Lawrence, Kansas Engagement Session

Kylie and Stuart’s engagement session in Lawrence, Kansas was so perfect. I always encourage my couples to choose at least one location that holds meaning in their relationship. Whether that’s a walking path they go to frequently, the place they first met, or just an area of town they enjoy. Things can change so quickly. Buildings get knocked down, nature areas get bulldozed for housing, businesses go in and out of business. The best thing about photos is freezing a moment in time. Who knows what your favorite restaurant, favorite park, favorite area of town will look like in even 5 years? Freeze the moment in time and have those memories to look back on forever. This is why Kylie and Stuart chose their favorite places in Lawrence, Kansas for their engagement session.

We started at Clinton Lake. There is a beautiful walking path down by the lake. It has a big open field on one side and evergreens on the other. Kylie and Stuart are both self-proclaimed introverts and the thought of doing photos around other people made them nervous. So we started out of the way, almost behind a tree. Where people on the walking path didn’t see them and they were able to feel comfortable.

Before any engagement session, I always send a questionnaire to learn more about the couple before we start. I ask questions about their personalities, what kind of music they like, their comfort level with PDA, and what they envision for their engagement session. Kylie told me she envisioned shots that were further away. Not many close-ups, focusing more on them interacting in their surroundings. So I stayed on my 85mm lens for most of the session. Allowing me to give them their space and capture the whole scene, while also being able to grab some closer ones without it feeling like a close-up.

Our last stop was KU’s campus. Kylie and Stuart met at KU in 2017, where they fell in love almost immediately. There is a bench behind a couple of buildings that they had classes in. It’s on top of a big hill so the bench has a great view of Lawrence and a perfect sunset view. They often get ice cream and sit on that bench, making it the perfect spot for Stuart to propose. On November 8, 2020, they did their usual of getting ice cream and coming to sit on the bench, but this time Stuart popped the question! During their engagement session, they got to just sit together on that bench and watch the sunset, like a true romance movie.