Liesl Diesel Photo » candid portraits

The Swamps of Editin

Liesl — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:00:49 +0000

Before some of you begin to wonder if I’ve taken a permanent leave of absence from blogging . . .

The answer is absolutely not! Just stuck in the mire swamps of editing and the delightful adventures of a traveling shooter!

As usual I have been shooting all over the place and my blog always takes second place to delivering to clients, this is why you all love me, right?

I am traveling a minimum of 4 hours every weekend until mid-October but I will try my best to keep fresh work up on my blog, but keep an eye on my facebook fan page because I throw images up on it as I edit!

A shot of me hard at work. I am the geeky looking shadow wearing a back pack and a camera on my face, which makes me look slightly wolf-ish . . .

Shooting myself in the shadows! Ninjas Unite!

Nance Family At Debordieu, SC

Liesl — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:56:37 +0000

The Nance family was vacationing at DeBordieu, SC and wanted to have some candid and group photos taken while they were all together. Piper Warlick, a fun and talented photographer from Charlotte, NC, referred them to my work and I am so glad she did!

I photographed for about 2 hours, one on the beach and one at the beach house. You can see all my favorites on their facebook album!

Thanks for having me out and I hope I get to work with your family again!

Liesl Diesel

: The whole crew!

: Jim & Alice! The two who started it all!

: Trista & Nick with their growing family!

: Trista & Nicks kids race to me!

: Alice strolls with all the grandkids who can walk!

: I love curious faces :)

: Cousins and shadows!

: Ashton holds her son, they totally adore each other. It’s so cute.

: Pay attention to what picture is REALLY happening, and not just the pictures that is SUPPOSED to happen. And that is how we get fun stuff like this!

: This tree behind their beach house was perfect for some posed images

: And some fun pics of the kids!

: Jim and Alice were so kind, what a wonderful family they have started!

: Ashton’s son started laughing when she laid next to him, it was contagious!

: Thank you to all of you for letting me in close for a few hours, it was so delightful!

Ben & Becky Jekyll Island Extravaganza!

Liesl — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:30:54 +0000

I met Ben and Becky eons ago when I was in college and have kept up with them via facebook over the years. I was incredibly humbled when the contacted me to photograph their destination wedding on Jekyll Island, Georgia!

Below is a short slideshow I put together from some of my favorites, you can see still shots on Ben & Becky’s facebook album!

Ben & Becky, thanks for such an epic experience! I am so blessed to have people like you for clients!!!

Liesl Diesel

Venue:

Beachview Club

Salon:

Studio 412

Rentals

Beachview Tent Rentals

Wedding location:

Jekyll Island, GA

Preparation location:

Saint Simon’s Island, GA

Rachel & Tyler at Millennium Park, Chicago

Liesl — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:10:58 +0000

I always ask my clients what type of shots they want from their sessions, and when Rachel & Tyler picked Millennium Park, Chicago, I knew we could get a good variety of images in one location. She told me she likes architecture, so I had fun taking a lot of city scene shots during their shoot!

You can see some of my other favorites on the reflective post, and a lot more on facebook!

Can’t wait to shoot their New Year’s Eve Wedding at the Elmhurst Art Museum!

See you both soon!

Liesl Diesel

Rachel & Tyler play near the BP bridge while onlookers pass by

The sky was amazing that evening, I am so glad we didn't get rained on!

I have shot in this area several times, but it wasn't until my kids decided to slide down the bridge while we were playing there one day that I saw this angle and knew I had to try it on my next shoot. Luckily Tyler & Rachel were willing to walk through the flower gardens to get to this spot, I think it paid off!

The BP metal bridge is so fun to play with compositionally!

and the reflection and lines are killer!

swoosh! yay!

This is one of my favorite architectural shots from any portrait session, ever. I normally focus more on people but when Rachel mentioned she likes architecture, I thought why not take some photos like this? I hope this image is a gift she will enjoy, I know it will end up on one of my walls soon.

I like this blend of nature and city.

They were more than willing to dance on the park walk for me, so sweet!

I love the evening light!

Rachel & Tyler it was so great meeting you!

Reflections on Portraits

Liesl — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:55:49 +0000

This is part of a set that I shot for Rachel & Tyler’s engagement session. As I was editing I realized I had taken a lot of reflection images, which of course let me to reflect :) I am constantly photographing people I have never even met and make great effort to understand who they are so that I can capture their personality and spirit in the images they have hired me to take. It is really one of my favorite parts of my job, understanding people. It’s the psychologist in me.

