Time to take out the drone and get to work on the water. Erica and Steve had the most amazing idea for their engagement session. They wanted to do their photos on their boat! Count us in!
They had their wedding on November 14th, 2015. Their wedding ceremony and reception were at Park Country Club in Williamsville, NY. Their idea for the engagement session was a perfect contrast to the wedding day!
They told us they spend all summer on their boat. We started out the shoot taking a ride on the boat and doing shots on the water! They had great cruise wear as I am calling it! Being right outside of the Erie Basin Marina, we were able to capture a 360 degree view of Buffalo out on the water. We could have the Buffalo skyline in the back ground if we wanted. Or the Buffalo Light house. Even other boats docked in the marina. Then of course the water and sky!
Going into this shoot, Neal had one idea that we needed to happen. He wanted the bride and groom to be on rafts floating in the water and fly our drone overhead to take the image. Neal and I went all over looking for rafts for them to use. It was harder then we thought! We could not find anything adult size. Once we did, we provided all the details to Erica and Steve to see what they thought. They asked no questions and were up for anything.
We did the drone shot right in the marina, but away from all the other boats. We wanted it to look like they were out on the water, but we needed calm waters. This was the only location that gave us that feel. After we told them exactly what we wanted, we had Erica and Steve jump in the water and onto the rafts. Now it was time to fly the drone. That was all in Neal's hands. I shot directly from the boat to capture different angles.
Once we got the hang of the drone, since weather conditions always make flying the drone a different experience everytime, we were on a roll! Neal knew exactly when he got the shot he was looking for. It did not take too much time, but we only had one chance at this. The reflection in the water from the sky was perfect that day. The water was like a mirror!
This image was an award winner in an International Competition we compete in almost every year called Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. It is held in Las Vegas, NV. We submitted it in the engagement category and it scored high enough to win an award! After all the hard work that went into this idea, we were so happy that it made the cut and the lovely couple was in love with the image!
Location: 329 Erie St. Buffalo, NY United States.
