Engagement Shoot- Lito Inso's Way
Pre-nup shoots or engagement shoots (as I would like to call it) is one thing very close to my heart in wedding photography. Some may see it as something that needs to be done before a wedding-- preparations for slideshow, etc. International weddings don't even have this (prenup shoots. they call it engagement shoots) but Filipino's love of photography has made this a pre-requisite in almost every wedding. Some may even think that this a scheduled location shoot and that beautiful venues are a necessity-- sunrise, sunset, beach, green gardens etc. But if you ask me what this means to me-- Engagement shoots are a celebration of the couple's love. It's a glimpse of how they view each other. It's getting to know the couple. Getting to know the photographer. Appreciating each other's uniqueness. Appreciating the couple's love. And this appreciation can be captured with a simple laughter, a frozen banter, an unknown glance, a secret touch of the hair. These gestures can be captured with or without the beautiful scenery. After all, beautiful moments are made by people, not by nature, not by sceneries. Although it can add more life to engagement shoots.. but what good are beautiful sceneries without great moments to capture? Most of the comments I got is that they felt like they are dating again, relieving those days when they were just having their first date, feeling that giddiness and that warm, crazy atmosphere of love. These re-living of moments can be captured anytime, anywhere. You don’t have to go to that fancy restaurant again to relieve that feeling of your first date nor is it necessary to go to a beach where you first kissed to catch a sunset. Of course, I am not negating the fact that it helps a lot. If you come to think of it, the first kiss is the main event, not the sunrise. This is what I intend to catch in every engagement shoot. One can relieve their first kiss, their first kilig in a car, in Colon Street or wherever. The point is--- countless moments need not have fancy, multiple settings. To go from one place to another is just like preparing so much for the main event and missing half of the show. The travel and the effort to make it just like what it used to be can alter the mood of the couple and the photographer and when you get to that place, the moments are altered as well. And what you get is just a picture of miniature you’s in a grandeous background. Spontaneity is the name of the game for me. In every downtime caused by travel, preparation, etc., there are countless pure moments wasted. And the essence of the shoot is gone. So what I’m trying to say is—with spontaneity, lots of things can be done without any wasted time and memories. (Thoughts by Lito, written by Thisbe, July 29, 2008)
