Here’s one of my favourite engagement sessions from last fall. What better way to spend an unseasonably warm holiday afternoon than walking around the Freemason area of Norfolk, photographing a beautiful couple? As soon as we began, Nina and Charlie were totally laid-back and comfortable with the camera, and some of my most favourite images came from the first few clicks of the shutter.
One of the greatest challenges in making incredible engagement photographs is breaking the groom out of “macho mode,” and getting him to stop looking down my lens like he’s going to kick my ass. So it’s always a weight off my shoulders when I work with guys like Charlie who have great senses of humor and don’t mind goofin’ around for a couple hours. Like always, the engagement session is such a great opportunity to learn how to make the bride and groom feel comfortable before game time to ensure I know how to connect with them when their minds are racing about three thousand other things on their wedding day.
Nina and Charlie stepped in front of my camera like professional models ready to work, and they were eager to do whatever it took to make art out of their engagement photographs. At one point, I walked around a corner to check the sunlight, only to turn around and watch Nina and Charlie tiptoe through the dirt of a flowerbed to create a beautiful, one-of-a-kind photograph. And with 45 minutes still remaining until the sun began to set, after a full afternoon of modeling for the camera, they had no interest in packing up and going home. They hung around like troopers, and were rewarded with some amazing, warm, sunset light, which translated into even more beautiful photographs.
It was a beautiful, warm, holiday afternoon in Norfolk, and I’m so pleased with the images we were able to create.
