To strike the chord with some neutrally-tuned fellas, you need to dig deep when brainstorming your clients’ engagement session ideas.
Here’s another makeup artist and hair stylist of Contrast Hair and Makeup who is entrusting her own wedding to me. I met Rachel in Mexico when shooting a destination wedding coupled with an underwater trash-the-dress shoot. She was my client’s MUA and right after our return to the US, she informed me of her own engagement and things went well from there.
Since they live away from NYC, we started our discussion of the engagement session over the phone. I felt like she was pre-sold on any idea that I would come up with but Aaron, I gathered, was less enthusiastic about the session… That is, until I sniffed out a part of their history that not only united them but also brought about good memories and excitement about incorporating it into the engagement session. They went to a good number of rock concerts—Royal Blood, Volbeat (whose t-shirt he’s sporting), Devin Townsend, and many others. One of the spots they frequented was the The Altar Bar in Pittsburgh, PA; this was the obvious place that came to mind when deciding on location. The hall’s staff was beyond accommodating us, even turning on the lights for me. You cannot quite get the ambiance of a night concert during the day but I tried, bringing contrast with my flashes.
A young man seen towards the end is Rachel’s brother, also a musician. We recruited him as my local assistant and he did very well, even pulling off a rock star image at the end to symbolize their good ol’ times.
As you can see, I started pretty simple and mellow to fill the “safety zone” with more traditional portraits before going too crazy.
Noteworthy, this was the first time when I flew in and out to a gig on the same day. As much as I wanted to give Pittsburgh a leisurely walk and a relaxing night, things were pretty busy at home. I must say, it felt pretty cool and fancy to fly to a shoot, he-he. So, enjoy the crazy fun and a bit of behind-the-scenes at the end. Next stop for them—the wine country around the Finger Lakes of New York in October.
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At the end of these shenanigans, could not resist giving them a really good hug, and rush to the airport.
