2018 marked my 10th “season” as a Chicago wedding photographer and it was the busiest yet. Book-ended by a pair of New Year’s Eve weddings, I literally went wire-to-wire this year. In between, I shot 22 other weddings and I thought it would be fun to share a few behind the scenes photos.
I often tell couples that we “put the camera where it needs to be.” Hopefully the photos below will shed some light on just how we do that. Sometimes it means balancing on a toilet, sometimes it means putting a remote camera on a balcony for another angle, and sometimes it means carefully wading into a river. You’ll also see that we come prepared to do emergency surgery on bridemaid dresses, practice a first dance, pour champagne for guests and even sweep up the dance floor when a traditional Greek Reception gets wild!
None of this would be possible without more than a little help from my friends. Thanks to assistant Amanda Schwengel for her help on wedding days and on engagement sessions. Thanks to second shooters Jason Brown, Lauren Anderson and Justin Runquist. Thanks to Ruthie Hauge for letting me shoot for her (and capturing me in full NYE garb on the dancefloor). And, of course, thanks to my regular second shooter and Denver Wedding Photographer Justin Edmonds who has flown back and forth from Colorado at insane hours for the past several years in an effort to help deliver the best photos and experience for our couples.
I hope you enjoy looking back on the odd, in-between moments from the past year. After 24 weddings and 187,213 images I’m drinking a Bourbon County Stout and prepping for the 2019 season which starts in less than month!
