was so wonderful to get to visit the place where they fell in love and share a glass of wine. The staff was really wonderful and they let us take over the place for a little while.

After we finished at the wine bar, we raced to the west village to get some more shots before the oncoming rainstorm hit. It was looking pretty ominous on the radar image on the iPhone, but we decided to chance it. Turns out that the rain beat us. A quick run into the local Walgreens for an umbrella and we got right back to it!  I know that the golden light is beautiful but something about the rain is incredibly romantic. Laurie and Joe were so wonderful and adapted nicely to the change in weather. They got a little wet but it was totally worth it. There is too much to love about the pictures-the colors, the reflections, the romance. As Lisa would say..swoonworthy. The teaser pic from the pier got some rave reviews so we can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the pictures. We are so happy that we had a couple who was so ready and willing to do anything we asked in order to get some great pictures.  Thank you for checking out the blog post and we hope you love these pictures as much as we do!

A little look back at the place they met:

I love this one. Makes me feel like we were peeking in at a genuine moment:

Yeah, the name of the place cracks me up, but I love it!

Then it was off back to Manhattan! We thought we might beat the rain, but we were wrong. Still, we found this pier in the west village – the wet wood made for the perfect reflecting surface and made for some killer images! This next one was our Facebook teaser. Go like our page and see these first!

This picture feels so vintage and romantic in black and white:

I just love how the wood became a mirror in the rain:

It was REALLY windy, and the umbrella turned inside out a couple of times, but I love how it added a little motion to the images. We didn’t even need a fan to give her that super model hair blowing look

Walking through the West Village, we came across one of NYC’s great cobblestone streets. The stones glistened in the rain, and we knew we had to stop and shoot.

This next one is totally one of my favorite images from the session. The kiss, the couple, the cobblestone, the rain, and the vintage black and white. It just came together so perfectly.

On our way back at the end of the day, we walked through the meatpacking district and got a couple of cool shots to finish off the session.

The taxi whizzing by at dusk on the wet streets. Love. We can’t get enough of shooting in NYC with scenes like this.

Thanks so such for checking out the blog, and we really hope you enjoyed the photos! Laurie and Joe, thank you so much for rolling with the punches, getting a little damp…or drenched….and showing us your world. We had a blast and can’t wait to come back downstate for your wedding next month!

Laurie and Joe came to us as a referral from another photographer friend of ours all the way out in California – totally a small world sometimes! They met with us during one of our days shooting down in New York City and we hit it off instantly. We knew right then that working with these two was going to be a blast.  What can we say about Laurie and Joe? They like Super Troopers and they met at a bar called Winegasm. We kid you not. Those two facts explain perfectly why they are our kind of couple. If you hang around us you will find out that we quote Super Troopers on a fairly regular basis so needless to say this turned out to be a fun engagement session. Laurie and Joe picked some great locations that were not only personal to them but had a little bit of a New York City flare. Add in a couple of funny people, some great movie quotes, and you have the makings of an amazing engagement session.

Laurie wanted to take some pictures on the subway so Lisa did a lot of research and found the coolest subway station ever. Seriously. It had a long brushed metal wall that just begged to be photographed. It was the perfect way to begin the session and we created some amazing shots. We moved into the subway and even though it was ridiculously hot, Laurie and Joe were still laughing and having a good time. We even managed to get an empty subway car for a few minutes to get some cool photos. We love those random, lucky moments that can only happen in NYC.

We hope you enjoy this first blog post from our time in New York City and that you have as much fun looking at them as we had taking them. Stay tuned for part two, when we head off to their home borough of Queens, coming soon! For now, enjoy part one!

Yeah, this wall by the subway station made the coolest backdrop. We totally need a wall like this.

We normally finish off a session with our signature shot. Today we feel like starting off with it! Never hurts to switch things up a bit and keep it fresh.

Laurie didn’t need much time to get warmed up to start working it for the camera.

Gotta love a classic and romantic black and white:

Is there anything not to love about the picture-the colors, the cool wall, the adorable couple?

Time to head down into the subway! I love combining the grittiness of the NYC subways with a hot couple.

We were lucky enough to find a completely empty subway car in the middle of the afternoon. Normally you need to be shooting in the early morning hours to find that!

This next one just screams NYC to me:

We hope you enjoyed part 1, be sure to come back tomorrow for Part 2, from Astoria, Queens and the West Village / Meatpacking District!

Hope everyone is ready for the Part 2 of Kelly and Brian’s HOT New York City E-session. Yesterday, we showed off some shots from the Meatpacking District and the Brooklyn Bridge. We’re really thrilled with the awesome shots we got there, and as much fun as we had, it only got better from there. Once we finished on the Brooklyn Bridge, we walked back to their place in the Financial District to go spend a little time with their puppy Georgia. She was totally loving us and was seriously one of the happiest and sweetest dogs we’ve worked with, and there have been a LOT of furry friends in our recent engagement sessions! After taking Georgia for a walk, we headed up to their rooftop deck to catch the sunset. There are few things out there as cool as a rooftop in New York City, so we absolutely had to shoot there, and the sunset didn’t disappoint.

