A little over a year ago, Ally and Tim embraced an alternative idea and went all in on a smoke bomb engagement. The spouses-to-be knew they wanted a natural backdrop for photos, loving the earthy tones of the outdoors. A little more than a week before their scheduled session, I received an email saying they wanted something different to make their photos standout and not be the traditional engagement pics. I suggested a few things, and colored smoke bombs is the idea they loved. One problem was Charleston was in the middle of a hurricane evacuation, and I wasn’t sure my order would arrive in time, but my fingers were crossed. Luckily, the order did arrive, and we were available to create some awesome non-traditional engagement photos.
However, the smoke bombs were only a small portion of the session. I still wanted the focus of the portraits to be about Ally and Tim’s interaction with one another. A lot of the couples I work with tell me they are not super comfortable in front of the camera. And I get it, a camera in your face and someone offering direction isn’t an activity most people are used to. So, part of the portrait process involves me facilitating an action or pose and then stepping back to let those natural reactions and exchanges take place between the couple. This ensures that the couple look great, but also helps maintain a natural, candid feel to most of the photos.
I also enjoy adding in a few serious poses, or “Vogue” poses as I like to say. I think every couple deserves their editorial, and those more serious poses reflect what one would see in a magazine or high fashion photo shoot. This creates a great mixture of creative portraits. One of my favorite things is couple’s reactions to seeing how well they rocked the session. Ally and Tim are no exception. They were committed to trying new things and pushing the conceptual boundaries of engagement portraits. That dedication produced great results, and I encourage other couples to be open to different ideas photographers suggest on a session.
