Engagement Portraits | Shell Bailey Photography

Nov

Pittsburgh Library Engagement Session | Amanda & Lee

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 0 Comments / November 11, 2013

I’ve been shooting a lot of portraits in Oakland this year! It’s always a popular location for couples who attended college or grad school in the area. In this case, it was a natural choice for Amanda and Lee, who are Pitt alumni. Amanda even gave campus tours during her time there, so of course they know a lot of the pretty corners of Oakland.

My favorite spot, though? Was when they suggested the Carnegie Library. I’ve been going to that library since I was a child and, as a bookworm, it was naturally a place of magic for me. Pausing in the stairwells, creeping through the stacks, all these places that have have been a dream for me to shoot in- and Amanda & Lee were just as excited as I was. Literary engagement sessions! I can’t tell you how excited I get about things like that. :)

My personal geekiness aside- I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad picture of Amanda & Lee. Their smiles are bright and easy and they are every bit as kind as they seem. They’re getting married next month at Heinz Chapel and the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, I’m so looking forward to heir lovely fall wedding.

Sep

Pittsburgh Strip District Engagement | Ashley and Nathan

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 0 Comments / September 30, 2013

Ashley & Nathan chose to do their engagement sessions in the Pittsburgh Strip district for a more urban feel. I honestly love shooting in the city, with the fantastic old buildings and yellow bridges, it’s a whole different feel than it is in the suburbs. And points to Ashley for choosing a fantastic outfit to go with that- bright yellows and oranges pretty much always look amazing against the brick and architecture. The strip ended up being even busier than anticipated, so we worked around the cars and found cool doorways and loading docks and the underneath of bridges. And these two are just adorable together, so fun day of shooting overall. :)

Ashley & Nathan are getting married north of Pittsburgh in just a few short weeks! An October wedding with little touches of Halloween (so of course we had to shoot outside of the costume shop, as well.)

Sep

North Shore Engagement | Breanna & Adam

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 0 Comments / September 20, 2013

Another summery engagement session! We shot down on the North Shore to combine Adam’s love of baseball at PNC Park and Breanna’s family ties with the Duquesne Incline. While we were shooting, Breanna told me about their wedding next year- including having all of the guests make their way from the Heinz Chapel ceremony to the reception at the LeMont by riding the incline. I just love little details like that. :) On top of that, Adam has a wonderfully goofy sense of humor, and Breanna has an amazing sense of style and an adorable style. Totally looking forward to working with them more next year.

Sep

Schenley Park Engagement Session | Megan & Jay

engagement / 0 Comments / September 11, 2013

It’s hard to know where to even start to tell you about Megan & Jay. I just finished their wedding and it was FANTASTIC, but I still need to show you their engagement photos. :) Anyways, I love these two to pieces. The first time I met Megan she offered to buy me a beer, and then we bonded over our slightly more practical views on weddings. She told me about how they met- while stationed in Afghanistan, where they were both working as Air Force Civil Engineers— how’s that for an engagement story? It was great finally getting to meet Jay at the engagement session & watching how utterly right they are together. We explored Schenley Park with their lovely St. Bernard, who is adorable.

(Side note to couples: Yes, you definitely can bring your dog to the engagement session! I get asked this all of the time and I am more than happy to work with pets. Andy and I are both totally dog people, too, and will happily make friends with your puppy while we shoot. Just let me know ahead of time & I do also recommend having an extra pair of hands to watch them while we get some solo portraits.)

Their wedding was at St Paul’s and Soldiers & Sailors, those photos coming soon. :)

Aug

Pittsburgh Engagement Session | Nina & Corey

engagement / 0 Comments / August 9, 2013

I’m not sure what we exactly we talked about that day. About our dogs, probably, and weird wedding traditions, about how Corey likes to pick Nina up just because he can, and math jokes may have featured in there somewhere. What I do know is that we laughed throughout the entire session. These two are just so much fun I can’t even explain, and we have a goofy sense of humor in common. There was lots of Corey picking Nina up & then everyone climbed on things & then Corey picked Nina up some more. Um. They’re kind of adorable. Also, Corey took me to some secret spots on the CMU campus that I’ve never been to before- including rooftop succulent gardens. :) They’re getting married this fall at the Wintergarden at PPG Place.

