Pump House Engagement Photography

Pump House Engagement Photography

This is a post that I’ve been meaning to make for a while now. Noelle and Bryan’s Pump House Engagement photography is the perfect example of the benefits of an doing a portrait session before your wedding. Plus, they’re smoking hot!

A couple stands face to face in front of an old brick building during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

Noelle and Bryan wanted a historic setting for their engagement portrait session that would showcase the steel-making heritage of Pittsburgh. So we visited the Pump House at the Waterfront in Homestead. We really lucked out with beautiful sunshine and a warm, summer evening.

A woman in a short tan dress lifts her high heel into the air as she is held by a tall man wearing a tan shirt and blue jeans during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

Romantic and Fun

Noelle and Bryan had great chemistry. It didn’t take many of my terrible jokes to get them laughing.

A woman with long brown hair stands behind and embraces a man as she laughs in front of a maroon colored background during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.A man carries a woman wearing a tan dress as they laugh in front of an old crucible used in steel making during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.A silhouetted couple face each other as they embrace with blue skies behind them during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

There’s so much more to a great portrait then smiling at the camera. Once you get comfortable and in the groove you’ll find that you kind of forget about the photography and the moments that show how you feel about each other will reveal themselves.

A man stands behind a woman and embraces her with an old steel bridge in the background during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

Leave Some Room For The Magic

Direction is important. You’ve got to combine that with space for serendipity. I wanted them to be as close as possible but once I had the composition and pose set  it was time to just let the mood take over and see what the moment brings. Everyone expresses their affection differently and this was real and beautiful. That’s the Carrie Furnaces historic site in the background.

A woman sits on a man's lap while holding him and kissing him on the forehead during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

This one was in the same general area just a few minutes from the previous photo. The light and the mood are very different. We were working pretty quickly so that we caught all of the beautiful light that we could.

A woman and a man hold each other as the sun sets casting golden light on them in front of an old steel mill during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

It’s important to work a variety of angles. Get high, get low, get close, and step back are all part of the process of delivering a rich collection of images that the couple will value and enjoy.

A man and a woman sit on an old i-beam with arms around each other touching foreheads with an old steel mill in the background during their Pump House Engagement Photography session.

Engagement Portraits

In some ways engagement portraits like the ones from this Pump House engagement photography session become your first family photos. Instead of wearing a suit or tux and a white dress you’re in clothing that reflects your sense of style and comfort.

Speaking of comfort, one of the goals of these sessions is to build that trust and experience that make portrait time on your wedding day smooth and enjoyable. Check out the photos from Bryan and Noelle’s Lingrow Farm wedding and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Their wedding day included a few curveballs which meant that our portrait time was very abbreviated. You’d never know it because the comfort, trust, and communication were already built because of the engagement portrait session.