Tara & Pauls vintage-styled University of the Arts engagement photos were all photographed mostly on black and white film. Their second shoot with me was a bit more unique and wanted this to look classic and vintage. This was photographed entirely with Kodak Portra 400 and Fujifilm Acros 100 black and white. We had a great time in Philadelphia hanging out by the University of the Arts. You will see more of their wedding from Bonnet Island Estate soon!!!
About the Avenue of the Arts
Broad Street earned its Avenue of the Arts nickname for good reason. For decades the University of the Arts anchored the south end of it, with a campus built around Dorrance Hamilton Hall, an 1826 landmark designed by John Haviland that started life as a school for the deaf. The university closed in 2024, but the architecture that made this stretch so photogenic is all still standing, from the columned facades on South Broad to City Hall and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts a few blocks north. Add the crumpled airplane sculpture on Lenfest Plaza and you have one of the most varied backdrops for photographs anywhere in the city.
University of the Arts Engagement photo ideas
I photograph in Philadelphia like its my job. Wait, it actually is my job! Well I have not really ventured into the University of the Arts area. This spot is opposite side of Broad Street that most couples photograph at for their weddings/engagements. The natural light is typically always amazing in this area and can shoot on either side of the plane art installation depending on the time of day. On occasion you will get students eating or taking a break here but they are very cool and will move over for a few minutes.
This street performer was super cool and went along with the vintage look of their black and white film engagement session in Philadelphia.
The backlighting of the sun made for an incredible silhouette coming out of City Hall in Philadelphia.
I wanted to end their session with the building reflections of PAFA and University of the Arts in the background. This was the reflection from the Philadelphia Convention Center on Broad Street. I am so glad I asked Tara & Paul to shoot again for University of the Arts engagement photos.
Film slows you down in the best way. A roll only gives you a handful of frames, so every photograph gets a beat of thought, and the grain from the Acros 100 has a look no digital preset can fake. If you are dreaming up a Philadelphia engagement session of your own, our guide to the best Philadelphia wedding venues is a good place to start planning the bigger day. And since Tara and Paul said yes to a shore wedding, you can browse the best Jersey Shore wedding venues while you wait for their Bonnet Island Estate photographs.