First Engagement Shoot

It has been a while since I last blogged, but I've been really busy. I got my camera back from the shop and I went right back to work. My first assignment was awesome; my good friends invited me to take their engagement photos. How could I say "No"? This turned out to be a great shoot, but I'll have to admit, I've never shot an engagement session and everything was done in ad-lib. This gave all the pics a nice relaxed feel which was exactly what the couple wanted. The picture above was their first pick.

This picture was fairly simple to create. Here's what I used:

• 1 flash set to half power triggered remotely
  
• Shoot-Thru Umbrella
• 1/4 CTO gel
• Beautiful assistant

The flash was up high and to my right. It was held by my lovely girlfriend/assistant. She is great and without her help it would have been hard to make this picture. She was holding the flash up high with the umbrella attached for some time before we got the perfect shot. Kudos to her for holding it up in the air for that long (nice guns babe :) ).
Other than that I added a 1/4 CTO gel on the flash to add some warmth. Remember the light coming out of most flashes has a blue tone. This isn't the most flattering color for skin tones so be sure add that CTO.

I know Zack Arias is probably going to lynch me (if you don't know Zack, you need to check out his blog; very inspirational), but I did the slanty Mcslant slant thing that he hates so much but I think it works here. I definitely try to stay away from the Dutch Angle if I can, but there are some instances where it just works and I think this is one of them. What do you think? If you're out there Zack I'd love to hear your opinion too.

Unfortunately I think this will be one of my last blog posts for some time. I've decided to put down the camera and study for the GMAT. This is the entrance exam for business school and I'm hoping this will lead me to a great career. Wish me luck and I'll definitely post again when the test is over.
-Morgan