When I met up with Ali and Alex for their engagement session, they seemed just a bit nervous - totally understandable! It's not every day you go out your loved one for a professional photo session! We met at Heinz Chapel, since that's where their wedding ceremony would take place, but the sun was really high at the time and was shining brightly on the red doors of the building. Not a problem.. I would figure out a solution!
I decided, first, to take them over to the large area in front of the PITT Student Union Building, since it is a great location for photos with lots of space to move and really pretty light! We photographed them a bit in this space and became more comfortable in front of the camera. This was also a great place to showcase a bit of the University without it being directly in front of the Cathedral of Learning. The Student Union veranda showcases the Quad behind it and the vast outdoor spaces of the campus - perfect for the start of their engagement photos!
Knowing that they wanted to include the red doors of Heinz Chapel in their engagement pictures, I then made the executive decision to ... NOT shoot there! Ha! But it's OK! The Stephen Foster Memorial Building, right around the bend from Heinz Chapel, faces a different direction and also has the same matching red doors. It was the perfect solution! Now you know - if the light is too bright at Heinz Chapel, or there is an event taking place at the church building, just swing around to the Stephen Foster building and you will get the same look! Bonus? There are not as many stairs, so as their engagement photographer I could be on a similar level as them for the pictures. The light was gorgeous in this setting, and so we created the beautiful photo you see included here!
After a lot of their engagement photos on PITT campus, we decided for a change of scenery and drove right down the street to the Cafe at the Phipps Visitors Center. In this area, they were dressed more casually and we walked down the little cobblestone street to capture the last of their session in the late evening sun.
Location: 4301 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
