Fun Wedding Photos at Hobart Lakefront Park

Chris and Candy did something unique for their wedding photos - an all day modeling session!!  My assistant and I met them at the Hobart Lakefront Park where we kicked things off with a first look for the bride groom.

Our bride Candy arrived as I had the groom facing the other direction leaning against one of the many trees of the Hobart park.  I slowly had them turn toward each other and simply captured the candid moment between the two soon to be newlyweds.

The groom was sporting some specially made wedding Chuck Taylor All Stars from Converse.  Cx2 is stenciled in the side.  Very cool and modern wedding attire for sure.

Because this is a fun loving couple and I like to have them do silly things if they are up for it, some chasing of geese was in order and a couple of little boys out fishing stood in shock and amazement as the tuxedo clad groom and the woman in the white dress came barrelling toward them.  Good times...

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More fun ensued with some bride and groom fishing shots.  See, I have found that if you approach the general public (fishermen in this case) with a bride and groom on hand, they will pretty much stop what they are doing immediately.  Often, they will let you use whatever they have for props with no questions asked.

Our bride Candy had been passing by this old barn house for months and wanted a wedding photo against the grungy white textures of the buliding.  Neither her, nor myself were able to contact the owner before the wedding date so we just gave it a try and dropped in.  As fate would have it, he showed up right when we did.  He looked a little puzzled and remarked that the barn was in rough shape and that there were better ones around.  "No sir, we like this one.  The more grungy, the better."  We ended up with one of my favorite images of the day right here...

We used the open Indiana fields for our natural backdrop as well.  It was a bright sun that day and we ended up with this sunburst bridal portrait.

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Throughout the day we went back and forth between classic wedding photos such as this one of the couple softly kissing on the path in the park with flags waving in the background to our "tired bride" photograph on the public bench overlooking Lake George.

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Another of our stops in Hobart was the iconic white building that is Grace Lutheran Church just off of Route 51.

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Chris and Candy enjoyed skipping toward this Chapel of love in south Hobart, Indiana.

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We also had the opportunity to capture some tender close up moments such as this eskimo kiss between the two lovers.

We did a lot of walking, but we also had a lot of laughs for these fun wedding photos at the Hobart Lakefront as well as Deep River Park in Valparaiso.

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There wasn't even any music playing as the newlyweds did a happy dance across the bridge....

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We were even able to turn day into night for this sun flared photo of the bride in silhouette.

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You may have seen the large graffiti wall in the back alleyway of the Main St. shops in downtown Hobart.  A great way to show off the unique wedding shoes of the bride and groom....

Let's close out today's post with a couple of wedding photos taken at Deep River Park in Valparaiso...

I hope you have enjoyed these fun wedding photos with Chris and Candy at the Hobart Lakefront Park.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  

The Shrine of Christ's Passion Wedding Photos

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For Stacey and Steve's Spring wedding we took our formal wedding photos at The Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, Indiana.  This internationally known tourist attraction sits just in front of the new St. John the Evangelist Church.  It's a unique location for wedding photos and we were able to give the appearance of a mountainous area as seen in the photo of our bride facing the large duplicate of Jesus' cross.

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One of the couple's favorite wedding photos was this casual stroll amongst the greenery of The Shrine of Christ's Passion walkway.

I knew that Stacey was a big fan of selective color shots from their engagement session the previous year.  The groom instinctively helped his bride hold onto the bouquet of flowers while they embraced closely together.

The wedding party patiently waited for our couple's session to end and we gathered them all around the circular drive of the spectacular new church.

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Here is another one of my favorites with the bride and groom at the bottom of the hilltop with the church illuminated in the background.

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Below is one of my designed wedding images.  This is one I call the Love Story Canvas Wrap.  It's 20x24 sized wall print that wraps around wood and comes with a saw tooth hanger for immediate hanging.  All of our packages are digital, but still nothing beats a spectacular looking wall print.

