Shang Chen Photography, jetsetting wedding photographer of dynamic couples » 04. Lifestyle

Dale and Rami’s Love Story | Chicago Couples Lifestyle Photography

Shang — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:59 +0000

Dale and Rami’s love story came to my inbox at the right time – Dale is actually a classmate of mine! Dale and Rami met their freshman year at William and Mary. They quickly kindled a friendship and a relationship from there. After college, they had a year of long distance while Rami traveled around the country with One in Four, which is a non-profit dedicated to educating college students on rape prevention, which I thought was pretty cool (the non-profit part, not the long distance part). They worked hard to be together though, and now they’re both together in Chicago. Dale is a second year at Booth like me, while Rami is a lawyer. As Dale puts it: “[we've] basically grown into adults together, and I feel very lucky to have him as my best friend and the one I love :-) ”

I was so happy to collaborate with them on this wintery outdoor shoot in Chicago. I picked out a beautiful, quiet, tranquil spot where we could really be ourselves. They are very comfortable with each other.

Also, the blanket? An excellent choice

I love all the texture we captured on this shoot

I really like natural portraits where I just feel like everyone is at ease and having fun

Yeaaa profile picture :D

Isn’t this tall grass awesome? I really work hard to find stuff like this in the winter… but I can’t wait until the green comes in!

So. Cute.

And, since I had some new equipment come in, of course we had to test some night shots as well!

Thank you guys so much for braving the cold and having fun with me!

Do you live in the San Francisco Bay Area? Do you have an awesome love story? Are you making a difference in the world? Email your story and a photo of you and your other half to be considered for a complimentary Love Story shoot in the spring at shang[at]shangchenphoto.com. All kinds of couples (dating, engaged, married) are welcome!

Shang is a jetsetting wedding photographer for dynamic couples. She captures imagery that pops with color, personality, and energy. Shang believes in taking the time to cultivate a trusting bond between her as a photographer and her clients.
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Allyson and Steve’s Love Story | A Chicago Union Station Session

Shang — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:46 +0000

I love a good love story. Sometimes, I’m moved to photograph a good love story, just because. I picked a few select couples in Chicago whose stories and career passions represented values that I’d always held dear in life, and throughout the next couple of months they’ll serve as people with whom I’ll either warm up my camera fingers prior to weddings or practice on with new techniques. If you live in the San Francisco / northern California bay area and would like to be considered for such a love story shoot in July and beyond, please be sure to remain a member of my Facebook fan page. I plan on making sporadic announcements every now and then looking for someone like you!

Allyson and Steve met while Allyson was attending law school in Atlanta in 2009. Steve was visiting his best undergrad friend. Steve accompanied his friend to Allyson’s house to pick up an item, and Allyson had just gotten a kitten and was showing him off. Allyson and Steve hung out, and Steve extended his stay by a week just to get to know her better. Allyson was trying to discern where to go for her summer internship – her offers came from LA and NYC. Steve lived in Massachusetts at the time. Allyson took the Manhattan offer, and that summer, they traveled by train to see each other. They continued long distance as Allyson had 2 more years of law school. They got engaged over Memorial Day weekend in 2010 in Cape Cod. Allyson was registered to take the bar in California in 2011, and had job offers in California and Chicago. In her words: “the Chicago job was pretty much my dream job (adjunct professor at Loyola Chicago and representing low-income clients through a law school clinic). Steve is incredibly supportive, and adventurous, so a month after we decided to make San Francisco our first home, we switched courses and decided to go for the position in Chicago. Three days after I graduated we drove up to Chicago (with the kitten in tow) and moved into an apartment in Lincoln Park.”

The main reason why I picked this couple to photograph was actually the fact that they had a super-intimate wedding: they got married in DC (where Allyson grew up) in a courthouse wedding with two friends as witnesses. They’d never been photographed professionally together before they met me.

I was super happy Allyson brought a bright yellow cardigan to add color to the photos, as winters in Chicago (and Boston) are notorious for being quite gray. I picked the historic Chicago Union Station building as a setting for their love shoot. It represents the trains they took in their relationship, and is absolutely gorgeous!

Allyson and Steve were so laid back and comfortable with each other. We laughed the entire afternoon

So. Romantic.

Allyson has a heart for representing the under-served low income people of this city. She speaks of her career with so much passion. And it was clear that Steve supported her – he had the great luck of being able to telecommute for his job which is still back in Massachusetts

We caught some beautiful light

Allyson was the more talkative of the two, and we had some fun showing off her style to Steve

Thank you Allyson and Steve for spending a great afternoon with me!

