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Travis’ Favorite Engagement Photos from 2013

Travis’ Favorite Engagement Photos from 2013

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Engagements

Weddings

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Travis’ Favorite Engagement Photos from 2013

Travis’ Favorite Engagement Photos from 2013

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend! - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Travis’ Favorite Engagement Photos from 2013

2013 was one awesome year allowing Uncorked Studios to take engagement photos of amazing couples at some really cool places.  We took photos everywhere from client’s homes to wineries, to even a private airport.  It is hard to believe the awesome people we got to hang out with, and we are always thankful to have the opportunities our clients provide.  So without further “gilding of the lilly” below are my (Travis’) favorite engagement photos of 2013 in no particular order what so ever.

(in no particular order)

Neha & Jithin

Epic cloudy day engagement session at an airport with a beautiful indian couple - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Let’s see….take two world travelers, plus a private airport, and now multiply that with awesome cloud cover.  What do you get?  You get Neha and Jithin’s engagement session.  I love this photo from their engagement session for several reasons.  The first reason being I feel it captures Neha and Jithin’s corporate climbing, “take no prisoners”, world traveling attitude perfectly.  Second, this image is a classic editorial style shot that I love to take.  The plane is beautifully lit while the clouds create an incredible ambience, yet both of these elements do not dwarf Neha and Jithin.

 
 

Kelly & Tom

Wintertime snowy engagement session - blue skies and epic - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

As you read through this blog, you are quickly going to find out I am a sucker for editorial style photos;  I love images with really cool skies.  This image proves that point.  Last holiday season Jen and I went up to Bethlehem, Pa with Tom and Kelly to take engagement photos.  The weather was cold and overcast, when suddenly the sky opened up and produced a breathtaking scene.  So what can I say, I like the photo of a couple incredibly in love with awesome clouds, and historic train tracks in the background (who doesn’t love trains?).

 
 

Nikki & Ryan

Engagement session in the comfort of their own home - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Large editorial shots are fantastic, but more often than not, if you want to find the real emotion between a couple look at the portraits and the close ups.  I love this photo for there was no posing, no large off camera lighting, and nothing to take your attention away from the clear connection between these two.  Your eyes instantly goes to Nikki’s eyes and smile, and slowly moves up to Ryan’s face where you can start to feel the emotion and connection in the image.  This engagement image is simple, clean, and captures the emotion between these “love birds”.  It’s everything an “at at home” portrait should be.

 
 

Molly & Jesse

Skipping rocks at their engagement session at Forbidden Drive, Philadelphia PA - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

I like this image for it really highlights Jesse and Molly’s personalities.  Jesse is a “good ol’ boy” from Georgia who loves being in the outdoors and soaking in the wonder of mother nature.  He loves the outdoors so much, he was playing with snakes during his engagement session.  Molly on the other hand, prefers relaxing over not getting her new shoes wet in the creek, and taking in the world around her.  What could better represent these two, then Jesse skipping stones in a creek while Molly soaks in his southern charm.

 
 

Ashley & Bryan

Soccer Themed Engagement Session

One of the most iconic places to photograph in Philadelphia is the at the Philadelphia Art Museum.  When it comes to “classic” Philadelphia it is hard to beat the beautiful columns and amazing skyline view the art museum yields.  One of the reasons I love this engagement photos is it was taken at the art museum and you wouldn’t even know it.  Since the art museum is so iconic its pretty hard to take a new angle for a photo there and not have everyone guess where you took it.  Also, it was a lot of fun using a wide angle lens to take a pretty stunning portrait of this incredibly fun and active couple.

 
 

Trisha & Bryan

Golden Hour Engagement Session

I love taking photos where the personalities of the couple are portrayed through their image.  We had a great time with Trisha and Bryan at the Manatawny Creek Winery, sampling wine and taking pictures of them throughout the winery.  This is one of my favorite photos from the engagement session because Bryan wanted to recreate how he proposed to Trisha no matter the weather.  I enjoy how the image highlights their passion for skiing, and each other, while capturing their individual personalities.  I also like how the golden and whimsical lighting adds  a fanciful feel the image (considering they are wearing skiing gear in the summer, in a winery).

 
 

Danielle & Matt

Phoenixville Foundry Engagement Session

I probably have said it a hundred times, but I am a sucker for awesome editorial style sky pictures, and this image highlights this in a “nutshell”.  I didn’t notice it at first, but if you look closely in the sky above the cog and tree in the middle of the picture you can see what looks like a phoenix.  No Photoshop ladies and gentleman, just good old natural clouds.  When Danielle and Matt saw this engagement picture, they were the ones which pointed out the mystical bird in the sky and were delighted with the result.  I also remember creating this image for it involved some fun composition techniques.  From Danielle and Matt’s point of view it was me running around with a light, lighting “random” objects as Jen took pictures, but with that “randomness” comes a pretty nifty image.

 
 

Michelle & Jimmy

Sunset Engagement Session - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Picking my favorite image from Michelle and Jimmy’s engagement session was pretty hard.  Jimmy has a really nice Jeep and we took some great photos of the two them in front of his Jeep, but what I like about this image is it highlight just the two of them.  Yes, the Jeep was really cool and provided a nice background/prop but “at the end of the day” an engagement session portrait is really about the couple.  This image highlights that couple in front of an amazing sunset capturing a calm, intimate moment between the two.  This image portrays the love between this couple, while creating a calming sense of awe which draws me to this image again and again.

