One weekend last February was my very first time to tagged along and witness an engagement session unfold. But it wasn’t the usual prenup pictorial under the sun and over solid ground. Afterall, the soon-to-weds (Martin Shearsmith & Lila Miranda) are the couple behind GearUp Diving — a scuba resource center which handles dive tours for locals and foreigners alike. Understandably, parts of the shoot somehow involved diving in open waters. But what made it more interesting is that the photographers and the videographer tasked to do the shoot aren’t certified divers.

So there goes the challenge.

And who are the “challengers?” Randall Dagooc and two other photographers (Al & Marc) from the Mango Red team doing the stills; and the video handled by Bong Sare of Threelogy.

Being a relatively new diver myself, I was a bit concerned how this particular prenup shoot would turn out, with the idea of putting experienced wedding professionals doing the things they do best in an uncharted territory.  But Bong and Randall seemed not to be bothered with what they’ve gotten themselves into, so it was all cool.  Actually, I was even secretly wishing for them to suck as much as I did when I took my open water diver course, during their required pool exercises (i.e. removing the dive mask and regulator while 20 ft. underwater). But it wasn’t meant to be.  Their dive instructor was even congratulating them for how fast they learn the basics without any glitch!

After the intro dive, it was time for them to shoot. I have done some recreational dives observing marine life and visiting wrecks. But I must say, having witnessed an underwater engagement session — with the couple having fun and the wedding professionals seriously doing their job — is a dive I’m glad to have experienced. But if it were me holding the camera, I’d be frustrated that I couldn’t even talk to the couple to move a bit to the left or right to get a better angle. It isn’t easy to keep still or float stationarily (’neutrally buoyant’ in diver’s parlance) for that perfect shot. It also doesn’t help that colors vanish, in ROYGBIV order, as one goes deeper. And when one’s fins accidentally touch the seabed, the sand will surely affect visibility and ruin a good shot. In short, rules in conventional shooting are thrown out the hatch when one goes underwater.

Having said all that, one would wonder how Mango Red and Threelogy fare with their first underwater prenup experience. Checkout the pictures and video and see for yourself.