Nicole and Marcus Engaged in Syracuse

I have been doing quite a few engagement sessions recently.  Usually, I do most of them later in the year to take advantage of the beautiful Fall colors.  I’m sure that will still be the case, but a few have already happened because of logistics, and people only being in the area for a limited time.  Nicole and Marcus are getting married in January (yes they like the cold weather) so sooner is better than later for them.  Actually, I love their reasoning for a winter wedding.  When they were scouting their reception site the place had a gorgeous fire going in the fireplace and that was all it took.  They wanted to share the warmth and beauty the place had to offer with their guests so winter/fireplace it is.  Honestly though, isn’t that a great reason?

Nicole and Marcus were a lot of fun to shoot.  They both work in the arts and appreciate my style of photography, and both like to wear black.  I don’t know what it is for sure, but when you like to do something and your couple does it too (wearing black) then the compositions just seem to flow more naturally.  That is not to say that I want everyone to wear black, but I do think that it is a great element in a photograph because it blends so well and doesn’t become overpowering.  It allows the viewer to focus on the people more than any other color or pattern.  There are of course times when I prefer bold primary colors (on other people, because I have trouble moving away from black myself, and have lots of beautiful “other color” shirts that never get worn) because they add to the ambient surroundings I am putting them in.  A warm color like red tends to come forward in an image while a cool color like blue recedes.  So an artist can, and does use these colors as tools to draw someone out of an image, or help them blend into it.  Still, on people, I like black.

We hung out in Syracuse on one of the most beautiful days of summer, and strolled around having fun creating images.  At one point a band set up and played where we were photographing, and provided a nice musical accompaniment.  They actually set up, played, tore down, and left while we were still hanging out in the area.  That was kind of strange, but it added a nice touch to what we were doing.  Afterwards, they treated me to an incredible dish of homemade pasta at Pastabilities.  The food was delicious, plus the restaurant has a bakery that makes fresh bread daily.  I highly recommend this place to everyone as another one of my favorite places to eat at in Syracuse.

So, what makes for a great engagement shoot?  Wear black, bring a band, and finish it off with some great homemade pasta.  Just joking of course, these two would have been awesome no matter where we did the shoot.  Thanks again for everything Nicole and Marcus.  I hope you, your families, and friends enjoy the images, and I look forward to your wedding.