Chapter 1

She stood there a moment, looking deeply into the eyes of her future, and couldn’t help but smile at how amazing her future looked through his eyes.

This was the moment the photog needed to capture, that precise moment where the camera can’t fail, this has to be caught perfectly. It can’t be recreated at all. Then, Murphy’s Law kicks in full effect. The camera freezes up and appears to fail.

Wait, what? Hold on! Rewind

Let’s start a few paces back and set up the moment. As a photog, building a story in pictures is the whole fun of the package. Writing a story, of course, has to be done differently. So hang on, here we go

A dear friend of mine had asked that I help out with some engagement photos. A quick romantic shoot that would capture the essence of their romance. I have to admit, I didn’t know that much about their romance, being that they’re very private. I definitely respect that. Too many stories about relationships going south because everyone had an opinion to give. It was going to be a fun time and a challenging time. I love to set up my photos to reflect the people I photograph, even though I have my own style of how I want to show who they are.

What I did know was that my friend trusted me and my style. We had worked together many times in my learning days of photography. Now that I think about it, I’m not done learning at all. She was instrumental in the process in that she had volunteered a lot of her time so I could practice. This practice gave me the confidence to go do paid gigs at will. Now, a chance to say thank you came up. I would happily do this photo shoot for them and give them a package that they could be proud of.

My goal was to capture a few moments that looked very private, intimate, yet unassuming. A very tall order. Something I hadn’t done before. I would have to follow them around and wait for the ideal moment. This method historically has proved boring for both the client and me. Now, with a guy who I knew, but not well, and a dear friend… boring was the last thing I could afford to be.

As nervous as I was anticipating to be, I couldn’t show it, and I couldn’t have them respond to it. So, I started watching them anytime we hung out to start seeing patterns that would come in handy during the photo session. I knew I wouldn’t have much time, guys don’t like to be photographed for long typically. I also know she has plenty of patience to let me get the perfect shot. I also discovered that they spoke often but so quietly and privately, most people didn’t notice. This reconnaissance info would help me a ton.