With their wedding quickly approaching, Linda and Ryan decided that it would be fun to have some photos of them in their home town of Worcester.  So we got together for a quick engagement portrait session.  We started out at the Union Station, one of my favorite places to take photos.  From there we wandered downtown, my goal being to reach Federal Square, where I knew the little park out front would provide a great backdrop.  Along the way, however, we were sidetracked by an old railroad building, an abandoned car dealership with cool blue walls and broken out windows, and a great little doorway where Linda and Ryan were brave enough to sidestep the doggie poo(at least we hope it came from a dog) and strike a romantic pose.  We finally made it to Federal Square, where the backdrop was just as perfect as I thought it would be.  Then we headed back behind the train station to a warehouse district before settling down at the Kenmore Diner for a coke, and a run through the timeline of their wedding day.  Stay tuned for photos next week of them in decidedly more formal attire!

Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting up with Hilary and Joe for their engagement session at Lars Anderson Park in Brookline, MA.  Lars Anderson is one of my favorite locations for Engagement Portraits, with its rolling green hills, beautiful view of the Boston skyline, really scummy pond, and tons of little nooks and crannies to tuck people into for their photos.  And it was a childhood haunt of Hilary.

Since it was a beautiful day, and lots of people were enjoying the park, we ducked away to a more secluded area to start the photos.  After a few shots on a grassy hill, we headed up to the skating rink, then down around the car museum, where a beat-up old junker (for sale if anyone is interested) caught our eye.  Then we tucked unto a grimy garag-ey corner where the light was awesome, and the scaffolding provided some nice framing.  After that we’d had enough of the grit, and headed into a field of buttercups.  Then it was a trip around the scummy pond and back up to the top of the hill, stopping at a creepy, mostly dead tree along the way.  Hilary and Joe kept things fun the whole time, and I can’t wait for their wedding later this year!

On Sunday, I had the chance to meet up with Paula and Jeremy in Boston for their engagement portrait session. With rain in the forecast, we wanted a location where we could shoot outside, but duck inside should the heavens open. As it happened, we got a little too brave, but I’m getting ahead of myself!

We met in front of Back Bay Station, and walked right to Copley Square. After a few photos in the square, it quickly became evident that, being Memorial Day Weekend, we were going to have a big audience in all of the normal haunts. So we packed up our things, and headed out in search of a quiet corner of the city. As it happens, we found the perfect spot - a quiet little street (ok, an alley) right next to the Christian Science center. It was just what we needed to create beautiful photos.  But it was a little farther off from the covered places we originally chose the city for…as we found out on the walk back, when the clouds couldn’t hold it any longer and let loose on us! Paula and Jeremy never lost their smiles, though…even when dripping wet!

Since their wedding is planned for the lovely Caribbean destination of Aruba in a few weeks, Kelli and Chris wanted to get a few photos around their home town of Charlestown, MA. I love Charlestown, and have been looking for a change to shoot some photos there, so we met in front of the Coldstone Creamery on Sunday afternoon.

From there it was a walk around the Navy Yard that Charlestown is famous for. We began at an old abandoned warehouse, where we hopped the fence on the back side to take advantage of the cool urban decaying backdrop. Then it was on to the Navy Yard itself, where we climbed on the cranes and played with the mops (or are they “swabs” in a Navy Yard?). Next we wandered down to the park on Terry Ring, where we found a great city backdrop. Having our fill of all things naval, we then headed back in the direction of our cars, pausing to have some fun in a highway overpass and at a small neighborhood park that featured a funhouse mirror. It was a blast!

Boston is such a fun place for engagement portraits, because, no matter how often I have been, I can always find new little nooks and crannies that form unique backdrops for a romantic portrait session. And Saturday’s session with Beth and Greg was no exception! With rain threatening throughout the afternoon, we kept looking up in expectation of a soaking. But it held off just long enough for us to get what we wanted.

