A Bridal Shoot: Part 1

This weekend I traveled to the Van Landingham Estate in Charlotte, NC for Dawn's Bridal Shoot. I had been looking forward to this shoot all summer after Dawn told me about the location and how she thought it would be a great place for the shoot. She was right, too. We had planned to go out onto Tryon St. for the second part of the shoot, but, after spending about 3 hours there, we determined we had such a great variety of shots, there was no need. There was a great mix of indoor and outdoor locations which lent themselves perfectly to creating quite a few different looks, without having to go all about town.

Unlike the manner in which we shoot wedding day photography, which is mainly photojournalistic in style, our bridal (or engagement) shoot is much more of a classic photo shoot, which has a lot of direction and interaction between myself and the bride or couple. In this series of shots, we spent about 25 minutes shooting just in this doorway. I spent the first few minutes doing light tests and framing ideas, while Dawn got used to the location, thought about and practiced poses in the area.

Once we started shooting, it was a combination of me directing and Dawn using the area we framed, coming up with the poses and looks. Her job was, by far, the most important, and the hardest. It takes time and effort to make the right poses that work with you, and your body - and Dawn did a fantastic job. She did a great job with my critiques, and blew me away with poses like this, and amazing eye contact which looks right at you and doesn't let go (click on the photos to see a larger version).

Dawn also had a great group of friends with her who did a great job of helping her look her best - and, as you can see, Dawn's best is stunning. They also acted as great art and setup assistants - coming up with good location ideas, helping with poses and making sure towels were strategically placed on the damp seats outside so the dress wouldn't get wet when she sat down.

In Part 2, I'll publish some of the best photos that came from this shoot. Thanks to Dawn and her friends for doing such a great job this past weekend, and I'm looking forward to a great weekend on Bald Head Island for the wedding. Also, thanks to the staff at Van Landingham for being so nice and supportive during the shoot.