Sunrise/Sunset
I had a fun challenge on Saturday - a guy hired me to photograph his proposal to his girlfriend at sunrise, and I already had a maternity shoot booked that day at sunset. It was going to be a long day, and yes I took a serious nap between the shoots.
Proposal shoots are always kind of funny. This one was easy because the client told his girlfriend that he had hired a photographer to take some couples portraits of them at The Coppal Farm Sunflower Festival in Lee, New Hampahire. The festival lasts for two weeks but opens up at sunrise for one day, welcoming photographers and early birds to enjoy the epic views. The plan was for us to shoot some nice, normal portraits for a few minutes and then I would give him a sign that it was a good time to pop the question. This is kind of sneaky, but feels less weird than how I normally have to shoot proposals, where I go to a specified location (almost always Portland Head Light) and just hang out until the couple shows up and I follow them around like a creep until I see the proposer drop to one knee. Meeting this couple ahead of time, getting to know each other and getting some shots in before the big surprise was much less anxiety-inducing and fun...
...but she totally knew that it was going to happen. She was not surprised at all. Her expression above is one of joy but also of "I KNEW IT." This is only the second time I've shot a proposal where the person being proposed to knew what was happening, and I've shot A LOT of proposals. The other person who knew was a total Sherlock Holmes about it. She saw the ring box in her boyfriend's pocket ("You NEVER have anything in your pockets"), she saw me following them, she knew that the guy was nervous leading up to it, and also she was looking straight at the camera in basically all of the photos of him on one knee proposing.
Most people being proposed to are surprised (or pretend to be) and are not prepared for a full-blown photo shoot so I try to keep it all very brief. People don't like to have photo shoots sprung on them. The proposer usually expects to do a ton of pictures and go to multiple locations but I know from experience that it's best to keep it short and sweet. I usually get 5-10 minutes of photos, show off the ring, get the big, giddy expressions on their faces and then say "You guys have some phone calls to make!" and then I BOUNCE.
This proposal shoot was under the guise of a couples session so we shot a lot more than usual. Only a few minutes after he popped the question the sun exploded over the horizon and made everything look pretty magical. It was a great time.
Then after a serious nap and more unpacking (it feels like we will never get through all these boxes) I headed to Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth for a sunset maternity shoot.
The light during sunrise and sunset can vary quite a bit from day to day. It's always much more soft flattering than harsh, mid-day sunlight. During the maternity session some clouds came up from the south and diffused the light quite a bit, making for very pleasant, but less dramatic light. I feel like the light during the maternity shoot looks more like morning light while the proposal shoot looks more like traditional sunset light.
The couple was fun to work with and they are definitely ready to have this baby. It's always fun to talk to couples during maternity shoots and see how they are handling it all. I try REALLY hard not provide the same unsolicited advice that everyone gives couples who are expecting, but yeah, I do it anyway.
August is a much leaner month for me work-wise. This week I have a small beach wedding in front of The Norseman Hotel/Splash Restaurant, which was my first job at a teenager, and two engagement sessions on the same day and on the same beach, twelve hours apart. Definitely another nap day.