In my years of photographing hundreds of weddings, events and portraits for my many clients, I have been asked to do so in many different locations. I have photographed engagement sessions in state parks, at state and county fairs (which is always a blast – I love me a good fair!), at a rustic cabin in the woods, at national monuments in Washington DC (twice!), in Cleveland and every imaginable place in Columbus, including clients' homes and often with their pets. Pets are always a favorite and I will never say no to including your dog or cat in a photo session.
I call Columbus Ohio home but will happily travel for weddings, where I have already photographed an intimate wedding on a Florida beach (where a gaggle of senior citizens from the high-rise condo next door pulled up lawn chairs all in a row to be the "side" guests!) and a resort in Hilton Head where I shot the third wedding in one family. I love to travel – I do so quite frequently in my personal life – and will always welcome the opportunity to photograph someone in a new and different location. So, whether you're having a wedding right here in the home of the Buckeyes or are traveling far and wide to an exotic locale for your perfect destination wedding, I am ready and willing to accompany you.
Portraits at home with family are always the best. I will almost always recommend that we photograph your family in your home, where everyone is comfortable and has all their stuff, especially if there are little ones with short attention spans! Having multiple toys at hand or something else to comfort a child during a meltdown is much easier if you're not having to haul all of that stuff somewhere else. And, besides, shooting in your home has meaning – all of the belongings in your home have meaning and being surrounded by them in meaningful pictures is, well, meaningful. I know, I use that word a lot, but I do so because that's what I want to stress about my photographs and your experience with me and, probably more importantly your experience with the photographs themselves after our session is done and over with. It's always a good time to make family pictures.
And events. I do many many many events throughout the year. I have a few charitable events I photograph every year and absolutely love being part of, including Cakes for a Cause, which brings artisan bakers together to bake up their goodies for auction benefiting the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. I love the Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Making sure that hungry Central Ohioans are not hungry is one of the most worthwhile endeavors I can think of, and having been asked to photograph this event for the last five years is humbling. And Condom Couture, the biggest fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. Imagine being a fashion design student at Columbus College of Art and Design and being given over 800 colored condoms and told to make a runway-ready garment from them. And then imagine those garments coming down the runway at Shadowbox Theater to a screaming crowd with pulsing music and looking not like you're wearing a dress made of condoms but a real live amazingly fashionable outfit. It's crazy. And I love it. It's one of my favorite events to photograph.
I also do headshots for corporate folk and photograph corporate events, from annual meetings to alumni get-togethers to anniversary parties, etc. I do a lot of photography work for The Ohio State University, from alumni magazine covers to nursing diversity shoots to College of Nursing reunions every year and, maybe the two most prestigious events, the naming of the Wexner Medical Center and the day I was asked to follow and photograph Dr. Michael V. Drake, the university's 15th president, during his formal investiture ceremonies. I love the Buckeyes, and being asked to do this work on behalf of the university is a dream.
But the common denominator in all of these shoots and events, etc., is people. First and foremost, I am a people photographer. I photograph connections between people, whether they're at your wedding or enjoying a cocktail with a work colleague or enjoying the OSU homecoming parade with people they went to school with 50 years ago – it's always the people for me. The expressions, the connections with friends and family. It's always the people.
I hope you will enjoy looking through my galleries of images and that if I can make some meaningful (there's that word again!) photographs for you, you will contact me at karen@karenevanspictures.com. I would love to learn about what you have in mind and how I can work to make that vision a reality.