Mandy and Mike's Engagment Session in Corvallis

Hey Photo fans. Instead of a slideshow I thought I'd post a few of my favorites from Mandy and Mike's chilly but fun engagement session and comment on what I like about them...here goes!


Who ever said, "Save the best for last" ? I'm all for putting your best shot first. This is my favorite shot from the session. I love the strong vertical lines in this picture. I feel like my eye starts with the couple and then gets pulled up through the entire frame. This almost reminds me of that famous picture of a sailor kissing a woman in the street of New York City at the end of WWII. I intentionally put the subjects a little lower in the frame to emphasize those lines. I also really like how their black jackets pop against the lighter background.




I love this shot because it is so natural. Great pictures are about capturing real moments, and that is sometimes hard to do in an engagement session. For this shot I started inside the building and had Mandy and Mike just sit and chat. I eventually went outside and behind them to give them a little more space. Pretty soon they were cracking each other up about who knows what, and I caught this frame of Mandy laughing. Like I said,a real moment, a real connection between the couple and it doesn't even matter that you can't really see their faces.



This is probably my second favorite shot. ( I know another kissing one...) I laid down on my stomach in the leaves for this one so that I could include some of the leaves in the foreground to help frame the couple, and to emphasize the strong vertical lines of the trees behind them. Again I really like how my eye starts with the couple and gets pulled by the line of trees all the way through the photograph. I think this could be a postcard, or a movie poster or something....Something along the lines of Sleepless in Seattle.




This is kind of becoming a trademark engagement shot. EVERY bride I meet loves her ring and wants to show it off a little. The thing I particularly like about this shot is that you look at the ring first and then you can see their smiling faces behind. It's almost as if they just got engaged.



You gotta love backlight, and the expression on their faces.




I turned this one black and white because I wanted to emphasize all of the lines in the photo, by leaving the couple out of focus it emphasizes the lines even more, and it is almost like a surprise when you see Mike and Mandy in the background.


Here is a version in color and with the focus on the couple.

Ok..well I blabbed a little more than I intended to...so what do you prefer, slideshow or commentary, or maybe a little of both?