Cynthia & Paul: Engagement Session

Several months ago, Cynthia booked me for her small, intimate wedding of 60 people which will be on May 14, 2011 at the Zolla-Lieberman Gallery.  At the same time, she also wanted an engagement session.  While none of this is abnormal, Cynthia booked me via email only.  No phone call, no in-person consultation.

Having never met either of them, or heard a voice, I didn't know what to expect.  Are they three feet tall, 8 feet tall, gregarious, shy, how are they in front of a camera?

To make matters more jarring, she wanted to hit two locations I have never photographed before: the Kinzie Street Bridge and old railroad crossing nearby.

I kept myself as calm as possible, assessed their personalities, started with the Kinzie Street Bridge since I was already going to be nervous.  Luckily, they both are pretty calm (and slightly nervous as well) so they were patient while I tried to find the best angles, camera lens, distance, light and so forth.

I like to step back and look at these sessions and applaud and critique the results.  I do think engagement sessions are one of the hardest things I shoot.  Why?  I am not a portrait photographer.  I fell into journalism because I liked taking pictures of people while they weren't paying attention to me.  Having people rely on me for choosing all the elements that make up a portrait makes me frantic.  At a wedding, there is so much going on, and no one paying attention to me, I feel much less stressed and free to produce art.    

And, engagement sessions can become VERY routine.  I sometimes feel like I might be cheating my clients by visiting the same spots, and always relying on how I approached a different session 3 days prior.   In this session, I am really enjoying the incredible beauty of the couple and (while nervous like myself) seem so at ease with the camera and letting their personalities shine.  Cynthia is simply made for the camera.  She can pose in a way that is much more 'her' rather than 'me.'  I like to choose the backdrops, and try to get my clients to use that space to display themselves.    

I think my one major critique is how I approached one of the photos in the session.  The lying-on-the-ground-ying-yang shot.  So uber-trendy, overly-done, cliche, standard, easy.  I think I have avoided it to date, but fell victim when I was standing on this ledge and noticed all the yellow/orange leaves coating the ground.  So, I did it.  But tried to offer a different approach and angle.

But really, in the end, it isn't always about me.  As long as I push myself to grow, learn and see differently each and every time, then I am heading in the right direction.

But mostly, the client needs to be happy.  And if they are happy, then I did my job well.  

Cynthai sent me a note after posting the session on Pictage, "My mother's reaction was a simply whispered, "wow!"

Whew.  Session successful.