The Bean at Millennium Park is a very popular place for photos, and it’s easy to see why! The reflection is very fun to play with and the sculpture is a very well known landmark in Chicago. Rachel & Tyler took the train into the city to meet up with me at the park to shoot their engagement session!

It was a lovely evening and very crowded, but I like crowds in photos so that was fine with me!

The Bean!

It is fun to play with the bending architecture at the bean!

After the bean we went to the metal bridge, which also provides a perfect place to reflect on portraits!

Rachel has such a sweet demeanor. I think this image really captures her gentle beauty.

Tyler was confident and comfortable in front of the camera, which is really very rare for most guys!

When I look back at portraits I have taken I often see things I didn't notice when I shot them. I feel like this image shows the beautiful balance of Rachel's sweet spirit and Tyler's strong confidence. No, they are not both looking at the camera with big smiles for the photographer. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle and I think it shows in this image.

I love profiles!

Justine & Michael ~ Romantics!

Liesl — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:29:38 +0000

I met Justine & Michael a few weeks ago at their engagement session at Montrose Harbor and knew instantly that their wedding would be a lovely mixture of romanticism and playfulness!

They prepared for the wedding at Bishop’s Hall, a spacious bed and breakfast in Oak Park with beautiful manicured gardens. Then they had a traditional Greek promenade through the town as they walked to the ceremony and reception site at Cheney Mansion.

Below is a slideshow of my favorites from their wedding, you can see the stills on their facebook album!

Thank you so much for choosing me, Justine and Michael! I hope your skipping dancing playful paths cross mine again soon!

Venues:

Forist:

Make-up:

Rentals:

Formally Modern Tuxedo

Linens:

BBJ Linen

Specialty Dress Fabrics:

Soutache Embellishments

Wedding Gown:

Claire Pettibone

Music:

Hot Club Du Chicago

Shahzeen & Prem at Chicago Botanic Garden

Liesl — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:04:07 +0000

Shahzeen & Prem chose The Chicago Botanic Garden for their engagement session location, the grounds were beautiful with a lot of variety!

We had so much fun walking around and finding spots to shoot, and I quickly learned that not only are they both super sweet people, but they have a great sense of humor! I cannot wait to photograph their ceremony in September!

You can see more of my favorites on their facebook album!

See you both very soon!

Liesl Diesel

Once we were oriented on where the Japanese gardens were we headed along the manicured paths.

Shahzeen has such a sweet and gentle disposition.

Have I mentioned that I seem to get the most beautiful clients?

I love Prem’s expression in this image, they were both so peaceful and kind and I feel it really shows in this photo.

So it’s not a big secret that my favorite color is green. Well, orange is a close second, so when I saw this beautiful grass and Shahzeen’s head scarf I insisted that she sit down for me so that I could make some orange and green images! Yeah, I’m selfish like that.

How cute is she!

Justine & Michael Make Faces TOMORROW!!!

Liesl — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:00:52 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I got to meet Michael & Justine, whose wedding is TOMORROW!!! I am so excited to work with them! Not only are they creative and in love, but they keep me on my toes with their incredible ability to have fun and make faces!

We went to Montrose Harbor in Chicago for the shoot, which is where they had their first date! They trails by the bird sanctuary led us to an incredible view of the city skyline and sunset, and lucky for me the flowers were also in bloom!

See all my favorites from the shoot at this link, and keep an eye on the blog for their wedding photos!

YAY! See you both TOMORROW!!

Liesl Diesel

Down by The River

Liesl — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:00:03 +0000

So once the rain stopped, Sunny and Cameron joined me by the water on the Jefferson Landing, NC premises for some fun portraits! It was hard to get their entire wedding party into one shot, but I managed!

I really enjoyed their playful mood, and Cameron had NO difficulty making Sunny laugh and smile, an excellent quality in a husband ;-)

Party photos soon to follow!

Liesl Diesel

Peter & Karena’s Riverwalk Wedding Portraits!

Liesl — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:59:53 +0000

Karena & Peter were the first couple to ever marry at the Moser Carillon Tower! After the ceremony, when the weather permitted, we went for a jaunt around The River Walk in the heart of Naperville for a fun variety of portraits! You can see all my favorites here!

Liesl Diesel

One of my favorite portraits from the day!

Lovely bridge at the River Walk in Naperville, IL

This sculpture was perfect for their wedding colors!

I was SO glad the rain stopped so we could run over to this spot for portraits!

I loved the warm colors they chose

red shoes!

First wedding EVER at Moser Tower in Naperville!