Though we reside and often work in (a city of 101,000) South Bend, Indiana we do not relegate our work to only this city, area of Michiana (Northwest Indiana- Southwest Michigan border), or state. This is Jenny's hometown (her home of her first 18 years) and we've been back residing here for the past few years. Having been from here, Jenny would commute to South Bend in from Ohio often to photograph weddings and Family Portrait Sessions for clients in South Bend as far back as 9 years ago (especially since her immediate family still lived here at the time), so we've been working at many of these local wedding locations for 9 years. Some of the spots we've been photographing weddings at the longest have been Notre Dame, The Blue Heron, The Woodward Room, various lakes around Southwest Michigan, and various other locations around town. We love that we get to photograph often at the Palais Royale, Morris Inn, Morris Estate, Morris Park Country Club (ALL of the Morrises), barns in Michigan, Amish Acres, lakes around the Midwest, Purdue, Notre Dame, other universities, other country clubs, the Gillespie, Riverside Terrace, Chicago (only a bit over an hour from us), Indianapolis (3 hours from us), etc.
We photograph weddings frequently at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame (often with the Morris Inn, Palais Royale, Morris Park Country Club, The Morris Civic, etc. being reception locations we photograph at after the ceremony). This means that many of our clients come in from out-of-state. We love this! In the past year we've had wedding clients come in for their weddings and Engagement Sessions from 9 states: California, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, & elsewhere hours away in Indiana (and hopefully Massachusetts and Colorado soon in a year)! We love learning about their stories of how they ended up in their new home state, how they happened to meet, things about their city/ state, and if and where they plan on moving post-wedding! Many couples still move to a different state post-ceremony as the wedding marks them moving in together and potentially buying a house, having children, getting new jobs, etc. It's always a blast getting to see these clients in person because they don't often make the long drive or flights out to our city, so it's an honor that we're some of the only people they see and work with while in town (as we capture their Engagement Sessions a year or half year prior to their wedding OR just meet up to discuss and plan the wedding day's schedule/ timeline).
Not ONLY do we get to work with wedding couples and other portrait & event clients from all over the nation, we've also gotten to travel and photograph our clients in a plethora of states such as (but not limited to): California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, ALL over Indiana, (not state, but) Puerto Rico, and other amazing places! Jenny has also traveled to 34 states and 10 countries and often sells canvas art of beautiful nature images of spots around Ireland, the UK, Paris, Bordeaux France, Italy, Peru, etc. Together we've also traveled to and stayed in many states and a couple countries together: 13 states and 2 countries to be exact thus far. Because of this Jason added 2 countries and 12 states to his roster while Jenny got to visit new cities in states that she'd already been to and additionally got to add 5 new states to her roster!
Did we mention that we even got to photograph an Engagement Session on Jenny's birthday as we literally drove all of our belongings with us on our move from California to Michigan, then Indiana...? Because we did and it was a much needed, humid good time with Leif and Laci in Oklahoma! We had stayed at their AirBnB and they happened to need an Engagement Session prior to their upcoming wedding. Not only were they great hosts, but they also introduced us to his parents who made us breakfast across the street at their home! Leif and Laci had an amazing story of having moved from D.C. to Oklahoma to acquire Leif's old mentor's home across the street (in the middle of fields) from his parents. The property has beautiful barns, a great old home, and even the original small home on the property where the original owner and his wife lived. Like this one, most of our couples' stories are so beautiful and varied. Traveling to their state/ home/ city/ country adds even more elements of awe to the experience of getting to partake in such intimate photos and lifelong memories of a couple, family, or individual's life!
