A Morning in Tryon Creek Park

Last weekend I had the opportunity to make some engagement images for Maya and Graeme.  They asked that the pictures be taken in Tryon Creek State Park, which, while heavily forested and beautiful, is dark and green. I was not psyched to go there because I was convinced the light would be awful and tried to steer them toward another site in Lake Oswego with better light.

Things changed for me once I found that Graeme had proposed in Tryon Creek. Maya sent me some examples of other engagement photos she liked that featured back lighting.  From those images I came up with some locations in the park that would give her that look.

Turns out the betrothed are quite shy- especially in front of the camera. I worked hard to make them part of the picture-taking process, and I moved us around a bit to help relax the mood. I used one 50 mm prime lens during the entire shoot so I wouldn't be fiddling with gear and blow the mood.

Graeme and Maya slowly relaxed, started having a good time, and we got some keepers.  I'm thankful I finally opened my mind and listened to what was important to them.  In the end the whole scene was very collaborative and was one of the most rewarding photo shoots I've done because of the technical challenges, and the connection I made with a really cool couple.