A Stop Motion Engagement Shoot in Philadelphia.

Pam and Jay are two of the funnest people you’d ever meet.  The first time I met them was at an initial consult for their wedding.  It was on my way home that day I realized they had presented me with somewhat of a challenge.  They wanted everything about their wedding to represent who they are.  They didn’t want their wedding to be held in any any place that was typical wedding fare for Philadelphia  and they did not want their engagement session to be “the typical you look at me, I look at you and we hold hands kind of session.”

So what to do?

They didn’t want a photo album.  No photo guest book.  Jay wants to look at them on his big flat screen TV.  Hmmm.

Then I had an idea.

It took me about 3 weeks to work up the nerve to ask Pam and Jay what they thought.  I thought they were the perfect couple for this kind of thing.

“It’ll be a stop-motion movie that tells the story about how you met, what occurred since and in a way that tells us a little bit about who you are to one another and individually.”   I said it with as much enthusiasm as I could. It was like pitching a movie without knowing what the script would look like.

There was dead silence followed by questions.

The truth is I’d never done anything like this and this was an ambitious project.   I had no idea if I could pull it off.  If they would be willing to take the risk, and indulge my whimsy here, it could be kind of neat.  Or it could totally suck.  I was not sure.  I only knew that it had potential and that it would be quite a lesson, either way.

Here’s how you know you have two really cool people.  Not only did they agree to being stuck in the studio all day with me, but they were really great to work with.  Pam and I worked on the story board together before hand and my husband and I got to our chalk art the day before.  I mean… What else would you use as a background for two teachers?   It was truly a collaborative effort and I got to know more about them because of it.  That makes my job as their wedding photographer a much more satisfying experience.

So, without further adieu… Please put your feet up and spend the next 12 minutes getting to know two very funny, witty and amazing people.

from Shari DeAngelo on Vimeo.

I learned so much from this first try that I’m  dying to try it again with those lessons in mind.  So… who wants to indulge me in more crazy ideas for engagement sessions?