Since we're such fans of travel (Alaska in August- whaaat?!) it's no surprise that we've also run our business out of Ohio and California at the start over the past 9 years. Jason hails from California (where we met finishing up MORE formal degrees in professional photography- BFA & MFA) and Jenny had run the business out of her second home city in Ohio (the state she lived in for 7 years- 4 for University degrees at Miami of Ohio and 3 while working as a wedding photographer in the Victorian Village/ Short North of Columbus, Ohio). As a result, we've photographed weddings all over California (literally) as well as Ohio. From weddings at California vineyards to gorgeous outdoor weddings at ranches (surrounded by rolling hills), the beautiful beaches, gorgeous parks, fantastic San Luis Obispo mountains, silent movie theatres, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, etc. we've done it all in California! Unrelated to weddings, we also contracted for years in corporate photo studios in and around Los Angeles photographing products, models in every type of clothing, Senior Portraits, sporting events, and various other things that kept us working non-stop. On top of that we've photographed weddings at some of the best locations around Columbus, Ohio: the North Bank Pavillion on the river, Gorgeous gothic churches in downtown, the Franklin Park Conservatory, St. Francis of Assisi, the Hyatt Regency, etc. The weddings in Ohio weren't relegated to only Columbus, though. The weddings extended all the way down to Cincinnati, Ohio and a bit north of Columbus. There were gorgeous outdoor weddings, weddings at lodges, Christian weddings at their churches, etc. All-in-all it's been quite the wedding experience having gotten to know SO many couples and venues spanning so many states!
With our wedding client couples coming in from 9 states over the past year, us having photographed weddings and Engagement Sessions in 9 other states so far, and with us having run the business out of 4 states so far, we're confident that we can work well anywhere in the world as we have a great grasp on travel + work efficiently and are professionals at it at this point. We're so excited to photograph more clients internationally for their weddings and portraits (for either destination weddings or the weddings of those abroad- we speak a bit of Spanish and Italian!) and nationally in our clients' home states/ cities. We love coordinating it all since we already have a lifetime of experience with booking cost effective flights and lodging AND since we already help set and coordinate the wedding schedule we're pretty organized. We hope to start putting up travel notices soon for the states we'll be heading to (hopefully Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc. this July, then Alaska at the end of August with our pets again being petsat in our home). Nothing's better than combining passions and combining our passion for professional photography and passion for travel is one of the best things ever! We stay within budget at all times (making sure we stick to our regular wedding and portrait pricing while also finding the most cost effective way to travel and lodge- SERIOUS pros at these) and additionally we're professionals believing that this level of service industry requires tact, professionalism, the utmost skill, and dressing to the 9s i.e. not wearing leggings or t-shirts, rather wearing high level appropriate wedding attire.
We can honestly say that it's an honor to work with so many all over our nation and outside of it to capture fantastic portraiture that will last a literal lifetime and more. Our archival prints and other physical photographs (in the form of albums, wall art, etc.) endure the test of time. Even if you don't believe in collecting many material possessions or looking the societal version of "perfect," we truly urge you in this era of digital everything to invest in printed professional portraiture throughout life (a few times to as many as you feel is sufficient) so that future generations can learn about your biggest (or most mundane) moments throughout life. Most portraits were once gorgeously lit in studios with fantastic clothing, yet now we see a surge of sub-par portraiture taken in Walmart t-shirts and horrific lighting with no natural posing. We urge you to invest in a high caliber professional photographer who not only has experience, skill, a studio, studio furniture, physical products, etc., but also has invested in a formal education in Professional Photography. Trends come and go. Only a true higher level professional will love photographing every person equally and will prior scout to find perfect locations for different portraits of the day (if it's outside of their studio), be able to capture flattering images of anyone and make everyone look equally intriguing with the usage of light, will utilize subtle posing techniques (do you see museum paintings where people are not posed well...? No. Not often. There's a reason for this- the painter is educated in flattering human poses), and will have obtained an education + a plethora of experience.
Anywho, we could blither on for days about the historic importance of many forms of photography and the importance of international travel/ learning about people outside of your own bubble, but we'll spare you more reading. Thank you a million to our clients from all over and thank you to you for checking out just some of our work from near and far. We hope to have more international and national clients throughout the upcoming years and the rest of our lives! Remember that when hiring for something important, that you can hire someone more experienced and professional from outside of your area often for less money than someone overcharging in your big city or tourist destination <3 Just saying. We're here (or there or anywhere) for ya!