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Finally we have the wonderful couple waving to all of their family and friends in this vintage looking wedding photo.  To see more of Stacey and Steve's Catholic wedding ceremony, visit this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Beautiful Brides

When you photograph as many weddings as I do, you can get into dangerous territory when you entitle a Journal post "beautiful brides" and leave out some of your clients.  So let me say right away, I don't think there as been anyone that I have found to NOT be a beautiful bride.  However, I don't have the space to have everyone's image here.  Plus, I chose a few of these shots to make some points on photography.  So here goes...

I remember walking with Rebecca at the front entrance of the Marquette Park Pavillion just before her and Jack's entrance to their reception.  I saw the tornado like skies with the dramatic looking clouds and though it would make a great shot with her contemplating her big day and holding her exotic and colorful bouquet of flowers.  It's one of my favorite beautiful bride photos and one that is featured in the banner of this website.

This photo of Megan in black and white with her flowers in color was actually taken during her ceremony in front of the old Crown Point Courthouse in downtown.  Her officiator was quite colorful and I cropped in tight to catch her laughing and to isolate her against the brick.  Again, a beautiful, soft bride against the gritty brick - a great contrast I think.

This bridal photo of Terra was taken just before her ceremony was to begin at her church in Sawyer, Michigan.  I liked that my softbox reflected against the inner metal of the piano and that she looked so calm and relaxed.  I thought it was a bit different and unique, yet very simple for a bridal photo.  She agreed and it is featured large in her wedding album.

Last year, Jackie and Brandon and their wedding party wandered all around Centennial Park in Munster taking formal wedding photos, some casual and some posed.  We were about to finish up and head to Villa Cesare Banquet Hall when one of her bridesmaids suggested the wood paneled backdrop as a cool looking background.  She had a great eye and we seized the idea and turned it into a unique bridal photo.  The giant shadow is my assistant Leslie protecting our bride from the sun with a large diffuser.  Normally I'd hate that any of our gear showed up in a shot, but this made it quite cool looking.  Many people have complimented this one.

I remember Heather being quite nervous just before her outdoor Fall ceremony at the bandshell by Lake George in Hobart, Indiana.  This sassy looking pose was taken outside of her mom's house right before we took off for downtown Hobart.  I could tell she had a lot on her mind, so I just told her to look into the distance and let us capture her awesome looking dress and great figure.

You can't cover a wedding ceremony at Grant Park in Chicago without capturing the smiling bride against the cityscape.  Brittany is dwarfed by the skyscrapers in the background and makes for another nice contrast to her lovely wedding dress.

I remember Elise's bridesmaid asking / telling me to take an "amazing" shot of her and the bride together.  Well, I don't know if this one is "amazing", but the pure joy of the bride, the great pink dresses and the all around fun are all I need.  I've had this one on some of my business cards as it's one of my favorite wedding photos.

Sometimes beauty shows itself during the "getting ready" part of the day.  Krystal's maid of honor is helping with the dress and we got some great natural light coming in from the hotel window for a candid, sexy wedding dress photo.

I remember Stephanie diligently putting on make up by herself when I arrived at Griffith Lutheran Church where she was getting ready for her summer wedding.  I like this one for the pretty smile in the mirror along with the softness of her veil.

Megan's bouquet of flowers with their accent on orange was perfect for her Fall wedding.  We took this in a neighborhood called Ellendale Farms in Crown Point, Indiana. I wanted a soft background to disguise all the homes and to focus on the smiling girl in front of me.  I've used this image as one of my sample wedding prints for quite a awhile now.

I'm looking forward to adding all the 2012 brides to a future beautiful brides post here on the Northwest Indiana Wedding Photographer Journal!! 

Unique Wedding Photos

We are all looking for those unique, special and different wedding photos.  There are many different factors that contribute to making wedding photos unique.  I perused some of my recent images to try to showcase the unique, different, fun, cool, emotional and more.  It's a matter of taste and style and these will not be suited to everyone.  Not every wedding picture can be or needs to be cutting edge.  However, my goal as your wedding photographer is do give you something that the average person who bought a DSLR for Christmas cannot give you.

The image at the beginning of this post and the larger version below is Andrew and Megan in a back alley in downtown Crown Point.  I got together with them (as I do with all my clients) for a meeting to discuss style and the type of wedding photos they were looking for.  I got a sense that they may want a few edgy photographs, something with some sex appeal.  So, in addition to some nice family shots at the park we decided to get away before the reception started for a set of unique, sexy wedding photographs.

