All of these portraits were made with a Panasonic GF-1 which is now replaced by the GF2 which is actually smaller and lighter. I used PocketWizard Transceivers to trigger my Nikon SB-800 flash (which is now replaced by the Nikon SB-900). So you see, old technology still works! Honestly though, you can make these pictures with any old camera with a hot shoe and some manual controls. Everything here was done on manual. I had the speedlight on a lightstand with a small soft box up high angled down. First, I exposed for the ambient, and underexposed it by about 2-3 stops. Then I dialed in the power in my flash until the subject was lit to the correct exposure. This turns the white wall into more of a greyish color, which makes it look kind of like a fashion catalog type shot. Changing the white balance to a cooler temperature changes the color of the background and gives the overall picture a more stylized look. Of course, I couldn’t resist have just a little fun with it, so I gave them the choice of putting on some fake mustaches

Most Sympathy

Randy and I met at work 5 years ago. We instantly clicked and we have been together ever since. I have a son and a daughter from a previous relationship. He has a daughter from a previous relationship. This has been a challange but we made it thru. March 2007, my son passed away in his sleep with no warning. This was the worst day in my life, ever since then life has been a rollercoaster but the one thing I can count on is Randy will always be there for me, holding me, comforting me, reassuring me that life does go on. Randy proposed to me on Dec 24, 2009 and we are getting married 10.10.10. He is the only income as I’m in school to be a medical assistant and we are doing this on our own. We don’t have much money for our wedding but i’m doing everything I can do to still get the fairytale wedding. I would be forever greatful if you were to pick us for the pictures. I would treasure them forever.

Worst Luck

We just returned home from a two month road trip which included a month in Europe (where we got engaged). Within a week of being home and evaluating our finances, setting our wedding budget, and getting back into the real world…things take a turn for the worst. Our 10 month old kitten was “playing” on a ladder we had left leaning against the back wall and at 3AM, CRASH, BANG, THUMP…our cat broke his leg. We took him to three different emergency vets and finally found a surgeon to fix him. One plate, nine screws, 12 hours, and nearly half our wedding budget later…Banjo came home. His stitches come out tomorrow and he’ll be happy to have the cone off his head. All in all, we have our kitten…but a much smaller wedding budget and no Christmas presents. I did get a free tree on Craigslist though Thanks for the opportunity and Happy Holidays.

Most Creative Proposal

We both met in Seattle in 2006, but didn’t become “best” friends until the summer of 2008. In Oct’09 while Olwen was in Rwanda for work, I snuck over to Toronto to ask her parent’s permission. I had her friend make a stuffed animal of a cartoon that I drew for Olwen named Puddles and took it with me to Toronto. I then got permission from the parents, took all of her stuffed animals from her bedroom, and documented the whole trip to make it look like Puddles was traveling. In Seattle, I had her friend also make a mascot suit of Puddles. On her birthday, the day before Thanksgiving, we drove to my parents’ house in Portland where I gave her the stuffed Puddles as a birthday gift as well as a book of all the Toronto photos. While she read, I went downstairs, changed into the suit, and came back upstairs while my brothers unveiled the stuffed animals hiding behind her. I gave her a big (bear) hug, gave her the ring, and asked her to marry me. After she said “Yes”, I surprised her with her with parents who watched via webcam downstairs. The End.

For the contestants who didn’t win, I would still like to help you out. If you are still interested in getting engagement pictures done with us, I’d like to offer you a special discount. Please contact us for more details.