Emma and Darren's engagement shoot

When I arrange an engagement shoot with a couple (that is, a portrait shoot to allow all of us to get to know each other before the wedding or civil partnership takes place), I normally have a discussion with the couple to choose a location for the shoot that will have a personal significance for them - be it their home, a place they both like to go, or a place where they met, for example.

For Emma and Darren, it was not so much a place that had a personal significance for them, but a time; Darren had proposed to Emma on Christmas day. Therefore we decided on a Christmassy theme for the shoot. This theme allowed for a number of interpretations, including some very obvious - and largely tacky - props and decorations.

The time around Christmas is distinctive in other ways, however. In the cold winter months the daylight has a lovely soft quality, and clear, deep blue skies often follow hazy, golden sunsets. Emma and Darren were also big fans of Neil Dawson, an artist who paints very distinctive and rather impressionistic city nightscapes (see here), and we thought it would be fun to try and recreate the look of some of those paintings.

Therefore we eventually settled on a less obvious interpretation of 'Christmas time', taking in the beautiful disposition of Somerset House and the views from Waterloo Bridge and down the Strand. It provided a number of challenges (balancing flash and ambient light, and dealing with a rather officious official who prohibited the use of a tripod inside Somerset House), and was a fun, if rather chilly, shoot. Thanks to Emma and Darren for being such good sports. And without further ado, here are some of the shots from the shoot:











Stay tuned for the wedding shots in May!