Shang is a wedding photographer known for imagery that pops with color, personality, and energy. She is writing this post while it’s -2 degrees outside in Chicago. Though she doesn’t do many winter photo sessions because it’s a brutal time to photograph in Chicago and the colors are a bit dull, she recommends wearing bright colors and breaking for hot chocolate in between!
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Blair and Josh, After Session at the Arnold Arboretum

Shang — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:09:17 +0000

Due to our super-busy schedules, Blair and Josh (you can read about their Young Isreal wedding here) never got to have an engagement session done with me. However, we did have time to meet up later in the summer for a relaxed, sun-drenched post-wedding shoot! We chose the Arnold Arboretum for its beautiful grounds and many many trees

Having already been married and now together, they are so happy and relaxed with each other

Love how these flowers match Blair’s cardigan

Blair really likes trees. We got some awesome shots with different trees

They also went all in to get this shot in this great patch of wild grass

August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain
November 4 – 6 – Boston

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Two babies and a dog

Shang — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:03:35 +0000

While I was working and traveling in San Francisco earlier this month, I swung by Wendy and Aiden’s to photograph their two children, E and E! Wendy is the older sister of Tammy, one of my dear friends in life and in photography. Tammy missed the birth of the second E literally by hours, otherwise she would have been the one taking these photos. Our schedules worked out, and I came in the early morning before my way to work. The kids weren’t quite awake yet, which was great for me, as I got to spend some quiet time observing the entire family. Major props to Wendy for being a Mom to not only two kids but also a dog (who I love, by the way).

These natural vignettes are my favorite. Little boys really don’t need a lot to dress themselves up.

At the time of this session E was almost 1 month old

I’d never met E #1 until the session but Tammy had shown me so many photos and videos of her. She was every little bit the little cutie I expected her to be

This picture is pretty fun – Mochi (the dog) napping/ignoring what’s going on, E #1 rolling around, E #2 just observing

The gorgeous family!

[lifestyle sessions by Shang Chen Photography are offered on a limited basis to family, friends, past clients, and special circumstances]

August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain
November 4 – 6 – Boston

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Katherine and Will, an Anniversary Shoot

Shang — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:00:24 +0000

As part of the training I’m providing my intern, I took her out on a shoot with Katherine and Will. Some photography instructors bring in models. I never use models, I always use real couples, because face it, the majority of wedding clients are not models. Katherine and Will are personal friends of mine – in fact, I’ve known Will since high school and he’s great at keeping in touch with people. They got married last May. Unfortunately I was vacationing in Istanbul (amazing place) and could not photograph their wedding, so we made this shoot into an anniversary shoot!

For most of this shoot Amy directed while I watched and gave pointers on lighting and posing. However, every now and then I’d come in and try some ideas of my own, the majority of the images I present here were the result of that. For example, Katherine requested especially that I do my sun flare photo, and some reflections, amongst other things.

Amy goes all the way to commit to the shot!

I really like the color that they brought in with their clothing. They fit right into what they wore. Comfortable, relaxed, being yourself, that’s what I emphasize in any photo session with me

Will is a pretty quiet person, but when he’s around Katherine, their interactions immediately light up

I think there’s a lot of value in anniversary photographs. It’s a way to celebrate your journeys together. I’ve photographed anniversary sessions in the past with couples who’ve been married 5 or 10 years, and there’s a deeper growth and understanding that comes from having been married

Sun flare! :D

Reflection! Also another thing I’m learning to do more of

As I’m a little past mid-wedding-season right now, I’ve taken some time to critically review my photographs and see where I stand. I’ve found that though I’ve learned a bit more classical posing earlier in July from the Jerry Ghionis workshop I attended, I continue to be drawn to images that move – I want them to jump with life, color, energy, emotion. I want to communicate something dynamic with a frozen moment in time

Being a city girl, I still continue to find fun ways to incorporate architecture, that, paraphrasing the words of one of my clients, compliments but does not overpower the people in them

Thank you Katherine and Will for such a wonderful afternoon and for your support through the years, really appreciate it!

Starting this Saturday I will pretty much be photographing a wedding each weekend through beginning of October. There will be lots, LOTS more on the blog!

