I generally don’t post much of the work that I do for my clients, so it may come as a surprise to some of you reading my blog that I do quite a bit of portrait and wedding photography. Fresh off an inspiring keynote speech by Jerry Ghionis (noted as one of the top five wedding photographers in the world) at the EXPOsure Show, I was ready to tackle a very unique photoshoot with my trusted shooting partner, Sai-Kit Chu.
So what made this particular shoot so unique? Well let’s rewind this a few weeks to get you up to speed. I was approached by a guy named Hesham wanting to take some photos of him and his girlfriend Deanne. They were new to the city and wanted something urban, gritty, and light. Simple enough, right? Well the kicker here was Hesham had bigger plans; to propose to Deanne during the shoot! The plan was underway.
Hesham and I had carefully plotted the locations we wanted to include in the shoot and developed code phrases for when it was time for the big moment. Earlier in the day, Hesham dropped off some chilled champagne and glasses in preparation of what was going to be happening only a couple of hours later. Jokingly, I said “so you feel pretty confident about this?” in which he replied without hesitation. We both had an awkward laugh about it.
Even before the proposal, the shoot was moving along stunningly. Deanne and Hesham had an amazing bond with one another which made their photographs seem very natural. Their positive energy and friendly demeanor makes them the type of good people you can’t help but feel you’ve known all your life.
So we fast forward to the Toronto Music Garden; it was time to drop the ‘romantic pose’ which was the code phrase for “let’s do this”. I instructed Hesham to get down on one knee. From there, he took over.
He told the unlikely story of a boy from Palestine and a small town girl from Newfoundland meeting and falling in love. Deanne was first confused, then in disbelief, and finally overjoyed. Onlookers seemed oblivious to the magic that was in the air. It was all just perfect.
[all photos by Neil Ta and Sai-Kit Chu]
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