We’re pretty sure today’s feature from Sandrachile is about to break the internet. This Keystone Park engagement session is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Sunset, a sandy beach, wading in a lake…need we say more? Even though this shoot was scheduled and reschedule four times (thanks, Pittsburgh weather), it ended up being utterly perfect. With the golden sun casting cotton candy colors across the sky, Amber and Stephen busted out of their comfort zone. They splashed in the water, got cozy on land, and were totally in the moment. The results are intimate, playful, and just a little bit sexy. While we’ll always love engagement sessions on bridges with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background, we LIVE for out-of-the-box shoots like this and for fearless couples like Amber and Stephen.
About the Couple
Stephen and I met through one of my friends when I was in beauty school. She was persistent about setting up a date, but I was hesitant at first. He came into my school to get his hair cut and I was slightly nervous, which led me to only saying hello and nothing else for the rest of the haircut. A few short days later, we went on a date to Thai Me Up in the Southside, now our yearly anniversary spot. We have been inseparable since the night of our very first date.
Our engagement was planned perfectly by Stephen. He had arranged for both of our families to be there on Christmas day and I had no idea of the wonderful surprise that was going to take place. That Christmas, Stephen asked for a Penguins jersey and I a Fitbit. Stephen packed my gift in boxes ranging from big to small, but when I got to the end there was nothing in them! At the time, he acted like he forgot to put the gift in (typical Steve) and he ran and grabbed my gift from another room. As I was opening my Fitbit that I was super excited about, I looked over and there he was on one knee, proposing in front of everyone. It was the best day and not only did we get to share it with each other, but also our families.
About the Session
We found our photographer on Instagram. We knew we loved her from the moment we looked at her page. She caught our attention with one her posts where she mentioned how she tries to give back to the community in any way she can. That alone set her apart. We met up with her at the Beehive in the Southside and all of our personalities clicked; it felt like we had known her for years.
She asked us if we would be interested in a photo shoot in the water and we were immediately for it. It’s not very often that you get a photo shoot, so we figured something so different like that would be a pretty awesome experience. It took us four separate times to schedule our session because living in Pittsburgh, you can never truly predict the weather. However, when we were finally able to schedule a day, we hit the jackpot. Our session was absolutely stunning – both the scenery and the experience. Sandra knew the right time to the schedule the pictures and the weather and sunset really turned into some awesome shots. She said she wanted to capture our personalities and we loved how she made us interact with each other. We didn’t anticipate how cold the water was going to be but we definitely had so much fun doing it. It’s always nice to get out of your comfort zone and try something new and all three of us had a blast that day!
