Before either of them got there, I was on my knees on a flat rock building an arrow out of stones.
That’s the part nobody sees. Thomas needed to propose in one specific spot, because I’d already worked out where the light would be, where the ocean would break behind them, and where I could stand far enough away that Jenna would never clock me. So I laid out an arrow in stones on the rock, with sand around it so he’d spot it, and pointed it right where he needed to stand.
He nailed it. Dropped right on the mark.
She Is a Mouth Coverer
Both hands, straight up, the second he went down. That’s the most common reaction I photograph, and I want to say something about it, because people sometimes hear “most common” and think “boring.”
It’s the opposite. The hands go up because the body gets there before the brain does. Nobody decides to do it. You can watch it happen across three frames, and in every one of them she’s somewhere she wasn’t a second earlier.
It was a bright, clear, absolutely beautiful morning, which isn’t the light I usually ask for. Hard sun is unforgiving. But out on those rocks with the ocean throwing light back up at them, it worked, and it gave the whole set a clean, wide-open feel.
The Ocean Did Something Behind Them
While they were standing there, the waves started hitting the jetty and throwing spray straight up behind them. I didn’t ask for it and I couldn’t have arranged it. I just kept shooting.
Then we walked. The tide had left a sheet of water on the sand that was acting like a mirror, so we used it, and there were gulls all over the rocks who weren’t remotely bothered by us.
Inside Convention Hall
This is the reason I keep bringing couples to this end of the boardwalk. A few steps off the sand and you’re under a covered arcade with brick, old wood, painted dolphins over the archway, and light that behaves completely differently than it does out on the beach. On a hard, bright day it’s the best thing going, because it’s all shade and bounce.
Then the Murals
Asbury repaints itself all the time, so the wall that was there last spring might be gone. That’s a feature. It means nobody else’s photographs look like yours.
Somewhere in the middle of that we looked up. There were paramotors all over the sky, guys sitting under a parachute with a fan strapped to their back. I’ve shot in Asbury a lot and I’d never seen that. So we stopped and shot it.
The Part She Really Didn’t See Coming
As far as Jenna knew, the shoot was over. I told them it had been a great morning, that I’d have photographs for them in a couple of days, and that I’d see them later. Then I went ahead of them and set up.
Brunch, as far as she knew, was a birthday thing. Her and Thomas, one table, nobody else.
It was really a surprise engagement party. Both families had been upstairs at AP Rooftop since eleven o’clock.
So she got engaged out on the rocks, and then she walked into a room and got surprised a second time. I’d take that job every weekend.
We shot family formals while everyone was up there. I do that any time family is there, whether or not anybody asks. Everyone’s already in one room and already dressed, and nobody wants to be rounded up for it a year from now.
AP Rooftop is worth knowing about if you’re planning this. Third floor, right next to the Iron Whale. The light up there holds long after the beach has gone harsh.
Thomas left a review a few hours after the shoot. I didn't ask him to write any of this:
“Jordan created the most perfect day for my now fiancé and I! He made the process so seamless and stress-free and brought our proposal to life, providing us with the most beautiful photos that we are so grateful to have for the rest of our lives. From the logistics of the special day to the amazing photos that come out of it, if someone is looking for a photographer for their proposal/engagement, I couldn’t recommend Jordan enough!”
Thomas
If You’re Thinking About the Same Thing
Two things made this one work.
The first is committing to a mark. Not “somewhere on the jetty,” an actual spot. I’ll scout it, I’ll point it out, and if it helps I’ll build you an arrow out of rocks. It takes the one decision you don’t want to be making mid-sentence and removes it.
The second is the people. The proposal itself is over fast. What makes it a morning is who’s waiting afterward. If you want family there, tell me early and I’ll build the route so the reveal lands somewhere worth photographing, like AP Rooftop, instead of in a parking lot. And if they’re there, we always shoot family formals.
Planning something in Asbury? Here are two more from the same week: Max and Alina on the jetty south of Convention Hall, and Nick and Christina under the storm clouds.
Ready to Start Planning?
Send me the date and roughly where you’re thinking and I’ll help you pick the spot, get the timing right, and work out where everyone else needs to be. Fill out my proposal inquiry form here and let’s get started.