August 19 – 22 – Jamaica
August 23 – 24 – NYC
August 31 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area
Oct 22 – 28 – Barcelona, Spain

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Monica, in(SCP)ired | Music, dance, a playful spirit

Shang — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:22 +0000

Monica and I have been putting together the vision for her in(SCP)iration session since March, and I’m so excited to be finally presenting it to you!

There were two concepts / visions for this shoot. Monica has so many interests, it was pretty tough for us to pare it down, but we did it! From a series of “helter-skelter hodgepodge stream of ideas”, we wanted to exemplify the following: Monica loves art – she is a dancer and a pianist. Monica is fashionable and bubbly. Monica is playful and upbeat. She hopes to enter a career in public service with an interest in education. Phewph! In the process I created two inspiration boards for her.

Here’s concept #1 – the artistic side of Monica. I simply love how she brings in dance and dance movement in all these photos, and the hair flowers! Love =) At the last minute I also brought in sheet music (shoutout to my intern Ami for finding it!) to add to the feel

Though visually I knew the area that we’d picked for the photographs, we weren’t too familiar with the details of getting there. At one point we had to climb a fence… :D

This photo was the Facebook sneak peek. Yes, I did get bitten by fire ants while taking this photo, probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. However, the pictures were worth it

Monica dances as part of the Harvard AADT – a student dance group I used to photograph a lot back in the day

There is very little doubt as to why I really love my in(SCP)iration sessions and see them as my own baby – they push my creativity and are in general, just super fun

Before part two even began, we passed a playground. SWING! Of course, Monica had to play on it :D

For part two – the playful and energetic photos, we went to the DeCordova Museum.

Something about the way her shadow falls on the umbrella on the picture on the right..

I laughed when she arrived with these balloons for the shoot. Ordinarily, balloon props for photoshoots are giant, large, and mono-colored. Monica specifically chose three whimsical balloons – Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, and a yellow smiley face. The person selling her the balloons was a little bit puzzled – “you want three??” Really, no one ever needs permission to have more than one helium balloon.

I’m in love with this strappy strappy shoe

July 29 – August 4 – San Francisco / Bay Area
August 19 – 22 – Jamaica
August 23 – 25 – NYC
August 31/Sept 1 – Return to Chicago
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston
Oct 8 – 10 – San Francisco / Bay Area

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Newborn at 4 days

Shang — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:00:41 +0000

I was extremely privileged to catch photos of this beautiful newborn just 4 days after her birth! Babies are always cute, but those first days of infancy are particularly precious. Her mother, a good friend of mine in Chicago, DIYed the blocks. Thank you Felicia for being there, and for all the encouragement and support along the way. There were some nights that I definitely could not have made it without you.

The cuteness of these photos speak for themselves

By now, she’s already larger than the bear!

A rocking black and pink tutu. Fit for a princess

Snowy, the family dog, wanted in on the action. He’s still a little scared of the human baby though

We took these photos mostly while she was sleeping. But she did wake up after an outfit change

This photo touches my heart strings in so many ways. Brycen is my business school classmate and currently at an intense finance internship in Hong Kong – thousands of miles away from his little one. I know he misses her a lot, but I also know that he is working super-hard to support his family. My own parents sacrificed similarly – I wasn’t reunited with both my parents until I was around 3 years old. Brycen’s quality of diligence with no complaint is a rare one that I wish I could emulate more

July 9 – 10 – New Haven
July 29 – August 4 – San Francisco / Bay Area – please email me if you’d like to get in touch
August 19 – 22 – Jamaica
August 23 – 25 – NYC
August 31/Sept 1 – Return to Chicago – taking weekday sessions in Chicago for the month of September
Sept 8 – 12 – Boston
Sept 23 – 25 – Boston

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Harold, in(SCP)ired in Chicago!

Shang — Wed, 11 May 2011 12:00:26 +0000

We are all in varying forms of transition. Harold here, my friend, who, like me, transplanted here from Boston, will be receiving his Ph.D. in materials sciences engineering soon. Whatever that means for his future – whether he stays in Chicago or goes to another city, we do not know. However, we do know that Harold is a man of curiosity, a plethora of interests that include swing dancing and good food and free summer events in Millennium Park. We planned to incorporate this sense of time, as well as a good sense of self and perspective through the use of Chicago’s architecture. Enjoy! And wish Harold good luck as he is down to the wire in his dissertation!

