We are proud to share our new book on our blog "WE'RE ENGAGED: Photographing Vibrant and Joyful Portraits of the Happy Couple". It was a fun collaboration by Bob and I and we are proud to share it with you all. We are so thankful to Amherst Media and Harvey Goldstein for asking us to collaborate with them on this book. What an honor! And thank you to all our amazing couples who trust us with these special moments in their lives. We hope that you all enjoy this book as much as we do!

Here's a description of what our book is about:
Today's brides and grooms-to-be have grown up inundated by world-class photography on the Internet, television, magazines, and social networking sites. Therefore, it's no surprise that these savvy, image-conscious consumers have high expectations when commissioning their engagement portraits. They want unique, innovative images that make them look great and reflect their personal style as individuals and as a couple. In this book, acclaimed photographers Bob and Dawn Davis show you how to rise to that lofty goal and deliver memorable, personalized images from each session. Covering the process from start to finish, you'll learn how to select locations, work with clients on their styling, get great poses even from camera-shy subjects, and find (or create) amazing lighting indoors and out, all day long. Lighting diagrams paired with each final image selection, along with supporting image variations from the same session, make it easy to learn!

You can find it at book store near you or online at at Amherst Media

When you know, you just know. I can tell that when Rocio and Cyrus met, they just knew that they were meant to be. Look at the way he looks at her! I love it. They met at work, and after a few weeks of subtle flirting, they went on their first date. For her birthday, Cyrus took her to Maui to celebrate. Little did she know, he was preparing for his proposal. He took Rocio out to dinner for her birthday and then wanted to give her a "gift" so he walked her down to the moonlit beach and proposed. She said "yes" and the rest is history! I'm pretty sure this was an amazing, birthday, vacation, proposal...!!!

Bob and I met this gorgeous couple through Claire Weller at Big City Bride and we are so happy for the introduction. Bob photographed their engagement session last year in early November at the Alfred Caldwell Lilly Pool where they sipped wine and walked amongst all the beautiful fall colors. So pretty! And they wanted some sunset evening photos along the Chicago River which are always a favorite of mine.

We recently photographed their wedding and talk about colorful... I can't wait to share those images!

Enjoy!!!

~ Dawn

Oh my gosh, how cute are Alex and Chris? WAY CUTE! I died when Alex's mom said that Chris was into boxing and that the boxing ring may be an option for their engagement session. And then when Alex agreed… I was like YES!!!! When Bob and I meet with our potential couples we always like to let them know that our style is all about the couple. Sure, we consider our photography timeless and classic with a fun, fresh twist. We are not formulaic and we, very much, like our photos to reflect who our clients are, not who Bob is as a photographer. These special events in peoples lives are about them, not us. So, when a fun shoot like Alex and Chris's engagement session comes up, we are always thrilled!!!

Bob, and our assistant who is also our daughter Alli, met them at Franklin Street Boxing Club Gym in Chicago where Alex boxed her soon to be husband and it was a TKO! Haha… seriously so cute, Alex in heels with her pink gloves! I love it!

They headed off to Eleven Lincoln Park, the cutest old school Jewish diner in Chicago! Sipping on a milkshake and hanging out in the candy shop made for some really cute photos! Then off to Chicago Union Station and Chicago North Avenue Beach for a crazy fun feather pillow fight! I just love that Alex and Chris were up for some fun!

We are beyond thrilled to be working with this family again, as we photographed their sister, Jillian's wedding to Brad in 2010 at the Chicago Hilton. Alex's parents, Debbie and Steve are so gracious and so fun… and we can't thank them enough for trusting us to capture their daughter's weddings! And a huge thank you to Reva Nathan for introducing us years ago to this wonderful family!

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did editing them!

Much love and blessings!

~ Dawn

Yes, please…. can we say g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s…! Ross is a lucky man! Honestly, they are absolutely perfect for each other. I love that Sara said she knew by their fourth date, that he was the man she wanted to marry.

