I thought I should share about how I got around with my photographer when I was in New York City earlier this year.
Well, I had the luxury to travel quite frequent this year, out of which, visited 3 new places that I have never been to before - Phuket, San Francisco and New York City.
Before I get to the individual new places that I was visiting, I would also like to share something rather close to heart - and that's my engagement photos taken at Central Park New York City!
Well, if you have followed me since my livejournal days, I was a big big big fan of Gossip Girl. I can remember watching it on my old fujitec laptop in my poly days and chasing every episode the next day after it ran on US TV.
To me, USA has a special place in my heart too, I mean, I was born on 4th July, and all my life, I have been talking (or more like bragging) that the entire USA is celebrating and throwing fireworks in the sky during my birthday but.. that didn't really happen. Or it did, but I fell asleep on my uber ride in SFO. hahaha!
Ok, so now, back to the main point. My engagement photos..
Background Story:
I was engaged in July 2015 at Terminal 3 Changi. We don't really have plans on our wedding yet, cause I can be very precise in the things that I want to happen during my wedding. So I thought since we are travelling to somewhere which is close to my heart, why not we just take our wedding photos overseas? Also, its a once in a lifetime thing and I don't have plans to wear a gown and have my photos taken in a studio so.. yep.So... after my flight was confirmed and I had a rough idea of our itinerary, I knew I had to get to it and start planning about this whole photoshoot thing. I didn't have a team with me, neither did I have any make up artist or hair stylist with me. It was just.. me, myself and my boyfriend.
RESEARCH
Yup, as simple as it sounds, this can get really complex. You need to start sourcing on google and key in on the search bar things like "Central Park Engagement Photo" - You need to know WHAT you are looking for in the photos. There weren't a lot of sites that popped up on Google Images so I started to look for "Engagement Photography ideas/poses". Things like that. I had an idea of how I wanted my photos to be like or how the look and feel should be.Also, if you're planning for a casual shoot, START LOOKING FOR YOUR DRESSES. I was super last minute on this part. I wanted to wear the Ms Self Portrait Azalea dress but it didn't turn out as well as I would think it did when I wore it on the shoot. It was more of a ... wedding-ish engagement kinda photo. I had to plan my boyfriend's outfit cause we had to be.. of similar colour contrast. I even asked my photographer for opinions, in case the photo won't turn out nice. These are the small little things that you need to be mindful of. You need to have a rough idea of what looks you want to be in and whether there will be 1 look or 2 looks. Its all up to individual. I was a bit "trying to make my money worth" so I went for 2 looks.
ASK and KEEP ASKING
I know this may sound really annoying, but it is necessary in every aspects. I started asking my colleagues, my cousin and even my work vendor to recommend me people or photographers that I can engage for overseas shoot. Unfortunately, it costs a bomb to get a Singaporean photographer to fly in with me to have the shoot taken.. So I skipped that option and went straight to looking for an overseas based photographer.
Yes, It is TIRING.
For sure, back & forths email, confirming on the dates of the shoot to the timing, what the weather forecast would be and etc. It's not easy being alone. But don't be afraid. Cause it's all gonna be worth it. (Yes, you have to pep talk yourself through the experience).Communication is KEY
The only way I could communicate with my photographer was via email. I didn't manage to call her nor skype her. Only until it was close to my departure, then had I requested for her number so that I could whatsapp her when I was in NYC. Because we are both "new" to each other - literally strangers. I decided to do up a short intro to set my (our) expectations.You can view my slides here - CLICK HERE
Its a very simple slide, but it shares the important characters/personality of us as a couple. It would also give your photographer an idea of what to expect. For e.g. you could be the loud personality and more open while your partner is less of that. You could also list down the places that you want to cover, or the theme you are looking for.. So it allows your photographer to know what kind of magic to bring on stage!
HAIR & MAKEUP
I woke up at 5am in the morning and started to prep my skin and all that nonsense. A tip if you're doing your own make up. In order to make the colour pop, you really need to prime your face and eyelids with the relevant primer so that the colour would POP in your photo. I'm not saying the kind of in-your-face eyeshadow, but it will only be visible if you really pick up a lot of the colour and slap it on your face. Even for browns. Don't tell me what photoshop all those. Your photographer got no time for that.Hair was really simple. My hair was short and freshly dyed like a couple of weeks, so nothing was showing much. I used some bronzer to hide the roots, in case the reflection of the light or adjustment of the lights would reflect my newly grown hair..
Back to make-up. I decided to go for two looks and all I did was with a different swatch of lip colour. My first look was more.. classic, sweet, next-door, everyday look, while the other look was slightly bolder. Also to compliment my outfit.
THE (D) DAY
I bet you will feel as nervous and excited, everything at the same time. I was slightly worried cause the clouds were.. fluffy and big and.. GREY!!!! It was rather upsetting. I texted my photographer and told her about my concerns and she asked me if I should continued, and I said "Let's just go for it." On our cab ride over, I was already thinking of what its gonna be like at the venue. It's gonna be majestic and grand and everything nice and dry.. and green and flowers, and architecture-ish.. Our call time was 7.30am in the morning (no breakfast).Upon reaching the destination, I was blown away. It was HUGE. It's like a couple of botanical gardens (Singapore) puzzled together and became this huge huge huge huge huge park! TIP: Bring a pair of flip flop for your shoot! Some locations were a little tricky to get to, cause the steps were still wet and slightly uneven. I had issues with my heels so I was surely glad I came prepared with my flipflop. *beams :)*
It also rained the night before and probably the morning dew, so it was looking a little bit gloomy and.. wet..
RELAX
You have to relax. That's the most important.Our photographer - Gabriela from The Wedding Central (NJ) was really sweet and your usual american who would throw compliments at you and I don't know where I gathered it from, but I was feeling really confident about my makeup and overall poses and blah blah blah. I was feeeeeling good. She was directive but not TOOOO directive, she made us laugh at our own sillyness and captured natural images of us. Whenever there was the SUN, we were both equally excited and we know the importance cause we need to capture some light in our photo, otherwise, no amount of DI would help.
Anyhows, I'm really happy with how my photos turned out. There are a few lighting adjustment that I would make because I am a precised person like that.. but of course I didn't trouble Gabriela on it. I did it on my own with the use of Picasa.
I hope this article has been useful in helping you in your overseas photoshoot.
Have fun, Be Brave and most importantly, don't doubt yourself.
Leave a comment if you've got any questions :)
xx
Andrea
