So I got the chance to do another surprise proposal shoot recently. That makes a whopping two that I’ve done. And after just two, I can safely say that those type of shoots are the absolute best. Sure you can get some authentic expressions at weddings, but there’s nothing like that look of genuine surprise when the bride-to-be realizes gets that proposal.
Getting booked for it caught me entirely off guard. I had done a steampunk-themed couples shoot with Angela back in October. It was the first time I had ever shot with her. However, I was able to gain her confidence not only due to my work product and ethic, but also the fact that I was accommodating to make it a couples shoot. I actually thought at the time that her and Jonathan were already married. You sure would have thought so based off their chemistry. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Fast forward a couple of months and I get a call from Jonathan. He wanted to know if I would be interested in shooting a surprise proposal for his girlfriend Angela. That’s when I actually discovered that not only were they not married, they weren’t even engaged. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. Just check out the opening paragraph to see why. I just didn’t know how it was going to work. Jonathan had that all planned out.
Angela and I had already previously discussed doing a Nutcracker-themed shoot as we were approaching the Christmas season. Had the date all picked out and everything. Jonathan’s idea was to go ahead with that plan, but he was going to show up before the shoot even began to pop the question. Not only that, but he was going to have an outfit for her to change into so we could then go right into an “Up”-themed shoot for their engagement session. So he would basically be hijacking the session and the shoot we had originally planned wouldn’t happen. Well I knew that a surprise proposal would easily yield more powerful photos so I was all in.
One of the hurdles was getting the right location. Jonathan wanted some place with a hill so the pics with balloons would have a more epic feel. I immediately thought of this spot in McKinney called Adriatica Village. It is a large area where all of the commercial and residential buildings have a very photogenic Mediterranean look. More importantly, they had a hill overlooking a huge man-made lake. From the right angle, one could look they were touching the heavens
The second obstacle was getting Angela to agree to change the location without suspecting something. Our shoot was supposed to be in the studio I commonly use. Well that problem seemed to resolve itself when I found out that the studio was booked on the day that we had planned. I told her that we should switch to the Adriatica location instead and do a fall-winter themed shoot. I was banking on the fact that she would have enough faith in my vision to trust the venue change. Fortunately, I was right and she took the change in stride.
The last hurdle was making sure the surprise would work without Angela catching on before it was too late. How was I going to keep her facing one direction while Jonathan approached from behind considering how models like to move during their posing? I came up with the bogus charade that I had to get her framed in the shot so for her to stay looking at me the entire time without moving. It worked! She kept the pose. I quickly texted Jonathan the simple go-word “Now” and he was able to approach from behind while I was ‘framing’.
All in all, everything went down without a hitch. We even got lucky enough that the weather was absolutely perfect for it to be mid-December. It got a little windy toward the end, but by that time we had already secured several money images. It was safe to say it was a good day for everyone involved. Now if I can just transform this opportunity into a role as their wedding photographer…