They met through a mutual friend and dated for a year before Ross proposed. I'm such a sap when I hear proposal stories and I really love the way Ross asked Sara to marry him. They have this cute tradition where Sara takes Ross's dry cleaning tag off the bottom button hole of his shirt. Almost everyday when he puts his dress shirt on for work in the morning, he will walk up to her and she will take the tag off his shirt. It has become part of their daily routine. Well, I'm sure you know where this is heading… yes, Ross asked Sara to come over to take the tag off his shirt. When she walked over to him, she looked down and saw that there was a ring hanging off of a tag on his shirt. Ross then popped the question…… and she said YES! Both their families were just waiting to celebrate at the Trump International Hotel for dinner. It was a magical night!!!

I'm excited to share their engagement session with you. It began where they had their first date at Sable Restaurant in the Palomar Hotel. A couple of cocktails always loosens up the fiancé so he can smile comfortably for the camera… say cheese! lol. Bob photographed them at the Trump and then onto the streets of Chicago for some evening shots! I always love those!

I can't wait to share their wedding photos…… SO DREAMY! Thank you Stacy Saltzman of So Stacy for introducing us to Sara and Ross!!!

Enjoy!!!

~ Dawn

A photographer's dream to photograph a beautiful couple in a beautiful kitchen, right?!!! And what a fun engagement session this was with Tracy and Chris! Truly, so genuine and in love, they were up for anything! They started in the kitchen, where Chris made an Italian pasta for lunch, and Tracy assisted along the way. They even slurped spaghetti until their lips met, just too cute! They watched the movie Rocky in their theater while snacking on popcorn and Twizzlers. They even played pool in the billiards room. I really love their playful side, they goof around with each other and love on each other, it's so nice to see.

Bob and I are really blessed to have amazing clients around the world. These two are so kind, so funny, and just so real, and so very appreciative. Their wedding was the first wedding we photographed in 2014 and I just can't wait to share the photos because their wedding was …. s.p.e.c.t.a.c.u.l.a.r….!

Thank you Vince Hart from Kehoe Designs for sharing us with this amazing family. I can't wait to share your work from their wedding with you!

Much love!

~ Dawn and Bob

Jillian and Matthew are adorable…. I mean beautiful… ummmm gorgeous! They are just too cute for words. Jillian describes how they met at the Swedish Day Festival in Geneva while in High School and Matthew couldn't stop flirting with her. I mean, can you blame him?

But it wasn't until years later did their story begin. While Jillian was driving along the river, windows down, blaring "Tangerine" from the radio. There he was, Matt, jogging along the river. So she decided to send him a "it's been awhile, just saw you jogging" text and he replied "it wasn't me but let's hang out anyway!" He took her on their first date to her favorite pizza place, she said it was the best date she'd ever been on… and so their story continues…

They were dating for 13 months before Matthew proposed. It happened on a Friday night. Jillian had just passed her Pilates test, so he took her out to dinner at Catch 35. She had no idea what he was up to, she thought a nice dinner, some cocktails, and then head home to watch "Dexter". Matthew was very nonchalant about the box he put on the table. She opened it and said there was there most beautiful dainty ring she had ever seen. She recalls it all happening so fast, after he put the ring on her finger and asked her to be his girl, they celebrated with their family and friends. "It was the best night of my life" says Jillian "Oh, and we didn't end up watching Dexter!" That part cracked me up!

Their engagement session was nice and laid back at Jillian's private residence. Of course, we always love when our couple's want their puppies in the photos, so these two cuties, Jack and Bella, got to share in the fun. Jillian and Matthew are so sweet and have such a dreamy love. The way he picks her up and smiles into her eyes… can make a girl just swoon for that kind of love!

We are so excited to be part of their wedding day! We can't thank Susan Cordogan from Big City Bride enough for sharing us with this family!

xoxo!

