Stephanie Wallace Photography

Wedding and Portrait Photography in Northwest Indiana

Hi, I’m Stephanie,

Welcome to my photography blogsite. I am a portrait and wedding photographer in Northwest Indiana. I specialize in engagements, weddings, maternity, newborns, families, and high school seniors.

A few random facts about me, that you may (or may not) find interesting:

*My father was in the Air-force when I was growing up. I spent my high school years overseas, on the little island of Okinawa, Japan. (Yes, that is where Mr. Miyagi, in the original Karate Kid movie, was from.)

*I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to recycling. Just ask my family. I've been known to pull things out of the garbage can, because they should have been recycled.

*My favorite season is Summer. I really don't like Winter much at all. To me being really hot is uncomfortable, but being really cold, is painful. I will admit that snow can be pretty, but if I lived somewhere where it never snowed, I really wouldn't miss it much. ( I attribute this to the fact that I was born in August in Florida.)

*I do not own any clothing that is the color yellow.

Wedding Packages start at $2,300, and all wedding couples receive a free engagement portrait session. The engagement session is a great way for us to get to know each other and will help us work even better together on your wedding day. I would describe my wedding photography style as a mix of candid / photojournalistic and traditional. My goal is to capture all the details of your wedding day, so you will have those memories preserved for a lifetime.

Let me share my creative talents with you. All portraits can be done on-location, at your home or location of your choice. Please click on "contact" above, and fill out the form. I will answer any questions you may have and send you more information on wedding packages and portrait sessions.

Courtney & Brett’s Wedding | Wedding Photographer in Northwest Indiana

I don’t always blog weddings that I second shoot, but this is one of the exceptions. I was working with Kelly Benton Photography as a second shooter for Courtney & Brett’s May wedding. Their ceremony was held at the beautiful Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL and their reception at Pinstripes in Oakbrook, IL. The weather was beautiful and they were such a fun couple! It was truly a perfect wedding day. They allowed plenty of time between ceremony and reception for portraits, which resulted in them getting tons of beautiful wedding photos. Here are some of my favorites from the day:

These guys were hilarious, they randomly started “frolicking” through the field

Then the rest of the wedding party joined them.They knew how to strike a pose too!It was a gorgeous afternoon filled with love and laughter.This was a candid moment I caught of the two of them, the main photographer Kelly and I had walked back to where our cars where parked and we looked back to see this, luckily I still had my camera around my neck with my long lens on. So sweet.An advantage of having two photographers at your wedding is that you can get different creative angles of the same shot.Another candid moment I caught when he stopped to help her put her shoe back on.The Morton Arboretum was beautiful, we found this amazing location with blooming trees near one of the lakes.See the geese?This was the first time I have seen a wedding pie in lieu of a cake. I loved it!

Shauna & Alex Engagement Session – Northwest Indiana Wedding Photographer

Shauna & Alex are getting married this August in Valparaiso, Indiana. We had an awesome time during their “Rural Indiana” themed engagement session in LaPorte County, which included things like a pond, small meadow with sheep in the background, an adorable mini horse named Dudley, and an old bicycle that belonged to Alex’s mother when she was young. We also visited a hay barn and took some photos there just before sunset.

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Rodgers Family Portraits – Northwest Indiana Photographer

I had such a fun time meeting the Rodgers family and taking their family portraits at Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso, Indiana. Their daughter Stella is so cute and she was very well behaved. We had a beautiful Spring morning with lots of tulips and blooming trees, which made beautiful back drops for their photos. Here are a few of my favorites:

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What to wear for portrait sessions | Northwest Indiana Photographer

I’m am often asked “What should we wear to our photo session?” So here is a little advice on what to (and NOT to) wear.

First, I’ll start with the Don’ts:

I’m personally not a fan of everyone matching; for example all white shirts and khakis, or everyone wearing the same color polo tops. This look was popular in the past but I feel it’s a bit dated not to mention it can be boring and unflattering.

Avoid t-shirts and sweatshirts with large logos on them. This can be very distracting. The only exception to this rule, is if you are all fans of a certain team and want a sports or fan themed photo shoot.

Avoid large, crazy, loud patterns. I’m not saying no patterns at all; striped sweaters, plaid shirts or cute floral dresses are all acceptable, just keep the prints smaller and make sure others in the photo with you coordinate with one or two colors in that pattern.

Please don’t forget the importance of nice shoes. There will be some portraits where you feet are visible and old dirty sneakers never look good.

Some helpful hints – Do’s:

Coordinate outfits with the others who will be in the photos with you. Stay in the same color family or wear complimentary colors. A good idea would be to choose a base color, like grey, and then add pops of one or two accent colors, like yellow or turquoise. Not everyone in the photo needs to wear the accent color(s).

Dress for the season and for the location. Layers are always good, but might not always work on a hot summer day.

Accessorize! Hats, scarves, belts and jewelry are all great and show personality. The accessories can also be how you add your pops of accent color.

Dress in clothing that you feel comfortable in, if you are uncomfortable it will show in the photos. Don’t force your children to wear a jacket and tie or a frilly dress if they are not comfortable with that attire.

Wear clothing that is flattering to your body type. So many women complain about their upper arms making them look heavy in photos, but they show up for the photo shoot wearing a sleeveless shirt or dress. If you are uncomfortable with how your arms look, then please wear long sleeves or a 3/4 length sleeve.

Ladies, if you want to wear high heels for your portraits, that’s great, but please bring along a pair of flats or flip flops to walk around in. At many outdoor locations we will be walking from area to area to get a variety of backdrops for your photos.

Here are a few great example photos showing how to coordinate, dress for the location/season, and accessorize: