Darren reached out a little over a month before his visit to Korea and luckily I had a couple of his preferred dates available. Since he and Trisha had been to Korea previously and had already visited many of the common areas, he wanted to do something a little different for the proposal. We discussed a couple of his ideas as well as some from my side and then Darren dropped the bomb, they were planning to visit Sokcho as soon as they touched down. We had our location.
After looking at a few different areas of Sokcho together, including the beaches and coastal walks, we settled on the mountains as our location. Seoraksan National Park was a great way to balance everything he was hoping for: lovely light, a natural setting, and few people around. We decided on a morning shoot to avoid the large crowds that descend on the park, especially since the re-opening of the main hiking trail.
Of course, being a proposal, Darren didn’t want to do a strenuous hike and arrive sweaty and exhausted, so we discussed the potential of working at ground level somewhere around the entrance to the park.
As I’m based in Seoul and wouldn’t be in Sokcho before Darren’s arrival, we agreed that my included recce for us to decide the final location would happen the day before his proposal. I arrived at sunrise and spent the first hour of day locating some spots for Darren and sharing them with him in real time so he could decide which scene would suit his vision best. He loved the composition you see above.
With the scene in mind, I prepared a set of instructions to get him to his chosen location, and we left it there until the following morning. I spent the rest of the day exploring Sokcho by foot to see how the city had changed since my last visit. This is one of my favourite places in Korea for its proximity to the ocean and the mountains. You can literally spin on the spot in front of the bus terminal and see some of the most beautiful scenery Korea has to offer.
Back to our shoot, though. The following morning, I headed out very early to set everything in place and ensure I could communicate any potential issues with Darren. We got very lucky with gorgeous morning light and precious few early hikers, so we didn’t need to make any adjustments to our plan and all I would need to do was wait for the couple to arrive.
As we’d discussed, Darren led Trisha close to our spot and then asked her to step into place for a quick photo, he got out his phone and stalled her for just enough time to run over, pick up a bouquet of flowers I’d procured for him, and present them to her as she spun around to see what he was doing. Trisha hadn’t suspected a thing, and the emotions took over, so I had plenty to capture.
Then, Darren introduced me and we spent the next 45 minutes together exploring the surrounding area and enjoying the warm light in the crisp morning air. Being mid-May, things were green and it might look a little like summer, but the mornings are still chilly, especially in the mountains. There are plenty of beautiful scenes to be found at Seoraksan, even without doing any hiking or taking the cable car. The meeting plaza and surrounding paths do a fantastic job of showcasing the beauty of the park.
Thanks for taking the time to read over this post. If you’re looking to have your own proposal photographed here in Korea, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you. Also, do follow my Instagram for more posts from all around Korea.
On this shoot, I also took the opportunity to film Darren’s proposal in two different ways. I often get the question of “What is the difference between your Basic and Cinematic video options?” So, here we are!
Basic is a static, simple camera on a tripod.
Cinematic is filmed in a more documentary style with some movement and is set to music and is filmed with a much more advanced camera.
Why I Love this Shoot
- Darren kept everything simple and true. He didn’t try to make the moment more than it was. It was an honest confession of his desire to spend his life with Trisha in a beautiful place.
- Beautiful morning light. Light is the language of photography. I have some very expensive cameras, but they still can’t manufacture beautiful conditions. This day was something special!
- A willingness to be playful and soak in the moment. Darren and Trisha kept their honesty alive throughout the rest of the photoshoot and were open to working with all my silly ideas and whims. That allowed me to capture genuine moments between them.