I’ve known Andreea for years, and we’ve had some pretty incredible adventures together, including traveling all the way to Alaska. So when she asked me to photograph her engagement photos with Daniel, this one felt a little different.
There’s something really special about getting to photograph a friend in such a happy season of her life, especially when you’ve known her long enough to see how happy these two genuinely make each other.
Andreea and Daniel are always traveling and exploring somewhere new together. They’ve built this life full of adventure, and watching the two of them together really does feel like a little love story unfolding in front of you.
Engagement Photos at Northwestern University
We photographed their engagement session around Northwestern University’s campus just outside Chicago, and it gave us so much variety without having to go all over the city.
The campus has beautiful architecture mixed with tons of greenery and ivy growing along the buildings, so we could go from something more classic and architectural to softer, romantic photos just by walking around.
We also spent some time in the Shakespeare Garden, which was such a pretty spot for these two. Surrounded by all of the greenery and flowers, it almost felt like we had stepped somewhere completely different for a little bit.
But as beautiful as the location was, Andreea and Daniel made this session what it was.
The Kind of Chemistry That Makes My Job Easy
These two were so playful together.
There was a lot of laughing, moving around and messing with each other, which meant I could give them a little direction and then just let them be themselves. That kind of chemistry makes an engagement session feel less like posing for photos and more like spending an evening together with me tagging along with a camera.
And then there was Daniel seeing Andreea in her white dress.
He actually started tearing up looking at her, which was probably one of my favorite moments from the entire session. It was such a small, genuine reaction, but it said so much about the way he looks at her.
Those are always the moments I love most.
The ones you can’t really plan.
Photographing a Friend’s Engagement
I already knew going into this that photographing Andreea would mean a lot to me, but getting to see her and Daniel together made it even better.
They’re adventurous, affectionate, playful and clearly just really enjoy doing life together. Knowing how much of the world they’ve already explored side by side makes me so excited for everything still ahead of them.
And selfishly, I’m pretty happy I got to photograph a little piece of their story too.
