Recently, I got to do another engagement session for The Diamond Center. If you haven’t heard about this, I’ve partnered with The Diamond Center, so that if you buy an engagement ring from them, you get a free photo session. I’ve done several of these in the past, so feel free to check out Evette’s or Stephanie’s to see more. Anyway, I met up with Melissa and Derek at Lake Fayetteville for a fun time.
Lake Fayetteville Engagement Session
Well, the very first thing I noticed about Derek was that he had his arm wrapped. Turns out he had an accident and broke some bones in his hand a few days earlier. Ouch! Derek was a trooper, though, and took off that protect for the good of the shoot. I wasn’t going to make him take it off, but I think the photos definitely were easier without it on his hand.
Lake Fayetteville has a lot of options, so we really just kind of walked and did photos whenever I saw a good spot. The biggest struggles we ran into was the heat and the number of people walking or riding bikes. I was constantly sweating and dodging people.
It’s always funny what you see when on a shoot. We went into this wooded area right off the trail to use this tree branch. There was another couple with a photographer using a nearby spot, so made sure to stay out of their way, but we could still see them. They had a little dog or puppy with them, but they weren’t using it at that point, so it was tied to a wagon. We were laughing and doing our thing, when all of a sudden I saw the wagon slowly rolling down the hill toward them. I started yelling, “Dog, dog, dog!” The little dog was pulling it down the hill, but the wagon could have easily run over it. Finally, they saw it and saved the poor puppy.
Melissa and Derek really did a great job. I know it was tough on him with the messed up hand, but he let her hold it and managed to hide it behind her back and even put up with all of my comments about it. These two really interacted well and made my job easy.
Normally, I ask a ton of questions during an engagement session, but I was having to switch between photo and video, so it was harder to get in the flow. I did find out that Melissa likes some of the same shows and she’s in the Navy. Derek, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about TV and works for Walmart.
I think we were out around Lake Fayetteville for an hour and a half, and we only went one direction on the trail. We used the walkway right by the lake, some woods, and a bridge. If we had decided to go the other direction as well, we could have easily shot for another hour. It really is a great spot!
I’m sure this whole shoot was hard for Derek with the hand, but I think in the end, we all had a great time and the photos turned out beautifully. I guess it goes to show what people will endure for the people they love, and I know he loves Melissa tons!
