Let’s just start with the fact that I am always up for a proposal shoot. It’s definitely been a highlight of my job, maybe a bit voyeuristic but who wouldn’t want to capture and be present for such a momentous and beautiful life event. Usually I’m channeling all my ninja paparazzi moves and trying to battle raging adrenaline as I stealthily document my subjects, so I was pleasantly surprised to actually be part of the event. Especially in the stunning venue that is part of the Commons, in Inglewood. Kyle is part of a wonderful family and had a bit of help from his sisters. The story was that I was portfolio building for a new ‘glamour’ portrait side, focusing on empowering women through beautiful photography. It’s not exactly a lie (I told myself) as my heart always belongs to making people feel amazing and certainly I have a background in documenting women, the joys, flaws and all (I created a gift collection of magnets, calendars, cards etc called she was stunning: a collection of her stories) and sold the products all across Canada. Kristin, Kyle’s sister, was facilitating the event and we arranged hair, makeup and styling for her. The whole thing was very elaborate and we hoped that this fact would throw Angela off a bit. Everything was planned impeccably, down to the fact that there was a song cue “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones to signal both me and Kyle that the moment was to happen. At one point, I thought I heard the song, and I got so nervous I lost all my words and could only hear my heart pounding. A few minutes later, the song did indeed play and I backed up across the room to give them space. Kyle had prepared a slideshow and it was so beautiful to watch them together. I could feel how perfect they are for each other, the way Angela seemed to instantly calm his nerves. I couldn’t hear a word they said which actually made me really happy; I definitely loved that the moment was incredibly private. We continued on with the rest of the session with the two of them and I left two very, extremely, incredibly happy people in love.
