Downtown Wichita, Kansas had the perfect backdrop for the vision MaktographyMK, a five-star rated Wedding Photographer in Wichita, KS, and her clients had. They wanted chic downtown photos that expressed their love in a way that was classy, but fun and a little spontaneous. Scroll down to collect outfit ideas, pose inspiration and prompts to help take your engagement session to the next level.
THE ROOFTOP
A photo on the rooftop (in this case a parking garage) with the beautiful city in the background, there’s nothing quite like it. It creates a beautiful depth of field, making you both as a couple pop from the image. Ask your photographer if there are any rooftops in the area downtown where you could go to the top and snap a few photos. It doesn’t get much more city than this!
THE CROSSWALK
Hold hands with your partner as you walk to the other side of the street using the crosswalk. Stop in the middle if you have time and do a dip or a kiss. This is the perfect opportunity for a relaxed photo that gives off the beauty of the city and the skyscrapers in the background. This couple chose solid black to pop from all the busyness that comes with the city in the background.
This couple has a fun, relaxed relationship and we wanted to make sure we documented that. The bride-to-be kicked off her shoes and laid down next to her partner for a few romantic shots downtown. Don’t always associate downtown photographs to have to be perfect and “business like”. Have fun with it and think of different ways to express your relationship. My prompt: Lets take some photos that make you feel like we’ve been out since 2 AM dancing the night away. What we came up with was so accurate.
KICK YOUR SHOES OFF
THE LIGHT
The light is one of the most important things when it comes to a photograph. It is what brings a certain “vibe” to the image and impacts skin tones and the overall tone of the photo. Plan with your photographer the time you want to have your photos done based off of the look you’re going for. If you’re wanting more romantic, soft images – definitely choose Golden hour and start an hour or two before sunset. If you’re wanting more light and airy, you can maybe photograph more in the afternoon where there is more light. Blue hour, after sunset, creates a beautiful image as well that gives you some blue tones.
BLURRY
Movement & emotion are what bring a photograph to life. I love mixing in some “blurry” shots to enhance the vibe from the shoot and make it come to life. Having the couple walk toward you, run toward you or even pop some champagne and setting your shutter speed low will ensure you get a little blur and a lot of emotion. This is a must for your next shoot downtown to help enhance the fast paced feel that the city brings!
OUTFITS
When planning for your city engagement shoot, outfits will be a huge factor on the way your photos turn out. Typically, I advise my clients who are wanting downtown photos, to keep their wardrobe simple and avoid patterns. The reason being is that when your outfits are solid, simple and bold, the couple really pops from the busy background. If you choose lots of different colors and patterns, a lot of times the eye gets confused with the busy background and the busy outfits and the clients don’t pop as much from the picture. Solid colors also help create depth in the photo.
THE ARCHITECTURE
The buildings and the history in cities creates the most beautiful backdrop for photos. There are so many different ways light can hit the buildings, helping give the viewer more interest when looking at the photo. Downtown Wichita has beautiful architecture, from large buildings to old churches with big pillars. I loved the neutrals and all the textures this building gave the photo – it complemented their solid, simple outfit choices perfectly.
GET SILLY
Don’t be afraid to get silly in front of the camera. I love to ask my clients to describe themselves, if they could do anything what would they do to describe their relationship. This just provides a safe space for them to let down their guards and …. get silly!
THE DETAILS
Don’t skip the details when thinking about earrings, shoes, etc. Photographers love to get detail shots, or crop in and create a detail photo. They turn out beautifully if thought through correctly. For example, these photos were beautiful with the ring, the nails and the shoes. It set the tone for the chic downtown vibe they were going for. Think about what “vibe” you want, and then think of how you can bring that out not only in your outfits, but your accessories too.
RELAX
Relax your shoulders, your hands and your legs and have fun. There will be photos that won’t turn out, there will be poses that won’t work, and that’s ok. Typically, the photographer is learning and shifting as the session goes too.
For more, check out the website of Wichita Wedding Photographer, MaktographyMK.
Thanks for sharing!