The Blog
Bling-bling! (We got the ring!)
While my relationship status doesn’t hinge on this hardware, I won’t lie: I love a shiny thing. Rings have always been my jewelry of choice, and photographing this one was extra special!
It may sound a bit hokey, but every ring I own has found me at just the right time and place. My engagement ring was no exception. I spotted it on my lunch break while popping into one of my favorite local boutiques, Asrai Garden; I knew on sight it was the one. Despite its design being completely different from anything I expected I might want for the occasion, Fiat Lux’s unique and striking work had me immediately. Four days later, it was on my finger for life!
There was no picture perfect bended knee or surprise proposal. The only photographic evidence of our private moment was a selfie we sent to our family and friends in the week leading up to our planned online announcement. (Because no relationship is official until it’s Facebook official, right? I think not, but sometimes it definitely feels that way…)
As someone experienced in shooting with jewelry, the opportunity to take a unique picture for the family and friends that would demand to see the bling following their well wishes was exciting… minus the part where I had no idea how I wanted to do it. Our dear friend was throwing a holiday party at the end of the week where we were getting all dolled up, so I figured I’d wing it and decide how day-of!
Have you ever had an epiphany while hungover? Something about necessity of clearing your brain for fear of overstimulation along with the bright lights and sounds somehow made way for an idea. Following a very late night of surprise prosecco celebrating our engagement with our friends, I was obsessing over taking pictures of their Christmas tree’s lights when it dawned on me. I cleared off the coffee table and focused the ring far enough in front of the tree to create a gorgeous glimmering effect using my 50mm portrait lens. After some trial and error with items in the background and figuring out the angle, I got the perfect shot.
Then came the task of figuring out how to take a photo of my partner and I together. I tried using my phone as a remote with my camera on a tripod, but with my portrait lens being the only one handy it came out too close and awkwardly cropped (below). So I did what any normal control freak would do and used one of our friends as a human tripod, framing up the picture for her to pull the trigger. She crushed it, and the results were exactly what I hoped for.
Got this cute picture of me in the process… right in the middle of party set up! I helped after, I promise. 
The lighting was tough and the lens was too close. Also didn’t love the floating hand… 
Pictured: a good sport. 
Almost there!
I think everyone should get the photos they want – whether that’s day of during the grand surprise gesture, posed during an intimate shoot, or a DIY selfie in the moment.
Does it drive anyone else batty when people post post every single shot from one if not multiple engagement shoots? If you haven’t seen it done, I can tell you from experience that albums with hundreds of photos are out there. I’m genuinely happy those folks found their person and want to celebrate with us, but to me a photoshoot is a process to find those magical shots and chances are… not *every* shot is going to be magical. If the focus is on the shoot, that’s great! But isn’t posting every single photo taking away from the main focus of the announcement?
I don’t know. The days of single photo or solely written announcements in print are pretty much gone these days, opening up our options to show as much or as little as we like. It all comes down to personal preference. What a time to be alive when we can choose that for ourselves, right?
What you think about formal engagement shoots vs. a DIY situation like this? Do you like seeing all the photos, or think less is more?
