Ideas for Same-Sex Engagement Photos needed

Hey everyone! I was approached to shoot some same-sex engagement photos (male). I'm wondering if anyone has some

creative ideas. I'd like to avoid the cliched "holding hands walking down a path in a park" approach. If anyone

has some links to same-sex engagement photos, or some fun ideas, I'd love to hear them! I already have ideas for

several shots, but I'm a bit stumped, since most of the old standbys are fairly gender-specific. (I'm going to

include the kissy huggy ga-ga-eyes-at-eachother stuff, of course -- just want some additional suggestions!)

What do you mean gender specific? All the stand bys would work with any couple in love. You can use the same poses we assign "roles" to gender but anyone can hug, kiss, sit in the lap of, carry, dip,dance etc.. However if you are looking just to get out of the mold try shooting them during their favoirte activity together. Swimming, on the boardwalk, hiking what ever make them environmental portraits where they work maybe if they own a buisness etc...

It is best to aproach them and get some idea of what they want. Most just want good shots that shows their relationship - similar to any other couple. I have wedding shots on my site youngphoto.ca - galleries - The Rainbow.

 

Errol

Thanks for the gallery, Errol! I just want to take a moment to clarify: I'm planning on doing the regular old engagement session stuff, like I said. I guess I was hoping for input from people who had experience, and get some ideas for some additional fun stuff to do. I'm going to talk to the couple about it, of course, but I wanted to get some more ideas to share with them before the meeting.

 

And Tiffany, what I meant about the gender-specific stuff was NOT about the role of one person in the photograph (who sits on who's lap), but rather certain poses which tend to focus specifically on the bride-to-be, with the groom in a very minor role. This couple prefers to be represented more-or-less equally in each picture, so I was hoping to get some ideas to replace the bride-centered poses I'm familiar with.

 

I apologize if I was unclear in my original post! I like the idea of shooting an activity, so I'll ask them about that.

do talk to the couple in concern. if possible, visit their home and observe their lifestyle. a good old ancient greek theme never goes a miss since symposium was the elegy to male love. chances are that this couple is no different in public to any heterosexual couple. so try and treat them just like that.

a good old ancient greek theme never goes a miss since symposium was the elegy to male love.

Yes, and don’t forget to place a little knock-off statue of David in every shot! :cool:

 

Seriously, though, a well-intended suggestion but one that most gay men I know would consider a bit on the kitsch and too-obvious side. Depends on the tastes of the couple of course.

 

I’ve shot several gay wedding ceremonies and I just look for expressions and gestures that translate to “wedding.” I avoid the sitting-on-the-lap kind of stuff. Though, of course, gay people experience love and commitment like everyone else, two men tend to act differently as a couple than a man and woman. While acknowledging what binds us all together, you want to celebrate their difference as well, and see them uniquely.

 

Check out the movie Brokeback Mountain. There’s no wedding in it, but you’ll get some ideas of how to shoot two men in love that honors their masculinity and a universal sense of love but doesn’t simply mimics a heterosexual relationship.

A note to mention that this thread was begun in 2008,

Thanks, William. That’s odd, because it was at the top of the list in the Wedding forum when I responded today, so I mistakenly thought it was active and that starvy had recently posted. Wonder why it had risen to the top of the heap?

There was an off topic comment that moved the thread to the top and that off topic comment was removed.

There was an off topic comment that moved the thread to the top and that off topic comment was removed.

Ahh. Got it. Thanks for the info.