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Here are some images that I broke down into categories.  On some of these I provided a larger image that needs to be clicked on for full viewing.  See if any of these styles are for you.  Perhaps you have something in mind that we can create to give you your own unique and different photo.

Composites and Collages

I've studied digital imaging and have the skills to do some pretty cool wedding composites and collages.  This is certainly one way of achieving unique wedding photos.  I always do a few of these for each of my wedding clients.  They really love them and often order them as large wall prints.

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I knew for sure that I was going to do a composite of the skyline for Brittany and Shaun's Chicago wedding. We traveled all around the windy city taking many unique single image photographs that day, but I wanted to have them towering over my favorite big city for something unique that they could hang on their wall and show off on Facebook.

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Zach and Olivia's retro style wedding took place on an Indiana farm in Lowell called Gardens on the Prairie.  It's a different take on the Chicago collage with the sun soaked look that the couple asked for along with a cute close up portrait combined into one image.

Moments

Another factor in unique wedding photography is capturing moments.  Cute kids are unpredictable and you have to be ready with an eagle eye (and fast shutter speed) to capture these fleeting moments.  Here are a few of my most commented on "cute kids at weddings" photographs...

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The cute ring bearer above got a little tired at this outdoor ceremony at Coffee Creek Park in Chesterton, Indiana.  A second later he was and paying attention at mom's urging.  :)  He may have been misbehaving a little, but he gave the family (and me) a wonderful memory to cherish forever.

Gotta give the flower girl equal time!!  As you can tell, I'm not afraid to lay on the ground to get the shot!!!  lol

Another great way to capture candid moments is to sneak in some shots in between the "real" photos.  This was taken while the bride and groom were relaxing in between some posed photos.  So glad I caught this totally natural image of the bride and groom having fun at their wedding in Evansville, Indiana.

Location

Certainly a dramatic location can make for a unique wedding photo.  The spiral staircase at the Chapel of the Resurrection definitely makes for a dramatic image and is one that many clients point to as one of their favorites.

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Tom and Linda took me to White Hawk Country Club to show me the location for their outdoor wedding.  It has a nice golf course there and the natural thing would be to use that as our backdrop, but the couple did not play the sport.  They just loved the beauty of the location.  We decided to go a little further off the course where we found this awesome bridge overlooking a swamp.

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Fun Props

I really loved the fact that Brandi and Gary used these big than you notes for some formal photographs.  It was a nice surprise and sentiment for the family and firends who attended their wedding.  Add in a classic car and you have a unique wedding photo taken at Deep River Park.

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Here is one of the most unique wedding reception photos I have ever taken!!  If you have a cool car, the space, and the legal clearance (lol) to drive a vehicle in during your introduction, I will be all over that photo opportunity!!!  Jay and Rupal drove their convertible Porsche into the Celebrity Ballroom at Radisson in Merrillville just this past Spring.

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Unique Stylings

To achieve a different look for your wedding photos I may try some unique stylings such as a silhouette.  We were fighting with the sun with this particluar shot so i decided to turn off my flash and let the groom fall into silhouette with is bride partially lit by the sunlight.  The beach wedding photos were taken at The Dunes off of Lake Michigan near the Marquette Park Pavillion.

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This next one is the same couple taken on the same beach.  It could actually fall into the "moments" category as it was quite cold and the groom instinctively gave his jacket to his new bride.  I took the shot of them walking toward the water.  You once again cannot see their faces, but the warmth and love in their relationship shines through.

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Unique Poses

People tend to dread being posed as we all remember the school photographer stiffly putting us into place for that dreaded yearbook shot.  It doesn't have to be that way!!  While taking Jackie and Brandon's wedding formals at Centennial Park in Munster we came across this backstage door by the amphitheatre.  We had already gotten all of our classic bride and groom shots so it was time for something different.

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I hope you enjoyed this post and discussion of unique and different wedding photos.  I have plenty more and will post a Part 2 at some point.  Perhaps we can add your wedding photos to that post.  Let's brainstorm some ideas and make some great pictures together!!

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