Ohio Coffee Shop Engagement Photos Downtown
DO YOU LIKE COFFEE?
I know I do. I’d been wanting to do a coffee shop engagement shoot for awhile, and finally got my chance.
After a few years of shooting weddings, and engagements now, I’ve come to learn that it’s really easy to make the same photographs over, and over for clients. After all, we see something we like, and as humans, naturally want that as well. As a photographer, I’ve recently re-evaluated how I go about executing engagement sessions, and it seems the key lies within personalizing them; making them unique specifically for the clients you’re working with that day.
Morgan, and Michael reached out to book their wedding quite a few months ago, but with Covid, we’ve been playing it safe, and waiting for the right time to get their engagement photos done. Finally, the time came, and Morgan brought up that she would love to do some photos in our local favorite coffee shop, Muggswiggz. It’s located in Downtown, Canton, about an hour south of Cleveland, just so happens to be the coffee shop I grew up going to. I remember countless Friday nights spent in the cafe, watching open mic nights, drinking coffee with friends, and generally just having a good time. Needless to say, I was extremely excited when Morgan brought up the idea. This also got me thinking about how rad Downtown Canton can be at night, especially with the renovations they’re making in regards to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; they put a pavilion of sorts in. I knew we had to shoot in the city.
I met Morgan and Michael downtown on a Sunday, and we proceeded to hang out, drink coffee, and walk around the small city in hopes to find some weird lighting, and cool scenes to use for their engagement photo gallery. We did just that.
The coffee is excellent, the vibes in the cafe are even better, and I think we spent a lot of time inside here because we were all dreading going out into the cold. It had rained and snowed most of the day, but it finally cleared out a little as the evening went on.
OUT OF COFFEE, AND INTO THE CITY
Eventually, the coffee ran dry, and we decided to embrace the blustery weather and start exploring the downtown a bit in hopes to find what we were looking for. We started out with just an empty parking lot; nothing crazy, but sometimes, you just need to start shooting during a session, and as the time ticks on, usually both my clients, and myself, fall into a nice rhythm and open up a little bit more. It’s nice to get the blood flowing, the ideas rolling, and the connection started before you really get deep into the shoot. I had Morgan, and Michael literally just walk back and forth in front of each other. I told them to dance, to spin, and to just have a good time while walking back and forth in the parking lot. Again, it got everything started and was just the beginning.
By this point, the sun was just about gone; blue hour had came and went, and we were now at the mercy of the streetlights, neons, and business to fuel our creative juices. This is exactly where I thrive, and we made sure to take advantage of every cool location, scene, and lights we could find.
The night wore on, and soon enough, it seemed like Canton, Ohio was actually somewhat normal, even amidst a pandemic. I’ve come to love shooting in cities recently, specifically at night, due to the fact that there just aren’t many signs of the pandemic when no one is out and about. We explored nearly the entire downtown, popping off here and there for a photo, and then moving on. We eventually made our way into the parking garage that’s' adjacent to the Onesto Hotel, an old hotel that has recently become renovated for apartments and housing. It’s actually pretty rad, and quite historical for the area.
HOMETOWN APPRECIATION
From the coffee shop, to the parking garage, to the Hall of Fame area, and all around, we really did find so many rad spots in Downtown Canton. It’s funny, I grew up in Canton, and lived there until I was 22, and there are still parts of the little city that I forget about, or haven’t seen, or that have been completely renovated and changed over the years. I always wanted to get away from my hometown, but Morgan & Michael gave me the opportunity to see it in a new light, and to really take advantage of how the city is nowadays. I’ve shot in Canton quite a bit over the last few years as a photographer, but this shoot in particular is my favorite. The entire gallery is filled with images that I didn’t think I’d be able to make in this city; especially after just having shot in NYC, and ultimately after making some of the best images of my career. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but as I developed the film, and started seeing all of these really familiar places on the emulsion, I realized how important it is to make photos in the place you’re least comfortable. It’s funny when I think of it that way, because now, I generally get down to Canton once a week to see my family. I spent so many years away in my early 20’s, that its nice to be only an hour away from them now.