And what we wanted was to capture the urban feel around the Copley Square area of Boston. We started out at Back Bay Station, circling around to the parking garage and taking the elevator to the top, where we had the place all to ourselves, and a great view of the Pru to boot! From there it was a lap around the Hancock tower, taking advantage of all of the mirrors they were nice enough to put there for us. The it was on to the Boston Public Library, where we checked out the courtyard, but got the best light in the foyer. Since we were so close, it was only natural that we shoul next march on to the Christian Science Center park. Finally, to include some iron and bricks in the photos, we jumped a couple of streets over, and crashed a random Back Bay stranger’s front porch. It was a great time!

When Amanda contacted me to schedule her and Dave’s engagement session, she suggested Lars Anderson Park in Brookline MA as a great location, and she was not wrong! I met the couple at the top of the hill, where the trees were in full color, and the view of the Boston skyline was spectacular. From there we wandered around the property, finding varied locations from beautiful Arbors and abandoned fountains, to crumbling walls, to the classical Temple of Love. I liked it so much, that I took Melanie, Luke, and Ben back the next day!

UPDATE: What was lost, now is found. Thank you to blog reader Dennis Gregorovic, who had the original text on his RSS reader and emailed it to me. This post was lost when Wordpress randomly deleted my last 5 posts this week.

I met Brian at a photography seminar where I had the privilege of sharing a few of my techniques for finding finding unusual locations to create great photographs. Brian, and his business partner Michael, own Reflections Photography in NY and NJ. Over the past year we have stayed in touch, and he even drove up from his home in New York to assist me at a wedding in July. So I was super excited when he told me that he had popped the question, and that they wanted me as their wedding photographer.

Last weekend we met at my office in Framingham for an engagement session. This was my first session in Framingham, and I was excited to use a few of the locations that I’ve driven by for years. We started the session at a parking garage that was empty for the weekend. After taking advantage of the great light in the stairwells and the fun graffiti on the top level, we moved to an old pump house on the reservoir. Then is was a short drive to an old factory building where we found all sorts of nooks and crannies to tuck the happy couple into…including a fun sequence in dirty old car seat tucked away in a corner!

With only a couple of months to go until their New Years Eve wedding, I was excited to have a chance to spend a couple of hours with Kelley and Dennis on, Saturday photographing an engagement session. Since they were looking for more of a rural feel to their photos, we met at Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord, MA. All week the weather had predicted heavy showers for Saturday afternoon, but we decided to chance it…and I’m glad we did! The approaching storm provided beautiful light and a dramatic background to the session.We started out in a field of high grass on a rolling hill, just outside the park, then moved to the site of an old trailer park just inside the boundaries. After climbing all over a freestanding old fireplace in the abandoned trailer park, we finally made it down to the pond.

Since Nicole and Lance are planning a lovely fall beach wedding, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, they decided that a more urban feel to their engagement portraits would be just the ticket. With that in mind we decided to make the arduous trek to the top of Beacon Hill in Boston on Tuesday evening for their session. After meeting in front of the State House, and waving at the governor, we dove into the red bricked, purple glassed jungle looking for all of the little nooks and crannies that one of the oldest part of the city had to offer. A couple of hours later, we found ourselves on the banks of the Charles river, where we enjoyed the lovely sunset.

Anita and Sujit are currently planning their wedding from opposite ends of the country, making the time they spend together extra special. I was lucky enough to be included in some of their together time when we met for an engagement portrait session Sunday afternoon at Harvard Business School. Though they’d done their undergraduate work at rival colleges, they both ended up at HBS, where they found much more than a great education when they met each other!

They came to the shoot with a couple of really fun ideas. First off, they wanted to show off their rival school spirit. So we started at Harvard Stadium, with them each proclaiming the superiority of their Alma mater, while wearing the school colors. Then we moved on to the classroom they reserved for some “school days” fun. Finally we moved on to the Harvard footbridge to catch the perfect sunset.

Jamie Wexler
www.jamisonwexler.com