Chelsea & Anthony: Kennywood Park & Rose Garden at Renziehausen Engagement Photos

Meet Chelsea & Anthony ❤️ I had the pleasure of taking their engagement photos at Kennywood Park and the Rose Garden at Renziehausen just a few weeks ago!

I have always wanted to take engagement photos at a theme park… so this was a session that I have been looking forward to for quite some time!

If you're from Pittsburgh, you're probably familiar with Kennywood! Chelsea & Anthony met while working as ride operators at Kennywood park a few years ago, so of course for their engagement session, we had to go back to where it all began!

Because the park is closed on Thursdays, we had the whole place to ourselves the evening of their session! It was so much fun to get to revisit all of the places they had frequented early in their relationship, and such a unique experience to get to take photos there!

We also stopped at the Rose Garden at Renziehausen for a few more photos in the glowy evening sunlight. I had never heard of this location before, but it certainly had some beautiful spots for us to work with! I think it worked really well that we paired it with another location, since it’s a bit on the smaller side!

Chelsea & Anthony, I am so excited to photograph your wedding day next year! A huge congratulations to you both on your engagement!!!

Monroeville Community Park Family Photos

Extended family photos are always such a blessing to photograph, knowing how special they will be years down the road! I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family at the Monroeville Community Park on a beautiful day in September.

One of these families I’ve had the privilege of photographing for a few years now, dating all the way back to 2017! Click here to see one of our most recent individual family sessions together at Hartwood Acres Mansion (and click here to see a super cute Mellon Park session from 2017!)

During our time together, we managed to get a group photo with everyone together (only one head swap required, for other photographers out there who might be wondering ;) ) and we were also able to get some photos of each family and couple together, as well as some other combinations. Below is only a small sampling of what we were able to capture!

Some of my favorite photos happened during the more candid part of our session, when the kids were all running around! I’ve learned with family photos that sometimes the best images are the most candid ones, where the kids can just be themselves. ☺️

Thank you again to this family for letting me create these photos for you!

Jackie & Gerald: Book Inspired Pinehall at Eisler Farms Wedding

To Mordor and back, with Jackie & Gerald ❤️

From the green hills of the Shire to the wooded realm of Lothlórien, this wedding felt as if it were a fantasy straight out of the books Jackie & Gerald adore most!

Jackie & Gerald's wedding day at Pinehall at Eisler Farms was nothing short of a fairytale. The two made sure to incorporate so many special details - including their main overarching theme of books! Besides incorporating lots of beautiful vintage books into their decor, this pair incorporated some very subtle nods to one of their favorite series, Lord of the Rings - from signage to walking down the aisle music, to a personal message from Lord Denethor to Gerald (as Jackie's wedding gift to Gerald - the photos of his reaction are in the blog post below and are just the sweetest!).

We absolutely adored getting to spend the day celebrating this sweet, sweet pair! Their genuine hearts & kindness made our jobs so, so easy. We love you two! Congratulations on your wedding day, and on your marriage!

PS - thanks to Nicholas for his knowledge of LOTR, making this blog post possible ;)

PSS - I just have to add how much we LOVE photographing weddings at Pinehall at Eisler Farms! Not only is it a gorgeous venue with so many lovely photo spots, but it’s also located close to home, which is always fun!

Hartwood Acres Mansion Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family with their three little boys a few weeks ago! We wandered around Hartwood Acres Mansion (which is a pretty cool spot to explore as a kid!) and the favorite activity of the boys was trying to open each and every door that led into the mansion - there were a lot! (And spoiler alert - sadly, they were all locked!). It really was a joy to get to photograph this sweet family - enjoy a few of my favorite images from their session!

Aiden H: Pine Richland High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

Aiden is graduating with the Pine Richland class of 2023! He's a football player who loves football, skiing, and golfing, and hopes to study engineering post high school!

Congratulations on your senior year, Aiden, and thanks for the honor of taking your photos!

Armando V: Mars High School Senior Photos in the Strip District

Meet Armando! He is a senior at Mars High School this year graduating with the class of 2023! He hopes to study mechanical engineering post high school and chose one of my favorite city locations for his senior photos... The Strip District! We had so much fun channeling all the city vibes during his senior photos!

Reasons why I love the Strip District for photos: there are a lot of different urban backdrops within a short walking distance! Some are a bit more grungy, some are a bit more polished, but all of them have those city vibes for those looking for that in their photos!

AND there is an amazing view of the city at a nearby parking garage… probably my favorite view of the city for photos!

Congrats on your senior year Armando!

Julia N: Pine Richland Senior High School Photos at Hartwood Acres

Julia is a senior at Pine Richland with the class of 2023, and she started her senior year on the day of her senior session… Talk about perfect timing! She hopes to study psychology post high school, and brought her adorable pup Miles along with her to jump in a few photos... he was such a cutie!

Congratulations on your senior year, Julia!

Sreyashi M: Pine Richland High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

August 2022 was a month FULL of senior sessions (which just so happen to be my favorite!). And out of all of the sessions I photographed, about 75% of them took place at one of my favorite locations… Hartwood Acres Mansion! Which, you probably know by now, is one of my favorite spots!

And one of the lovely seniors graduating with the class of 2023 who I had the privilege of photographing there was the sweet Sreyashi! She came SO prepared with three gorgeous outfits and so much joy!

Sreyashi is a Pine Richland senior who is involved in many extracurricular activities - including dance (note the pointe shoes we incorporated into some of her photos!) and speech & debate!

One of my favorite conversations I had with Sreyashi during her session was about her involvement in her school’s speech and debate. I am not a huge fan of public speaking, so I was curious if she had sought out an opportunity to be a part of the program because she enjoyed speaking in front of people. When I asked her about this, she told me that while she didn’t like it at first, after being involved on her speech and debate team for a little while, she learned to love it. And that is a simple, yet profound lesson that spoke right to my heart!

Sreyashi, congratulations on your senior year, and thank you so much for the honor of taking these photos for you & your sweet family!

Alexis H: Seneca Valley High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

It was such a joy to get to photograph Alexis around Hartwood in August! We had a lovely garden full of butterflies (that let us get oh-so close!!), beautiful light, and some fun & personal props to incorporate into her photos during our time together!

One of my favorite props Alexis brought was a sash representing the meshing of her Filipino and American cultures. It was such a sweet personal sentiment! She also brought a cute “Class of 2023) sign from Etsy, as well as a beautiful color guard flag!

After high school, Alexis plans on going into the medical field. She is in color guard and loves being a part of her school's musicals! And is just all around so sweet!

Congratulations on your senior year, Alexis!

Kyra H: Mars Area High School Senior Photos at Hartwood Acres

Kyra is a Mars high school senior who chose the lovely location of Hartwood Acres Mansion for her senior photos!

Kyra is also a dancer, a Chinese/Japanese food lover, and was such a joy to spend the evening with. I had the honor of photographing her brother Luke’s senior photos a few years ago (click here to see his session!), and it was such a joy to get to work with this family again!

Congratulations on your senior year, Kyra!