When I met up with Lea and Mike for their engagement photos, Mike made it clear to me that I was in for an uphill battle. I can’t quote the text exactly, but it went something like, “Prepare to break your lens, because no one has been able to capture a good picture of me.” I laughed and met the two at Kip’s Castle in Verona, NJ, overlooking Essex County. To say, I’ve heard Mike’s comments before is an understatement. Most couples have never had professional photos taken of them before and it’s not unheard of for engagement sessions to be awkward for the first few minutes. Unless, of course, the couple is used to having paparazzi following them around while they make out in a park. I’ve yet to meet that couple.
That said, Lea and Mike are one of the coolest couples I know. They hang in a group of friends that are equally as awesome (a few of which that I’ve had the pleasure of photographing) and their personalities are definitely not of the shy variety. The key to great engagement photographs is to keep the couple interacting with each other. Forget posing, as long as they are happy and love each other, the natural fun in the photos pours out. That’s why Lea and Mike were so awesome to photograph, they just took this session as an afternoon to be silly in a quiet park with an equally silly photographer. A few days ago, I got this note from Mike: “Lea and I just uploaded our pictures…simply incredible. Thanks again for everything and doing such a great job. I didn’t think it was possible to have a great picture taken of me but you made the impossible happen many times!” No, Mike. Thank you.