Needless to say, Canton, Ohio delivered on locations, lighting, and overall atmosphere for the shoot. I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to shoot downtown again sometime soon.
SHOOTING FILM FOR MY CLIENTS
I’m going to make a point of being very open with my clients, and the audience about what I shoot with, and why. For this shoot, and for most of my client work from now on, I’ll be shooting primarily 35mm, and 120 film. I value timelessness, and story telling within a gallery the most, so it’s only appropriate that the tools I use for the job allow me the best ability to create images that represent and reflect those values. I brought a lot of cameras with me for Morgan and Michael’s engagement session. My Leica m6 was strapped around my neck at all points; I find that a lot of my favorite images are wider, story building scenes that set the scene and story for the rest of the gallery. I find that I make those images mostly on 35mm because of the aspect ratio, as well as the ability to fire off a bunch of frames in a row to ensure that the foundation of the gallery is strong.
Accompanying the m6 were my Pentax 67, and my Yashica D; both medium format film cameras that serve different purposes. I love shooting black and white film out of the Yashica, and I generally use my Pentax for more portrait, and detail oriented shots. It’s got a fast lens, so shooting in low light has become a breeze with it, and ultimately, always gives me top quality negatives to work with when scanning.
For most of my night time shooting, I’ve been relying heavily on Cinestill 800t to give me the look I want, and it’s yet to let me down. I love tungsten based film, as it easy to correct in post if you do want the warmer, daylight balanced look. Not only that, but for some of these shots that utilize the neons, or colors from the city, Cinestill tends to handle them really well, and adds a really nice halation to the highlights. I’ve used 800t in situations where I’ve pushed it to 3200 ISO, and it has rendered colors, grain, and contrast much better than I would have expected.
As with any engagement session, I always get a burst of ideas right at the end, and this shoot was no different. The last 20 minutes or so were spent around one of Downtown Canton’s staples; the Palace Theatre. We were beginning to walk back to our cars, when I looked over and saw the Palace. I had completely blanked about the building up until this point, so we made a slight detour and went and shot some frames under the lights, and around the building. Some of my favorite frames from the entire session were captured here, and I would have been upset had we left without shooting in front of, and around the Palace. I truly can’t believe that I blanked on it. Shortly after we got there, we fired off some frames, and headed right back to the car. We were all a bit cold by the point; a couple of hours outside in the wind will do that to ya.
Overall, though, I shoot on film to deliver a product that is unique, timeless, and quite enjoyable for everyone involved. It yields a different client experience as we aren’t just shooting non-stop, and running around like maniacs. I have to reload the film, which gives my clients and I more time to interact and chat. I have to meter the scene, which allows me to get my clients in a mindset that is much slower than shooting with digital. The entire process, from front to back, is hands on, and far more tactile and meticulous than shooting on digital. I’d rather be in the darkroom developing and scanning, than sitting on a computer adjusting sliders and color grading. Shooting film for clients has been the best decision I’ve ever made; and when I get images like the ones I got for Morgan, and Michael, it only reinforces my decision.
TO END THE NIGHT
We all planned to go to a local diner to get some food, so we headed to Georges right down the road, had a couple of beers, a burger, and some more conversation to end the night. Georges is a local staple of the community, and arguably have the best burgers in the area. We enjoyed the warmth, and ended our night, and went out separate ways.
Alas, finally the cold had subsided, and the heaters were blasting in the Subaru. I was on my way back to Cleveland, and ready for bed.
Morgan and Michael are getting married later this year, and I’ll be documenting their day as they celebrate with friends and family. I also heard they’ll have a coffee bar. Now that’s something I can get behind. We had such a good time on the shoot, and I really am so incredibly excited about these images. Everything about them screams romantic. We all went to the same high school, although different graduating classes, so these photos in our hometown are really special for all of us, I think.