 
 

Ami & Anthony

Philadelphia Museum of Art Engagement Session

Ami and Anthony love Philadelphia!  Ami might have grown up in Baltimore, and be a Ravens fan, but her heart lies with Anthony and with Philadelphia.  With that being said, what is a better place to take a portrait of two people in love with each other, and Philadelphia, than the Philadelphia Art Museum?  I love this photo because your eyes instantly go to Ami and Anthony.  Even though there is a gorgeous sky, an amazing building, and a beautiful fountain,

 
 

Katelyn & Roberto

Summertime sunset - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

I love this photo because there is so much texture, color, and attitude in this photo.  Your eyes start at the bottom of the photo with the intricate texture of the road, and then travel up to Katelyn and Roberto.  Katelyn and Roberto are bubbly and fun while having a subtle spicy edge to them.  I feel this image captures that spicy attitude all while portraying a cool confidence.  As your eyes continue to move up the image, they are greeted with a fiery summer sunset capturing the mood and flavor of the engagement image.

 
 

Meghan & Brandon

Puppy love and dog walking at their engagement session - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

We love photographing couples with their dogs.  The dogs bring an unpredictable energy to the engagement session while providing great candid moments.  In all honesty, the dogs often bring a sense of calming and help me capture the natural emotion and moments a couple share together during their engagement session.   Meghan and Brandon are a fun loving couple who both brought dogs with them into their relationship.  It was very important to them to have their dogs in their images, and I love this image for its almost like Brandon’s dog is saying, “Hey! He belongs to me!”.

 
 

Lisa & David

Romantic silhouette at dusk - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

I love a good silhouette photo.  Silhouettes allow the viewer to place themselves in the image, allowing the viewer’s mind to transport themselves to this river side and feel the soft warm glow of the orange sun on their skin.  The silhouette strips away all the things in the image which can distract the viewer and forces the viewer to look directly at the subjects and how they subjects are gazing into each other’s eyes.  The beauty of the silhouette is, all of this achieved without seeing the subject’s actual eyes.  I also love how the colors of the sunset are reflected the water mirroring the beautiful yellows and oranges in the sky.

 
 

Catherine & Alex

Close portrait in black and white - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Huge, epic editorial pictures are some of my favorite to take but the emotional and truth captured in a close portrait is remarkable.  Also, I feel black and white images capture, and portray, emotion better than color photos.  Color photos are spectacular however, the black and white image has withstood the test of time and that is because portray the raw emotion of a photo.  Catherine and Alex are in the kind of love where they are constantly making each other laugh, all while sitting in a room and staring into each other’s eyes.  In my opinion, this picture captures the love between Catherine and Alex, and warmly expresses it to the world.

 
 

Kelly & J.J.

Football and Wedding Themed Engagement Session

I love this image for two reasons.  The first being, it was awesome doing a small production shoot in their apartment.  It was fun taking Kelly’s original idea and building upon it until we reached the image you see above.  The second reason I like this image is because it captures their personalties perfectly.  Kelly has been planning her wedding since she could walk and read, and well, J.J. is a die hard Eagles fan who lets nothing get between him and the game.  This image is a bit of an exaggeration of a Sunday afternoon in their household, but my guess is its not as far off as I think…..

 
 

Rachel & Matt

Moody engagement session outside a barn in wine country - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

Rachel and Matt are a wonderful couple who exude a contagious and addicting quiet confidence.  Jen and I had the great opportunity to travel to the quant, yet classy, Quattro Goomba’s winery in Virigina to photograph this calm and cool couple at their engagement session.  On the same grounds as the winery is an antique dealer whose store is located in a modern barn.  We asked if we could use some furniture and I thought it was great using an old wrought iron chair next to a perfect wrapped hay bail.  I love how graceful Rachel is sitting on the bail as if the bail was her living room couch. I love this photo for it demonstrates how this couple is calm, cool, and collected no matter where they are, as long as they have each other.

 
 

Hailey & David

Black and white close portrait being totally in love - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

I said it above and I’ll say it again; when it comes to portraits I love using black and white.  You wouldn’t know it looking at this image, but this picture was taken at the historic and well known 5-Pointz located in New York City.  5-Pointz is an old factory/warehouse which was completely covered in graffiti.  In fact, Jen and I were one of the last (if not the last) professional photographers to take photos at 5-Pointz before it was painted over the day after our engagement shoot.  I love how you can see the subtle, honest, and complete happiness Hailey feels when she is wrapped in David’s arms.

 
 

Luke & Michelle

End of the day engagement session at Ridley Creek State Park - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

The truth is: beauty is in simplicity.  I have said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Often the most elegant and beautiful things are not the most sophisticated, but rather the simple.  I love this image of Luke and Michelle for it exemplifies this principle.  I also love this image for the simple imagery.  Behind the couple are two large trees which have stood fast through the wind and rain, and if you look closely in the canopy of the trees, you can see the trees have grown together.  Now between the trees are a couple, standing firm through their own trials and tribulations, and have also grown together.  The beauty is in the simple representation of a complex and powerful notion.

 
 

Carly & Chris

Cloudy Day Engagement Session with purple sky - © 2013 Uncorked Studios, LLC - Destination & Philadelphia Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

What I love about this photo (besides the awesome sky, reflection on the water, and fantastic love couple) is this was one of the first shots of the day we took.  Often on an engagement shoot, the first set of images aren’t used.  The couple is nervous, they are getting used to how we work, and most of the time the first photos aren’t nearly the best of the session.  However,  Carly and Chris were naturals in front of the camera and were instantly comfortable.  There are only a few better feelings than starting a photo session with a great photo, and being able to “wow” our couples from “square one”.

 
 

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to look at my favorite engagement session images from the past year.  I know I have a tendency to ramble on, so thank you for suffering through my small diatribes.  Jen and I are very excited about what is coming this year in 2014 and are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you!

 

Cheers and Love, Travis

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