~ Dawn and Bob

We met with Renee and her mom, Barb, at our local Starbucks and we just clicked immediately! I love that Renee has a very laid back approach, which is good since she's an ER physician and knows how to deal with crazy, stressful situations on a daily basis. We talked about how her and her fiancé, Kevin, met and how he proposed, what their plans were for their wedding and why they wanted us to photograph their wedding. We got to know them and laughed a lot, it was wonderful. Barb was so happy for her daughter and you could just see it in her eyes, the way she looked at her daughter, it was beautiful. I knew they we were all a great fit.

Renee and Kevin are a fun couple with a fun attitude and all about sharing experiences together. Their engagement session began at Soldier Field where Renee and Kevin showed off their favorite Bear's players Walter Payton and Brian Urlacher by sporting their jerseys. It was so cute to see Kevin teaching Renee how to throw a football, but I think he enjoyed tackling her more! I love the photos under the columns at the stadium! Ahhhhh, so fun!

Afterwards we headed to Lincoln Park where they showed off their love of winter sports with their skiing and snow boarding gear. It made for some fantastic photos. They kissed under a pale pink sky as the sun set over the Chicago. You just couldn't order better weather! Grant's Memorial made for a castle like backdrop to show off their casual sense of fashion. And for a final shoot they wanted a backlit skyline photo, and those are always a favorite!

I hope you enjoy their engagement session photos as much as we do! Up next will be there wedding which is going to be featured in Inside Weddings magazine's next edition! So very exciting…!

xoxo,

~ Dawn

It's always the most amazing compliment when we are asked to photograph another wedding for a family we adore! This is Ashley and Ari… and Rebbe, their much loved puppy! Ashley is sisters with Danielle whose wedding to Jeremy was the previous year! Can you imagine 2 weddings for their parents back to back like that? Oh my!

Ashley tells us that they met on JDate, but chances are they mostly likely met as kids because they have tons of family and friends in common. She laughs because Ari picked her up for their first date in his mom's Porsche and tried to tell her it was his, just to show off. I can totally see Ari doing that! Of course, they hit it off and fell in love! When Ari proposed to Ashley, he attached a box to Rebbe's collar and had him walk into the room she was getting ready in for dinner with their family at their favorite restaurant that night. Ari got down on one knee, with Rebbe by his side, and said (something private… wink, wink ;) and proposed to Ashley. She said "it was amazing to have all three of us together"!.

We had a blast during their engagement session in Chicago! We began at their home, which is where they draw their strength and happiness. Rebbe was always present and was willing to pose at any moment. We headed out to the dog park near their home and took some gorgeous photos with the fall colors as a backdrop. Rebbe, of course, stole the show! I love how much Ash and Ari love their puppy, very much the way we love our Hunter! We ended the evening at the bend in the river to take some incredible night shots. It's the last photo we'll ever take there as the bend is no longer there in Chicago.

Here's some photos to share with you all…! Their wedding post is next!

"What is a Real Wedding Workshop?" is a question we get asked frequently. Well, it's basically when an engaged couple asks us to photograph their "very real and incredibly beautiful" wedding and make it a workshop where up to 15 photographers can be educated on how to shoot a wedding, while second shooting alongside Bob. This type of workshop is designed to be educational on Day 1 and Day 3. Wedding day is all about the wedding and capturing the moments for our couples. All photographers are considered 2nd shooters. We encourage them to team up with another photographer to make sure they are covered so they can get all the images they need to complete a fine art book of the wedding. It's a pretty amazing way to add a beautiful destination wedding to their portfolio. Everyone is very respectful on wedding day and we all work together beautifully. That's the technical answer... now for the emotional, overly gushy, girlie answer...

Our 1st real wedding + workshop was in Las Vegas in 2008. The 2nd one was in St. Simons Island, Georgia in 2009. The 3rd one was in Nashville, TN in 2011. The 4th one was in the Umbria region of Italy in 2012. This past May 2013 was the 5th wedding Real Wedding Workshop we've hosted, where 15 photographers, and our 2 second shooters, photographed Jenni and Stevn's wedding alongside Bob, in Charleston, South Carolina. Yes, you read that right.... 18 photographers total at this wedding! And yes, we are absolutely crazy!

