As a documentary photographer, I am focused on work that is unposed, in the moment and natural. However, there are times when I do like to “play” a bit and get creative and play with other aspects of photographic artistry.
Engagement Photosessions are something I still offer (at this time). When I do them, I am always intentional in making the photographs personal and as meaningful to the couple rather than just creating pretty pictures. I like working with the couple to make a theme and be creative and do something that relates to them. For example:
I had a bride who was really into books and so we booked and explored Lawrence Books. As part of the photosession, I had the bride and groom hide messages for each other and they had to find them in the books. Hopefully we found all the messages… lol
Another bride and groom were looking for a nautical theme. While we weren’t able to access boats and ships at the time, we did end up taking photographs by the ocean at Whytecliff Park and also by the boat dock at Horseshoe Bay.
A more recent session involved ultimate frisbee and chinese hot pot… in a park!
After some discussion with Alex and Vania, we decided that we wanted to partially create their first date story, which took place in Vancouver Downtown. I also identified that eating together and enjoying food was a big deal for them so we made sure to get some good eats and some gelato as well :)
On their first date, Alex was pooped on by a bird and had to change his jacket. While this did not happen during this engagement session (phew!), we did end up taking a photo of the two of them with a huge bird crap on a glass window that was next to them. To my surprise, they totally LOVED the photo and didn’t want the bird crap photoshopped out.
The bird crap really made this photo.
Our last bit of the engagement session involved a stroll through Gastown. Unknown to most, I am actually a huge fan of cinematography and look to movies and films for inspiration when it comes to photography. With that in mind, I wanted to create a cinematic feel for their session and with the sun going down and the neon lights and dark shadows coming into play, I had the perfect setup for natural looking cinematic night engagement photos.
It’s always nice to try something new and get to be creative and collaborate with the couple on making something interesting that brings THEIR story into the photographs. It gives me a chance to get to know the couple and vice versa for them to get to know me, all while keeping things natural and letting their interactions tell the story. Once the wedding day rolls around, it’s great because we know each other and they know how I work. Once the day starts, everything begins to go quick and crazy and I quickly become the ninja documentary wedding photographer that they hired me for.