Also, as a side note- I first met Nina way-back-when, at a wedding I photographed several years ago. Can just I tell you, I love working with referrals from brides? We try to stay in touch, but in this business, I really only get to work with a client once (twice if you count the engagement sessions), unless I do additional portraits later. Which is sad, because my clients? Are so much fun. It’s the best thing in the world when I get to work with friends or family of a couple I’ve already shot for. It’s like reading an epilogue about your favorite characters, or running into old friends from college. So yes, lots of love to Scott & Emily for sending Nina and Corey to me, and to all the other couples that have done the same. <3 Friends of friends are the best thing ever.

Jul

Phipps Engagement | Rachel & John

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 0 Comments / July 15, 2013

Absolutely loved shooting these engagement portraits of Rachel & John at Phipps Conservatory and Schenley Park in Oakland. It may look serene, but they gracefully waded through the crowds, the crazy heat, the children’s festival, and at least one dance recital (what can I say- taking photographs in Pittsburgh is never boring.) & through all that, they kept smiling and teasing each other and looked amazing. There may have even been pushing each other off of benches (but I won’t say who won that battle.) Love their sweetness & humor and I’m so looking forward to their fall wedding.

Jun

Mount Washington Engagement | Kelly & Jeff

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 1 Comment / June 21, 2013

So in truth I’m falling a little behind with my posting. It’s been a fantastic season so far, with lots of driving, and my schedule is starting to transition from engagement sessions to weddings- so the craziness is just beginning! I love shooting this often and being in a different place every weekend.

It wasn’t that long ago that I did Kelly & Jeff’s Mount Washington engagement session, and their wedding in in just a few short weeks! They drove up from Virginia looking beautiful and beachy and I felt bad because it was actually overcast and kind of freezing that day. I told them that just meant they were getting authentic Pittsburgh weather to go with the city skyline… They were brave and we did some shots at the overlooks on Mount Washington then went for a stroll around the Point. Love these two and how adorable they are together.

May

Youngstown Engagement Photography | Stephanie & Kevin

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 1 Comment / May 15, 2013

For Kevin & Stephanie’s engagement photos, we drove to the Fellows Riverside Gardens in Youngstown, OH, near to where they will be getting married this summer. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous and have sweeping fields and cozy nooks spread throughout, so many cute places to shoot there. But while the location was amazing, the weather could have used a little work. Don’t be fooled by their cute springtime clothes- it was forty degrees and sleeting most of the day. But with sweaters and a short break for hot chocolate they withstood the cold! It was totally worth it.

“You’ll have to tell us exactly what to do,” Stephanie says, “we don’t know anything about posing.” But by the end of the session, everyone was laughing and shouting out ideas and saying. “Oh! What if we do this!” We had a spectacular amount of fun. Definitely looking forward to their wedding in July (which, from what Stephanie has told me about it, will be amazing.) In the meantime, a little bit of early springtime love. xx

Jan

Hartwood Acres Engagement Photographer: Dave & Jennie

engagement / lifestyle portraits / 1 Comment / January 16, 2013

Dave and Jennie did something very brave: they specifically asked if their photos could be in the snow. They are having a January winter wedding next year and wanted the save-the-dates to match! So we braved the cold and met up at Hartwood Acres to get some wintry, romantic shots.

I wish I got to do snowy engagement sessions more often! Although I have to say, this may have been the fastest engagement shoot I’ve ever done. It was a race against cold toes and runny noses. (I’m not sure who won, but it was tight at the end.) That was alright, though, because Jennie & Dave are absolutely adorable together, and it was totally worth it.

Jan

Pittsburgh Wedding Photographers | Here’s to 2013

engagement / Weddings / 0 Comments / January 1, 2013

Happy New Year! And many, many congratulations to everyone newly engaged over the holidays!

I’ve been wrapping up the last bits of business from 2012 and just feeling really blessed. Last year had so many amazing weddings and unexpected good moments, and I woke up today to several emails to new opportunities. You know, this is probably silly, but even after several years of business, I still get really excited anytime when people get in touch with me about photography. Really excited. Every single time. I can’t say this any more simply- it’s what I love to do. Taking pictures of people in love just never gets old. So I would just send a huge, heartfelt thank-you to all of the couples who helped make 2012 so fantastic. You’re the best. :D

2013 is going to rock. So is 2014. I’m so excited to work with the wonderful couples I’ve already met and can’t wait to meet the ones I haven’t. :D I do still have dates available for 2013, & am just starting to book into 2014- please contact me if you’re planning your wedding for this year! I’d love to hear from you.

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