After the sun set, we headed down to the seaport to grab a bite to eat. One of the things we love about hanging out with Kelly and Brian is they always know the best places to go, and they make pretty incredible dinner companions as well! We ate at the cutest little New Zealand restaurant (apparently, New Zealandish isn’t a word, so I have no proper adjective to describe it), and then headed back into town for some night pictures, where else but the iconic Times Square. That place is like a photographers dream, because it really is lit up like daytime even late at night. We absolutely got some of our favorite engagement shots ever there, and we really want to show some off, so here they are!

A little walk with Georgia through the Financial District:

Such a cute little family:

Off to their rooftop! Yeah, it was a pretty killer view there:

Sunset on an NYC rooftop? Yes please!!!

A classic Lisa shot – so close and intimate. Love it!

All right, taking a break from all the romance for a Mom approved portrait:

These two are just adorable together:

So cute:

We had about 5 minutes of the most killer sunset EVER:

OK, dinner break, and then it was time to head uptown to Times Square. Gotta catch a cab!

One of my favorites! This is so the NYC shot we’ve been dying to get:

You may have seen this as the teaser on our Facebook page. My favorite from the session.

These two just worked it for the camera, and the scene behind them? To die for!

One more for Mom!

Time for these two lovebirds to bid us farewell and head home. We can’t wait till their wedding in September!

Thanks everyone for stopping by, and check back in a couple of months for their wedding from the Crooked Lake House in Averill Park. With these two, it’s gonna be amazing, trust us. You’re going to want to see it.

Sometimes, you meet a couple who just exude sheer joy when they’re around each other. Their smiles beam and it’s impossible for them to hide their love for each other. Kelly and Brian are exactly that couple. We loved this couple the instant we met them, and we totally have a blast every time we’re around them. That, and they always take us to the greatest spots on NYC to eat, so that’s pretty awesome too! These two will be getting married this September at the Crooked Lake House, but they live in a killer place in the financial district in NYC, so we headed down there to shoot them in the city they love. Kelly and Brian were totally awesome in front of the camera (doesn’t hurt that they are a GREAT looking couple) and they were so awesome and patient with us, and even went along with all our crazy ideas. We totally appreciate that, by the way!

We originally wanted to start the shoot in the West Village, where they used to live, but unfortunately we didn’t realize that the Pride Festival would be going on that day all around out shooting location, so we decided to hit up the Meatpacking District and the High Line Park instead. After walking the High Line and having some fun with the cobblestone streets and graffiti in the Meatpacking District, we headed over to the ever so iconic Brooklyn Bridge. This place is a must have for all our NYC couples it seems, and I can see why – it always makes for a gorgeous backdrop. We later headed back to their killer rooftop in the Financial District and the off to Times Square, but that will be saved for Part 2 of this session! For now, just enjoy some of the hotness that was Kelly and Brian’s session!

Off to the High Line:

Kelly is always laughing or smiling. Love it!

A walk above the bustling city below:

Yeah, we love cobblestone streets, and these two totally rocked it!

Totally having fun:

And then, the sun came out from behind a cloud for that PERFECT moment:

We love shooting in the Meatpacking District because it is so full of cool graffiti and fun murals.

Hotness:

Off to the Brooklyn Bridge:

You just can’t take a bad shot with this couple and this killer location!

Of course, anytime we shoot at the Brooklyn Bridge, we have to do the bridge signature shot!

These next three are some of my absolute favorites. First, black and white:

Or do you like them better in color?

Personally, I prefer the close-up. Such gorgeous light!

SO many people out that day, but we made it look like they had the bridge all to themselves!

That’s all for now, but stay tuned, we have even HOTTER stuff from this session coming your way in part 2, with some gorgeous rooftop sunset pics, and then we hit times square after dark. You don’t want to miss it, trust me!

We’re done with editing Colleen and Scott’s engagement photos and are really excited to show them off to you! These two Boston residents met while they both lived in Brooklyn, and while we will be traveling to Boston to shoot their wedding this fall at Glen Magna Farms, they really wanted to have their engagement session in the city where they first fell in love. Brooklyn is always an incredible place to shoot. We started around the brownstones in Brooklyn Heights, hit up the promenade, Brooklyn Bridge Park, got some cool shots on the bridge, and finished off with our favorite sunset view of the manhattan skyline at the fulton ferry landing. Check out this slideshow for some of our favorite shots, and follow the link afterwards to see the entire gallery! Don’t forget to turn your volume up and watch it in full screen mode!