Ansley & Clarke’s Swan House Engagement Session

A refined approach | Editorial artistry + photo-journalistic storytelling

Ansley & Clarke knew they wanted a Swan House Engagement Session in Atlanta, Georgia. When a couple tells me they want their engagement portraits to feel more like a Vanity Fair feature than “traditional” photos, I know we’re about to create magic. Atlanta History Center’s grand, European-inspired estate, is the place to do exactly that. The results are graceful, genuine, and completely captivating.

Why Swan House?

Set beside the iconic Swan House mansion , the estate offers creamy limestone walls, sculpted gardens, and that sweeping staircase every “old-money” romance deserves. It’s the perfect blank canvas for my blend of editorial posing and documentary storytelling. Letting real emotion breathe inside sculpted, vogue-inspired frames.

Our Refined, Editorial Flow

1. Arrival & warm-up – We eased in at the entrance of the house. Letting Ansley & Clarke share a quiet laugh while I captured those organic, in-between grins that show extraordinary feeling.
2. Vanity-Fair moments – I guided them into gentle, elongated poses. Think soft hand placement, relaxed shoulders, intentional symmetry. Then stepped back so their natural chemistry could take over.
3. Documentary detours – Between “cover shots,” I followed them photo-journalist style. Clarke brushing a wind-tousled strand from Ansley’s face, the two of them playfully racing up the stone steps. Those unscripted snippets turn a polished gallery into a living story.

Palette & Styling

• Color story: ivory, champagne and black—tones that feel timeless next to Swan Coach House’s neutral façade.
• Wardrobe: Ansley had a mixture of flowy textured & structured silk dresss paired with Clarke’s semi-formal look & tailored navy suit. Clean lines that echo the mansion’s classical columns.

The Result

By fusing editorial artistry with photo-journalistic storytelling, we created a collection that feels equal parts fashion spread and lived-in love story. Swan House Engagement Session that will transport them straight back to Atlanta’s winter afternoon for decades to come. It may have been a cloudy day with a little bit of rain at the end of the session but the images still turned out perfectly.

Thinking about your own engagement session?

If you’re drawn to refined elegance, organic composition, and imagery that shows extraordinary feeling, let’s create something mesmerizing together. My Georgia-based studio serves couples across the Southeast and beyond; I’d love to craft photographs that balance living in the moment with artistry worthy of your home walls. Reach out here to start chatting.