We began in downtown Chicago

Harold quickly broke out into some awesome swing dancing amongst these sculptures in Grant Park

Some more calm, perspective photos

We found this really awesome place where you can get on train tracks. I um… have an obsession with shooting on train tracks

Beautiful light

Just our luck… a train passed by

Jump!

A selfie with my 35mm at the end =)

Travel schedule:

May 13 – 15 – Ann Arbor
May 20 – 22- Boston
June 11 – August 31: Boston
June 14 – 16: NYC
July 29 – August 4 – San Francisco
August 23 – 25: NYC

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Headshots for The Jubilee Project – Doing Good is Contagious

Shang — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:00:51 +0000

I’m super excited to present to you a collaboration shoot with the boys of The Jubilee Project. The boys of JP make entertaining videos for a good cause. The more you watch their videos on Youtube, the more their sponsors raise money for various charities and non-profits. Check them out and subscribe! Their latest video, which is raising money for HepB Free, is called “Why I Sing“.

The Jubilee Project was ready to launch their T-shirts, which you can buy here, which are all about how “doing good is contagious”. I can’t think of a better mission for a group such as this, can you? I’m so lucky that I was able to catch them in Boston last month.

They are Eddie, Jason, and Eric. Jason and Eddie are brothers, and I went to college with both Eddie and Eric

I really wanted to showcase both their fun side as well as their desires to impact the world in a positive way

Here come the T-shirts! Patty was our female model for the day… it was so cold (40 degrees) but everyone was a trooper! Shirts were designed by Project Hello Monster

We were sort of out in the middle of nowhere (as nowhere as one can be in Boston), so… changing had to be done on-site. The person with the camera is Andy, who documented the film you’ll see later

Elaine also came to help us out

Some more of the boys. They are so easy to photograph =)

And now… for the very first time ever… a behind the scenes video with yours truly! What I LOVE about this video is that it truly embodied the high energy and fun and openness to creativity we had that day. I’m a little shy when it comes to looking at the camera ;)

Big ups to The Jubilee Project for being so inspiring!

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Travel schedule:

April 29 – May 1: Boston
May 13 – 15 – Ann Arbor
May 20 – 22- Boston
June 11 – August 31: Boston
June 14 – 16: NYC
First week of August: San Francisco
August 23 – 25: NYC

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Spring: We are awakening

Shang — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:00:59 +0000

Literally, I’m counting down the days until I start shooting on a much more regular basis, I’m so happy we’re emerging out of a very gray and dark winter. I even saw sun today in my apartment, and that sure puts me in a good mood! I’m putting together this blog post to show some of my clients what can be possible in the tail end of winter and the beginning of spring. A lot of people have told me in my meetings, “surely your portfolio must all be based in the summer to get those colors!” That’s not entirely true, I shoot plenty of weddings and engagement sessions in the spring, though I will agree that it’s easier to get vibrant colors in summer and the autumn and you have less chance of rain. Nevertheless, the reason why I like spring shoots is all the signs of life – short grass sprouting out of the ground, buds on the branches, and seeing all of that really gives me energy to be super-creative, it is a true awakening. And of course, if you have good light, a good location, magic happens! In the end it’s still about seeing (and sometimes creating) the right light

This was a wedding I did last year in the Boston Public Garden in the end of March – we stayed away from shooting the pond because there was no water, so I focused on bringing out the bright greens of the trees.

The bride was cold but she did not look it in the photos!

The next three images were all taken in winter – the first two are January in(SCP)iration sessions. There was melting snow on the ground and most of the city looked gray, so I focused definitely on color wherever I could find it

This was an anniversary session in early February. This was a cloudy day and super-cold. I really liked the pop of color in Kristin’s scarf

This ballet-themed in(SCP)iration session was also end of March – the day after the Boston Public Library wedding above. This location had a lot of evergreens. My favorite detail remains the pink hair flower

This North End engagement session photo stood out to me the moment I took it because of the soft light

I was able to direct the light to highlight their daughter’s vivacity and adorability

This anniversary session was done in the first week of April. Maiko’s yellow cardigan really brightened things up

See all the grass on the ground!

Shang’s travel schedule!

Mar 19 – 27 – Boston – consults still available
Apr 29 – May 1 – Boston
May 13 – 15 – Ann Arbor
May 20 – 22 – Boston
Jun 11 – The long-awaited return to Boston for the summer!
Jun 14 – 16 – New York City – available for shoots

want to learn more about my photography? inquire!
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