I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly amazing these experiences have been on so many levels. Lifelong friendships have been made throughout this journey. Life changing moments have occurred. Long nights of talking into the wee hours and even some night swimming, not to mention, some fun moments that will.... well, let's just stay, what happens at a Davis Love Story Workshop stays at a Davis Love Story Workshop! You know who you are!

Stevn's mom, Pam Bell, is a very dear friend of ours. We met Pam at our St. Simon's Island workshop in 2009. I'll never forget when she called me about attending the workshop. She was the last one to sign up. We talked for quite awhile, as she wasn't sure this was the right workshop for her. Well, since then, she and her sweet husband, Wade, have attended our Real Wedding + Workshop in Italy last year, and also asked us if we would be interested in making her son's wedding a workshop, of course with their approval. Their family has become our family, we just love them so very much. When she shared the details of their wedding with us and sent us photos of Jenni and Stevn, we knew immediately this was the perfect fit.

We had the most amazing photographers join us for this adventure as Jenni and Stevn said "I Do!". Thank you so very much, Raul Castro, Courtney Clouse, Kristi Coil, Melissa Del Vecchio, Randy Dickson, Davis Macias, Samantha Oulavong, Jeni Rone, Crystal Schmidt, Tiffany and Miles Stelzig, Vivian Strayer, Mary Wessner, Becky Williamson, Julie Wooldridge for believing in us and trusting Bob and I to provide you with an educational and fun experience! Please remember to keep in touch with us. We know that we provided a ton of information and if you ever have questions, always know that we are here for you!!! We want to see you succeed!

A huge thank you to our Operations Manager, Michele, for helping us along with every step of the way with this workshop. We don't know what we'd do without her.... truly, everyone needs a Michele! And a huge thank you to Arlene and Doug Beets who 2nd shoot this wedding with Bob. Also, major contributors were their daughter and son-in-law, Tiffany and Miles. And, Stevn's mom, Pam and his sister, Katrin who shared some photos with us as well. We love you all so very much!!! Thank you for contributing as our 2nd shooters! You are the best of the best!

We hosted our workshop at the Charleston Center For Photography which was a fantastic location! Andy and his team were amazing and so gracious with us. We were also blessed to have Brandon Heiss from Westcott Westcott join us to help with lighting setups. Thank you Brandon!!!

Day one, we all headed to Battery Park in Charleston with everyone, which is famous for its beautiful cobblestone walkways and Antebellum homes. As you can see in the photo above, there were a lot of light stands! Jenni and Stevn were amazing as they were being photographed like celebrities! I really loved the gazebo at White Point Gardens and all the . Their love for each other is undeniable! And every photographer there was taken in by not only their beauty on the outside but their kindness on the inside too!

After Battery Park, we were off to cover the red carpet entrance to the rehearsal dinner at the 1940's deco American Theater. Look familiar? In my all-time favorite movie "The Notebook" Noah and Allie go to see Buster Keaton in Li’l Abner at this theather. Pam & Wade were hosting the rehearsal dinner and wanted to do a red carpet entrance. Bob thought it would be fun to have a paparazzi style entrance. And Jenni looked amazing in her BCBG Maxazria dress!

So, this is Part 1 of a 4 part blog post of our last Davis Love Story Real Wedding + Workshop. We hope that you can experience how incredible this adventure was for us all through our photos! Enjoy!

Much love everyone!

~ Dawn and Bob

Since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, it's been such a cool theme during our last couple of engagement sessions. Meet Lauren and Stephen... so cute and so fun... I just love their energy and I love that they make each other laugh. Lauren has the most beautiful eyes and a smile that just lights up in every photo.

And I, of course, love that they wanted to wear their jerseys and begin at the Field Museum right near to the dinosaur. Lauren and Stephen, we are looking forward to your wedding in January!

A big thank you to Reva Nathan for sharing us with this beautiful couple! We are so grateful to have your trust.

xoxoxo,

~ Dawn & Bob