Wedding Advice & Photography

Two things we are confident in: Wedding Planning & photography. Van Elk & Co is made up of a team of photographers who love to create portraits of love & happiness and share advice for wedding couples.

This isn't your typical photography blog. We share useful info for couples who are getting married and those who are heading that direction. Let us show you pretty things while you fill your head with all things wedding planning.

February 21, 2023

FILED IN: Portraits

We wanted to update our family photos recently. Even though we’ve been shooting for quite some time and have a lot of photographer friends, we weren’t certain who we wanted to hire to take our photos. That’s when we realized we were maybe thinking too hard about this. We have an amazing lead photographer who […]

December 5, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

parents smile at kids under ivy covered trellis at indianapolis art center ARTSPARK for broad ripple family photos

Ivy grew up and over a trellis at the ARTSPARK at the Indianapolis Art Center. The sunlight filtering through the leaves taking on a pale green hue. In the shade of the trellis the Rinckers stood, parents holding their kids, laughing and smiling. These Broad Ripple family photos were so much fun to capture! Did […]

November 22, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

mom and dad throw their kids into the air during their Strawtown Koteewi Family Photos

The Summers met us in Hamilton County to take photos at a local park. These Strawtown Koteewi family photos we did with them were taken at sunset. They are absolutely gorgeous! The kids, parents, and grandparents were all great! Did you love these Strawtown Koteewi family photos? If you loved the photos from this post […]

November 16, 2021

FILED IN: Newborn, Portraits

mom and dad hold baby on bed captured by their Indy Newborn Photographer

I love capturing photos of newborns in their own home. I feel like shooting in their home helps them feel a little more comfortable that if you do them in the studio. Plus it allows me to incorporate some of the parents style into the photos. So, check out the lovely photos below of Baby […]

October 6, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

family of five walking through fall colors in forest captured by a Carmel Family Photographer

The leaves on the trees were changing colors. Fading from green to pale yellows and deep oranges. A few of the trees were even blushing red. The Shaffer family played in the fallen leaves amidst the trees. Smiling and laughing, they were having a fantastic day. This Carmel family photographer had so much fun on […]

October 5, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

mom and dad smile with baby in pumpkin patch during their Russell Farms Family Photos

Light from the setting sun filtered through the leaves of the trees in autumn. The leaves were just starting to take on a yellow cast, but were not quite ready to fall. Under the leaves sat a vast amount of pumpkins and in the middle of the pumpkins was a smiling toddler and his two […]

March 5, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

family of four with mom, dad, and two daughters on blanket for their farmland family photography

The swing swayed gently back and forth on the front porch. The swing made a rhythmic creaking noise as it moved. On the swing, the De La Vegas sat with their daughters, reading books as the sun set. This was just one of the amazing moments from the lifestyle shoot we did with the De […]

September 2, 2020

FILED IN: Portraits

small family of four at sunset in Indy family photos

The leaves of the trees had started to change color. They were transitioning from a verdant green to brown, but were caught in few shades of yellow and orange on the way. Standing in front of a brown field of grain, the Carrera family stood together. They came for the shoot prepared with footballs and […]

April 30, 2020

FILED IN: Newborn

sweet baby all wrapped up in pink blanket on white backgroundNoblesville Newborn Photography

Last week we published a piece about how to shoot newborn photos with an iPhone. We received some feedback from parents that are expecting that they don’t know if they have any picturesque newborn props and they don’t really want to spend money on something that would just be a photo prop. So we decided […]

April 23, 2020

FILED IN: Newborn, Portraits

Recently we’ve had to close our doors to portraits because of COVID-19, and it’s been heartbreaking. The most heartbreaking thing is having to say no to clients who want newborn portraits. Babies change so quickly, so I wanted to put together some tips on how to capture your newborn portraits with your iPhone (or Android […]