Cinematic Engagement Photography

Cinematic Engagement Photography in Brighton

When Canon sent over some kit for me to try out, I didn’t want to just test it on my cat, I wanted to put it through its paces out in the field. I had an idea for more cinematic engagement photography, leaning into the bleak, wintry time of year and the fact that Brighton is much quieter.

So I put a call out for a couple.

Isobel replied. I’ve worked with her before – she’s an actress – and her boyfriend Steven was in the country. They’re not engaged (yet), but they are very much in love. I sent over a moodboard full of black & white couple photos, in empty city streets with cosy outdoor clothing.

They came down to Brighton for the day and I met them at Brighton train station for Scene One of this love story.

For me, cinematic engagement photography is about rhythm. It’s about letting things unfold and building the story through scenes, and in this instance, it was also about motion as I also filmed them.

In this session, I discovered that the Canon R6MKIII is the ideal Hybrid camera for wedding photographers. This allowed me to switch between taking stills and capturing video easily.

We kept it simple. Brighton – but not the postcard version. No beach. No crowds.

We stayed in the quieter residential streets. The kind with soft coloured houses and good light bouncing off the pavement. We found a low-key coffee shop and used that as a scene.

Walk. Stop. Sit. Talk. Move again. Nothing forced.

  • A couple stand facing each other and holding hands, looking into each others' eyes for a cinematic engagement photo in a street in Brighton
A couple feature in this cinematic engagement photography sitting at a coffe shop, with drinks, facing each other across a table.
a street scene in Brighton's seven dials with the i360 in the background
A couple pose for cinematic engagement photography at Brighton train station

Isobel + Steven

said…

It was like being on a date but in a movie…
  

A couple sit at a table on the pavement outside a coffee shop for this cinematic engagement photography

You Don’t Have To Be Engaged To Book A Couple Shoot:

These two aren’t engaged. And that’s fine.

You don’t need a proposal to justify documenting your relationship. Maybe it’s an anniversary or maybe capturing “us, right now” is what it’s about.

If you’re drawn to cinematic engagement photography, think about how you want it to feel rather than how you think it should look.

We can build it from there.

Brighton or London gives us the backdrop.
You bring the chemistry.
I’ll handle the rest.

All images taken with the Canon R6MKIII, the RF 45mm F1.2 and the RF 85mm F1.4L

Am I Your Cinematic Engagement Photographer?

Let’s chat..