Anastasia blows a kiss to Dan in this whimsical shot.
Engagement photos are important for 2 reasons: They give the couple images to share with family and friends to announce the upcoming event and they give the couple the chance to try working with the wedding photographer. You have to have fun, or you should keep looking since the photographer is a big part of the day. That person who is always around through the whole event.
Dan and Anastasia were an easy couple to shoot. They’re photogenic and they took instruction easily, often improving the shot with small adjustments. The engagement photos were taken on a lovely day, but a day with no clouds. The bright sun sent us to the shade, but sometimes it also added drama to shots. We wanted to shoot outdoors, since the gardens and grounds around the studio were looking great. The photos from the shoot were compiled into a brief video, and that’s a good way to see the shots from the day: CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO.
Most of the photos are simply shown as shot. Retouched to get the balance of light, but no big tricks involved. The one exception is the composite image shown at the beginning of this article. The bubble image was compiled from a number of shots in which they were playfully blowing bubbles. The base image was one where I had Anastasia blow a kiss to Dan. Then in the composite image I added the bubbles. Makes for a fun concept shot. One that seems remotely possible, but really would be nearly impossible to shoot in real life.
We had much fun doing the shoot, and caught some good light. Their energy and affection made it so simple.