Photo Hangout
Photo Hangout

Photo Hangout

A blog about photography and things that are interesting to photographers.


Droning with the Kids

10 Nov 2021 1 minute read 2 comments stevenvanelk

The other day as the light was slowly fading I realized it’d been a while since the last time I had flown the drone. I really wanted to get up in the air to capture the fall colors as the leaves change color on the trees in Indiana. So I packed my st...

Engagement Photos in Lincoln Park

5 Jul 2021 1 minute read 2 comments stevenvanelk

Last fall I was in Chicago to do an engagement photo shoot with a couple. We walked around Lincoln Park taking photos and the light was gorgeous. The couple was awesome too. They brought some friends with them who forced them to chug PBRs during the...

Second Shot of Moderna Vaccine

1 May 2021 1 minute read 0 comments stevenvanelk

This week I got my second shot of the Moderna Vaccine. I'm so excited to be two weeks away from being fully vaccinated. It will be just in time for wedding season. My first wedding this year is a week after that two week wait. I can't describe how mu...

Forgot my Micro SD Card

6 Apr 2021 1 minute read 4 comments stevenvanelk

I'm currently on vacation with my family at a beach down in Alabama. I brought my DJI Mavic Pro with me to fly on the beach and see if I could get some good photos of the ocean and waves. I took my drone out to fly the other night, only to discover t...

First Dose of the Moderna Vaccine

30 Mar 2021 2 minute read 1 comment stevenvanelk

I'm so ready to get back to feeling safe while doing wedding photography. Yesterday my state decided that anyone over the age of 30 could now sign up to receive the vaccine for the coronavirus (the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines)....

Top Engagement Photo locations in Indianapolis

26 Mar 2021 2 minute read 1 comment stevenvanelk

On my photography website I wrote a blog post about a bunch of different locations for engagement photos in the Indianapolis area. Instead of going through and rehashing that whole article here again, I thought I'd take a moment to just talk about my...

Floral Masks for Wedding Photography

22 Mar 2021 3 minute read 2 comments stevenvanelk

Had to run into the UPS store the other day and the lady working the counter told me I had a pretty mask. I was wearing a mask with a floral print at the time. She then asked if I lost mine and had to borrow my wife's. I told her I bought the mask fo...

Mask Testing for Photographers

19 Mar 2021 3 minute read 0 comments stevenvanelk

Last Summer we were in the middle of the pandemic and I was faced with having to make a decision to either shoot weddings that were still happening or cancel on my clients and refund their money. I couldn't afford to cancel, so I decided to figure ou...

Chicago Skyline Photography from the Lakefront

15 Mar 2021 1 minute read 2 comments stevenvanelk

I was in Chicago in December of 2017 to shoot a few engagement photos of a couple. It was -15 degrees Farenheit during the shoot, just absolutely freezing cold. This was shot on the shore of Lake Michigan, in the Belmont Harbor Park. I shot this to m...

Fall Photos with a Drone in Indiana

14 Mar 2021 1 minute read 0 comments stevenvanelk

Last autumn I took my drone out to practice doing some photos and videos. It was really relaxing during the pandemic to go outside for a few minutes at sunset to fly the drone. Definitely something I needed to help get rid of some of my inner anxiety...