I always encourage my clients to be creative at their engagement photo session. Bring a change of clothes, props, anything that you think might be fun. I tend to adhere to the, "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" philosophy. My sessions are about 50% planned and about 50% on-the-spot inspiration.
Michael and Danielle did not disappoint. They told me that one of the funny things about their relationship was that they had a bit of "role-reversal" compared to typical couples. Michael does most of the cooking and cleaning, Danielle fixes things.
They came prepared to illustrate their respective roles with cookware and tools. The question was: How do I photograph them in a creative way?
Superheroes.
I decided that it would be cool to put them back-to-back, looking into the sky in a classic "super-hero" pose. Unfortunately, lighting them would be a problem since they would be facing opposite directions. I typically work with just one off-camera light so that I can move around easier. The shot I had in mind would require two lights because I wanted them each to be lit by a high spot, shining right down into their faces. I have two lights, that's not a problem... what I didn't have was two lighting tripods and assistants (or sand bags) to hold them on the side of a windy hill!
Luckily, I did have my trusty Manfroto tripod in the truck.
First, I set up the shot with Michael and had Danielle hold the tripod. (I used to be self conscious about asking my subjects to lend a hand but not anymore. I think that people like being a part of the shoot.) I dialed in my exposure for the background and let the PW Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 do the rest with a Lumaquest Softbox III mounted on a Canon 580EXII.
Next it was Danielle's turn. Remember, whatever you do, don't move the tripod!
Once I got home, I combined the two images in Photoshop, cropped to a 4/5 ratio and did some light photoshop effects to make it a little more dynamic:
