Another week, another engagement portrait....Here's 2 shots from Saturday's Session:    The Fern Room at Como Park Conservatory and The Japanese Garden:

     I've got another engagement portrait to share.  This is interesting in that it shows that now with Digital photography the best Photographers are more than Photographers ...they are also Graphic Designers.  Kim and Matt are planning an October wedding outdoors on the weekend when the colors will peak and they wanted a special photo-invitation featuring orange leaves...and they wanted to see what I could come up with.  

     The first thing we did was shoot their engagement photos at the Como Park Conservatory (my favorite place in the Twin Cities...I've photographed over 100 weddings in the Conservatory...you now need a License to do professional photography there....and I have License #001)  That took almost 2 hours...I lose money on the Engagement Portraits...they usually take up half my day but I love doing them and I think they're really important.  In fact I refer to them as "DRESS REHEARSALS"  because that's what they are..I see them as another way to contribute to the Success of the wedding....I try to shoot them at the exact location where we will be doing our outdoor pictures on the day of the wedding so that on the Wedding Day it's like "we pick-up where we left off" I strongly recommend them to every couple I work with.

     So it's April and we're shooting an engagement portrait that we want to have an Orange leaf October look to it...this is where PHOTOSHOP comes in. It's a $600.00 software program that is as important as my camera. The first thing I did was to remove Kim's braces...(they will be off in time for the ceremony). If you look closely at the slide show on the right you'll see Kim's braces fading in and out and you'll notice the green ferns in the background.  In the slide show on the left  you'll see a dozen variations of the shot they will use for their invitation. I use these same techniques of Foreground / Background images in my Wedding Albums as well. 

     I love this because it's a whole new area for Creativity....Graphic Design.  You'll see this in my Albums. Another interesting point is that it took under 2 hours to shoot 153 images in the Engagement Portrait session.....but OVER 3 HOURS to produce what you see here.  Let me know what you think of these....mailto:etm2301@gmail.com

Well, on Sunday I shot Wedding pictures at the site of Marriage Proposal, tonight I shot Engagement portraits where Rhea & Kyle were engaged....at St. Anthony Falls on the 3rd Ave. Bridge in Minneapolis. Here is a slide show of a few...

5/7/2006  Sunday evening....

    what a difference a week makes.  Remember the dreadful downpour of last weekend? We sure made up for that with what I'd say was the best weather yet, this weekend.  All of the flowering trees are blooming and the grass is a green as it can get. And yesterday I was told the "MOST ROMANTIC ENGAGEMENT STORY I'VE EVER HEARD"

     O.K. here's the story:  It's good... The couple above, Diana and Justin, were engaged at Sunset, a year ago today. ( 5/7/2005)  They were married yesterday.  (5/6/2006) The Gazebo in the left hand picture is in Irving Park in St. Paul. It was the scene of their engagement and of her outdoor wedding pictures taken yesterday.  The surprise engagement was a conspiracy between the Groom and his brother, Scott (the soon-to-be best man.) Justin invited Diana to a romantic dinner at W.A. Frost and afterwards took her on a walk through Irving Park.  Unbeknownst to Diana, during dinner Justin's brother was decorating the above pictured Gazebo in preparation for Justin's proposal later that evening.  The gazebo was decorated with DOZENS of candles and rose petals and at the center of the Gazebo was placed a velvet box containing....a ring.   

      Having finished with the decorations, Justin's brother waited until Justin & Diana entered the park from the opposite end and then snuck away.  In the Twilight, as the couple approached the candle-lit Gazebo, Diana noticed and said "What's this? let's check it out" Justin, feigning innocence said" Sure" Together they went up the five steps to where they both could see the box containing the ring and at some point Diana realized that she was about to be the recipient of a Proposal of Marriage.  The rest, is history...

NICE WORK JUSTIN!

HERE'S A SLIDE SHOW FROM DIANA'S WEDDING YESTERDAY...