Almost 10 years ago, I made a vow never to put a couple in a tree ever again. It was 2007 and my good friend Rob was engaged and kindly asked me to take his engagement photos. This was before I transitioned to wedding photography and I had never done an engagement shoot before. Stupidly, I told him to climb up a tree and and cuddle with his fiancée, Jeannette. To this day, it’s possibly the cheesiest and stupidest photo I’ve ever taken and I don’t think either of them have ever forgiven me for it.
Fast forward a decade, and I’m photographing Rebecca and Chaz in the parks surrounding Yale University where the two live. The couple wanted to take photos in this cool little woodsy alcove featuring a tree with crazy, sweeping branches that almost looked alive. Before I could stop myself, I told them to climb up so I can photograph them. Déjà vu swept over me, but it was too late. Luckily, these two had no problem posing on a tree and somehow the photos came out better than I thought they would.. Stupidly, I also climbed up the tree for a different vantage point and almost fell off while shooting with nothing to hold onto. But that’s enough tree talk.
What really inspired me during this shoot, besides the obvious love shared between Rebecca and Chaz, is the cool way he proposed to her. While on a trip to Iceland, the two stumbled upon an art exhibit by author and artist Guðlaugur Arason who creates these miniature book cases complete with dozens of tiny books. When they got home, Chaz secretly commissioned Arason to create a diorama filled with Rebecca’s favorite books, a portrait of Rebecca and a spot for the engagement ring. Luckily, the engagement ring was actual size. She said yes. The rest is history.
Check out Rebecca and Chaz’s super-fun Yale University engagement photos.
