Peter & Ryan {Engaged}

 The first weekend in June, I met up with Peter and Ryan at the Des Moines Art Center rose garden.  It was a beautiful setting to begin their engagement session.  Earlier in the day a big thunderstorm had passed through the area.  Thankfully, by the evening the skies had cleared and it was beautiful. 

It was so much fun working with Peter and Ryan.  Not only are they a beautiful couple, they were great in front of the camera.  Despite jokingly insisting they were both traumatized by having their pictures taken when they were younger, the both did an excellent job of relaxing in front of the camera and enjoying their session. 

After the rose garden, we headed downtown to the sculpture park.  I had never been to the sculpture park in Des Moines before.  It was so enjoyable wandering around it and capturing portraits of Peter and Ryan in the evening light.  I love the "reading man" sculpture.  The sun was setting on the west side of the sculpture which created beautiful lens flare for the portraits.

At the end of the session, we headed across the street to a small parking lot next to a beautiful brick building.  On the opposing side of the parking lot was a grey block building that made for a great background as well.  I love shooting in front of brick walls, the texture and lines help to add movement to an image while not being distracting from the subject.  Also, when shooting down along the wall, it creates a sense of depth as the bricks fade from focus into the distance.