Rangefinder Magazine
April 2006
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Profile: William Yeo Maria Piscopo
Selling Engagement Portraits and More
In a very crowded marketplace, William Yeo has found a competitive edge. Combining
a beautiful photography style and web technology has increased his engagement
portrait sales and more. William Yeo has been taking pictures his entire life. His grandfather handed him his first single- lens reflex camera (an old Minolta), and it’s been a love affair ever since. William photographed everything from landscapes to friends’ portraits.
After getting a college degree in computer science, he worked in the information- technology profession for many years. So when professional digital cameras became more affordable and as the technology became
more sophisticated, it was a natural progression for him to make this career change. The rest of the knowledge that comes with using the digital-camera platform,
such as digital workflow and color management, was simple for him to learn.
When the Internet bubble burst a few years ago, William began to look at a career change. His wife, Melissa, is very gifted in digital imaging and does most of the Photoshop retouching and effects on the images and album design. They are both completely self-taught and attend WPPI and PPA conferences regularly to learn and observe from veterans in the industry. With their digital photography experience and love of working with people, William and Melissa started Picture Chest Photography
in August 2002.
Not wanting to do the same boring style of engagement portrait and wedding
album, they experimented with different approaches. After months of different approaches, the Storybook Engagement Slideshow was born. The experimenting was already in William and Melissa’s reach as far as technical skills. Then they found a client to try out this technique. William says, “We were tired of the ‘same old, same old’ concept in engagement photography and were bursting to do something more creative, something that could add more life and character to a couple’s engagement
photo shoot. Many couples create slideshows from their childhood photos and show them on a projection screen during the wedding reception. This serves as a platform to ‘introduce’ each other to their relatives and friends. We decided to expand on this idea by having them role play storylines of their adult lives as singles, how they might have met, dated and proposed.”.
To produce this ingenious add-value service, information is gathered from the couple before the engagement portrait
shoot. They use this information to draw storyboards of scenes to include in the slideshow. William adds, “This is very much like what you would see in a type of documentary for some movies in Hollywood,
where the creators of an animated movie use storyboards to describe scenes to the special-effects department. Sometimes,
the couples themselves are actively involved in the planning of the story sequences
during a pre-shoot consultation, where wardrobe for each scene is also carefully planned. Finally, suitable locations that will serve as favorable for the scenes are selected.
For example, a nice café selected for a first meeting scene or a romantic
beach for a proposal scene. It could be the actual location or a close simulation. It could be a tongue-in-cheek version of their actual pre-love, love and ever-after story.”
One of the most unique (and fun) factors is the portrait photo session involves a bit of role-playing from the couple. The couple may need to do two to three takes of each sequence to get the scene staged per the storyboard outline. William says, “The couple usually gets a kick out of the whole session as we get a lot of fun and laughter out of each sequence and wardrobe change. We also weave in some normal engagement portraits in the same session for portrait prints.”.
Post-production work involves selecting the best images for every sequence and adding motion blur using Photoshop in some images. William feels the unique premise of the idea is to create a “pseudo movie” purely on a non-video platform. He describes it as a variation of a silent movie, but using still photos. “For example,
in a ‘first meeting’ scene, the guy is trying to move closer to the girl, as he find her extremely attractive. An image of him is extracted from a separate photo and superimposed on the final photo and motion blur added to it to simulate him moving closer. We also use some special effects using Photoshop to saturate or take away some color in some images. Finally, the song selected to use in the Storybook Engagement Slideshow is a very important element. It sets the tone and mood of the entire story, and its lyrics could even enhance
or mirror the visual images.”.
| The set of images shown with this article is about the couple, Wilbur and Lynne, meeting each other. Their meeting had to be illustrated in a drastically shortened time frame, given the slideshow format and the need to include other storyline segments. |
| The key technical requirements for the sequence were determined after this storyboard outline for this segment was finalized, and they included: |
| 1. Interesting background that is colorful, but not too “busy,” and lends itself well to a “private conversation” |
| 2. The subjects’ clothing choices must be photo-friendly but reflective of who they are and their comfort level. |
| 3. The script must be written so the couple can easily act it out and the photographer can get good shots of the sequence. |
| The first requirement was easily achieved as part of the scouting effort; various locations within the Carmel downtown area were researched and a final location was determined. |
| The second requirement was also relatively easy, as the clothing type and color theme needs were discussed during the first and subsequent consultations with the subjects. In this case, the subjects decided to purchase new clothing for the shoot and their own future use. |
| The third and final requirement resulted in a script that basically required Wilbur to see Lynne, confidently introduce himself to her, chat with her and finally ask her out on a date. |
| The main and secondary camera angles, lenses, lighting and fill requirements were detailed |
| beforehand by the photographer during the scouting effort. The most suitable time of day to photograph the sequence was also determined during scouting. |
| When the photographer called for “action,” the subjects role-played the rehearsed script, and at least three sequences were then shot with a fast, rapid-shooting camera in RAW. |
| The resulting images were immediately evaluated on a laptop for exposure accuracy, suitability for being combined (to create the “pseudo movie” effect), subjects’ expressions (important to effectively communicate with the viewer), and faithfulness to the storyline. Thanks to the huge amount of pre-planning work, this sequence was completed fairly quickly, and the best combination of images was used. |
Convinced that couples want something unique for their weddings, William has created a documentary of their pre-wedding
lives made in a stylish and appealing way. The ultimate goal of the Storybook Engagement Slideshow is to have the couple
capture the actions and drama of sequences of their personal story—courting and the engagement. This is all done just by viewing a series of stills in the slideshow. Williams says, “They are excited to have their friends and relatives view this piece of work as a great introduction of each other. Their guests will have an opportunity to see them together as a couple in a casual setting, having fun together and get a feel for their personalities. They will perhaps get a window to a side of them they’ve never seen before.
There are some who want copies of the CD given as gifts to members of their bridal party and close friends. We have a couple who have families from different countries and they wanted a medium that would quickly introduce each other to members of both families. They projected their slideshow just before the bride walked down the aisle. There were tears on the guests’ faces by the time the bride walked down the aisle.”.
I asked William about the best ways to find these types of clients that are ready and willing to buy engagement photography
as more than just a still photo. He replied, “Clients who signed up for our engagement session are those who also hire us for their wedding photography, which is our core business. We show all our potential clients a demo Storybook Engagement
Slideshow during a consultation session. Most of them love it and would smile or laugh at the funnier sequences. It showcases our creativity, and most clients comment that they’ve never seen anything like it. We would also get to know them personally as a result.
For marketing, most of his clients still come from word-of-mouth referrals. The Storybook Engagement Slideshow makes a unique marketing tool. To aid his marketing value in the shows, guests see the company logo and identity when the show is projected during the wedding reception or ceremony. As an additional value, William will present the show online for friends and family who can’t attend the wedding. “We get some clients through online wedding portals like www.theknot.com, www.weddingchannels.com and www.craigs list.com.”.
William also uses traditional wedding photography “advocates” such as hairstylists, makeup artists and other vendors in the wedding industry.
What does William think makes this technique so successful? He says, “We need to assume that the engagement and wedding clients are on the lookout for something different and refreshing. We need to innovate and be creative in presenting their love story and wedding day story. It’s, after all, one of the most important snapshots of their lives that will never come again.
We want to be able to present their precious images in a form that they and their loved ones will want to view over and over again and still get a fresh and yet nostalgic feeling from it. Rather than presenting
just another portfolio of stills, it’s a story behind the romance.”
For more information and images, visit: www.picturechest.com.
Maria Piscopo is a photo workshop instructor and author and can be reached through her website, www.mpiscopo.com.
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