Posts tagged Cleveland lifestyle photography | Page 2 of 9 | Columbus Wedding Photographer

Brittany & Phil – A Well-Documented Love Affair

After receiving Brittany’s email, I was left with a feeling of familiarity. Something about her message left me curious with a sense of Déjà vu. I started a quick hunt through my email archive and it didn’t take long to identify the familiar source. I had chatted with Brittany previously when she was planning her wedding. While I didn’t end up capturing her wedding, she had reached out to me once more to capture her first anniversary photos with, now husband, Phil.

I think Brittany & Phil have a truly brilliant plan for their life together. They intend to get professional photographs every year on or around their wedding anniversary. I’m thrilled just to be included as the first photographer in this plan. Honestly, my wife and I believe the same, but are rather lacking with our actual execution. Something tells me this won’t be the case for Brittany & Phil.

So why does this plan make so much sense to me? We say “love affair” when we speak of couples whose connection seems transient. Instead, I like to believe “love affair” should refer to life-long passions tied to your most dear partner. Rather than speaking of a transient connection, “love affair” should speak of deep, smoldering, lasting lives together. “Love affairs” should be the kind of relationship we tell out children about. It shouldn’t be transient or temporary, but instead documented and savored.

So here is a salute to Brittany & Phil’s well-documented love affair. I certainly hope you enjoy the little highlights below from this life well-lived – together.

A summer anniversary session in Cleveland for Brittany and Phil. A summer anniversary session in Cleveland for Brittany and Phil.

Samantha – A High School Senior Session in Downtown Cleveland

I knew Samantha would be wearing traditional Indian clothing for the start of her senior portrait session. While standing in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art, I was on the look out for flowing silk, gold and intense colors. My phone started to ring and it was Samantha on the other line. “We’re here,” she said. I glanced around and didn’t see anyone. “Where exactly are you,” I asked. After some back-and-forth it became clear that we were on opposite sides of the museum.

Every since the finished the massive expansion to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the museum has become more beautiful and more difficult to navigate. I think it’s a fair trade-off, honestly. After a quick run, I met up with Samantha and her mother to start her senior portrait session. I happily do senior portraits whenever I can, but I really don’t market myself as a senior photographer. When someone does ask me to do portraits, I know it’s a blessing. I know they really want my work and none other, for which I am forever thankful. They see my wedding working and can picture themselves within the photos.

And so is the case with Samantha. Definitely read deeper than the traditional clothing you see below. Samantha’s intelligence and maturity runs deeper than almost anyone I have met, whether in or out of her age range. She is amazingly smart – focused mostly on AP classes. She could easily be your next doctor, world leader or famous fashion designer (an admitted passion of hers). But for now, she’s is a high school senior preparing for college.

Below are just a few highlights from our session. I have to say – I’m in love with the intense colors produced by the combination of wardrobe, film and sunset. Enjoy!

High school senior photography session in downtown Cleveland for Samantha High school senior photography session in downtown Cleveland for Samantha

Tesse & Ryan – A Cleveland Maternity Session for a Growing Family

The plan was complex from the beginning – one session to capture the couple, their two dogs, and lets throw in some maternity photos. I absolutely love maternity sessions, and I love furry friends even more. We had all the time we needed, so the complex plan turned out to be easier than I thought. Plus, Tesse and Ryan are absolutely wonderful clients, making for a wonderful day.

When I pulled into their driveway, out came the dogs, filled with energy. And these are not normal dogs. Both are mixes and one is likely part Great Dane. They are big to say the least. They are also sooo sweet. After a little time, they settled down and immediately started to ham it up for the camera. They truly made life nice and simple. A personal favorite is the black and white photo of both dogs sitting next to each other, both with gray chins.

After spending ample time with the furry friends, we headed off to the Cleveland Museum of Art for the maternity portion of the session. Previously, we had caught some rain and had to reschedule our session. However, we could not reschedule it far since Tesse was due imminently. Thankfully, the day turned out to be all sun. Tesse and Ryan really lucked out and got some fantastic autumn weather.

As we walked around the museum campus, we chatted about how they found me, their somewhat recent wedding, food, relatives and a whole lot more. Below are some highlights from this maternity session featuring Tesse, Ryan and their growing family. I certainly hope you enjoy.

A family maternity session for Tesse and Ryan Ruhlman captured in Cleveland A family maternity session for Tesse and Ryan Ruhlman captured in Cleveland

For the technical among us, the above was all shot on a Contax 645 with Fuji 400H film. Except the first frame, which was shot on a Leica M6 with Kodak Portra 160. Developing and scanning was done by my trusty team at Richard Photo Lab.

Tagged: Cleveland lifestyle photography