Some time in July, I had the very sneaky pleasure of photographing a secret proposal on the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine — and let’s just say, things got a little... hectic.
If you’ve ever walked the Marginal Way, you know how stunning it is. The bright blue ocean, cliffs and rugged coastline stretching out, the salty breeze, the sound of waves crashing. It's basically a romantic movie scene waiting to happen. And for one lucky couple, it became the backdrop of a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
My job: capture it without being seen.
My hiding spot: a very questionable patch of bushes just off the main path.
Everything was going to plan. I was crouched down with both my cameras ready, staring at my phone, waiting for the text to come in that said: ”we are on our way and 10 minutes away from The-pop-the-question-Spot”. A bit later my heart started pounding as the couple and their group of friends and family approached. I let the group pass by and then, in a nonchalant way, fell in line behind them. The couple was posing for a photo that the mother of the bride-to-be took on her cell phone. The cue for me to be ready! Just as he reached for her hand and went down on one knee I stepped to my left to get a better angle. I saw the low-to-the-ground bushes and vines but had forgotten they are much more woody and twisted than what I’m used to seeing in the woods where I walk around Acton and Concord. All the breeze and spray from the ocean makes for different vegetation I guess. I step on it, got hooked behind something and went down on my behind. It felt like I was falling in slow-motion and kept focusing and clicking that shutter. “Are you okay?", I heard somebody say. “Yeah yeah”, I said and quickly got up. Good thing I’m used to falling down during my weekly volleyball games. No knee pads this time though…
I was up just in time to catch all the moments after he bent the knee. She gasped and stepped back while covering her mouth. The ring is out, tears are flowing and people are whooping. We have a YES!
Seconds later, a flood of friends and family poured in with their phones up, cheering and snapping away. There’s fist bumps, people are hugging each other and tissues are passed around as well. All so lovely to see but it was getting a bit crowed and harder to move around to get shots from different angles. I hadn’t anticipated this very much but it all turned out just okay.
Another thing I had not thought about was the lighting in the spot of droppng-to-one-knee. When you shoot sessions you always check the light and then move the people to where the light is best. But, with a little creative angling and some good old-fashioned exposure bracketing, we got some killer shots. Honestly? The tough lighting conditions added this dreamy, spontaneous feel to the whole shoot. Which was just perfect!
By the end, I was a little scratched up, slightly sunburned and completely buzzing form the adrenaline. Proposal shoots are always thrilling, but this one had everything- ocean views, genuine emotions and a good laugh.
