Andrew and Victoria's Engagements - State Fair of Texas

Andrew and Victoria are an amusing couple. I met Andrew while in college, through The Shorthorn, and knew from his photographic style he had to (and did) shoot my wedding. I then met Victoria in time - and they make for an fairly comedic pair. Andrew, who is still a kid at heart, gets kept in check by more the mature Victoria (in a good way). They plan on having their wedding at the Luxe Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa in Dallas next fall.

So, when they asked if I could photograph their engagements at the State Fair of Texas, I completely loved the idea. We went on the last day, two days after Big Tex caught on fire, so we didn't get the opportunity to photograph with him, and made an evening out of the trip.

They started on the horse carousel shortly after entering the fair:

And then we moved onto a ring toss game, where not even 1/4 way through the rings, Andrew landed a winner. We actually didn't expect to anyone to land such a huge prize this early into the session; they ended up giving it away so it wouldn't have to be carried:

Cotton candy was a prop Victoria wanted, and I had a diptych in mind:

Contrasts between simple and busy backgrounds:

Ring detail:

They suggested a pose with some shadow work:

An overhead look:

I used the telephoto here and situated them on the stairs:

Then did some wordplay on the next two:

We took a food break where Victoria changed into a second outfit after:

Fletcher's corn dogs!:

They tried their hand at games later in the night, no giant stuffed animal this time, though:

I stood them in the middle of some of the Midway rides to get some stationary/motion shots:

And then moved in for a closer look:

A dip in front of the colorful, simple Midway sign:

Compared to the colored lighting overload:

They finished off with a round of bumper cars.

Andrew, Victoria, I absolutely cannot wait until November next year.

Rasy Ran Photography

Don and Trang's Engagements

Don and Trang found me through WeddingWire, and met with me a couple of times before bringing me on board. They knew what they wanted in terms of photography, and also provided some room for direction from me as well -- my kind of clientele.

We started at the Dallas Arboretum, then moved to White Rock Lake, Deep Ellum, and finally finished in Downtown Dallas. Here are some that I want to show from their session:

I wanted to make use of Dale Chihuly's glasswork, but also didn't want to over power the couple:

A simple arch makes for a clean image:

The pumpkin patch features houses and a carriage that guests can visit as well:

We made our way to White Rock Lake, and stopped at a small area near Lawther and Poppy. They brought along some balloons, too:

At the end of a pier:

A ring detail amidst some balloons:

When we arrived to Deep Ellum, it had started to rain, they were good-spirited about it, and rescheduled with me to continue the session. We resumed at Daniel Munoz's "Tonatiuh" mural, which means "sun god."

Then moved to The Traveling Man, as per their suggestion. Here, I lit them with a tripod-mounted flash for some fill lighting:

We headed in the direction of the Latino Cultural Center off Live Oak, and stopped along the way:

With the sun going down, I wanted to get a few more flash-filled photos:

The architectural installations allowed for some framing:

Gangnam style!:

Some shadow work:

A pose they wanted to try:

On our way back, I had them do some dipping:

We last stopped at the JFK Memorial Plaza to round off this session:

Don, Trang, thanks so much for working with me, I look forward to April!

Rasy Ran Photography