I recently had another chance to do pictures of a wedding proposal along with engagement pictures after. This client saw my last blog post and wanted to do something similar, so I guess people do sometimes read my blog. Something cool about being a photographer is you can count all your camera gadgets as a business expense, which, if you are like me, is where a lot of money goes anyway.
I mentioned before that I recently got a small Olympus OM-D mirrorless micro four-thirds camera, mainly to take hiking and for fun, but I’ve been able to incorporate it into my work a bit. Getting a good macro lens for a full-frame camera like my Nikon D800 is extremely expensive, and I only use it occasionally, so it’s hard to justify. But I got a 60mm (equivalent to about 135mm in a full frame lens) macro lens for my Olympus camera, and I’ve done some amazing closeups of bride’s rings and things like that recently.
However, I wanted to be stealthy for the proposal and not look like a big photographer with a huge camera, so I decided to try using my OM-D and the 60mm lens to get some candid shots. It did quite a nice job. The only problem was that I meant for him to take her further away from the pier to propose. There ended up being a bunch of people right in the background. Oh well, it’s hard to be perfect. When I asked later, his fiance did say that she saw me taking the pictures, so I guess I wasn’t quite stealthy enough. But I didn’t notice her looking at me, and it didn’t seem to bother the moment at all, as far as I could tell.
Then, of course, after the initial proposal, I went to my usual gear of the Nikon D800, Nikon 85mm f1.4 lens, and my off-camera flash. When you switch to expensive big camera gear, you will notice a difference in the quality of my little Olympus camera. I listen to some podcasts where they seem to think that photography will be moving to these smaller mirrorless cameras. I can tell you they are nice, but they in no way compare to a big camera with a fast lens. When it comes to camera sensors and lenses, for portraits, bigger is always better. Without going into too much detail, the bigger a sensor and lens are, the better the blur or bokeh in the background. I hope you enjoy some of these pictures below, please don’t forget to like and comment below if you do, or pin some to your Pinterest board.
![Candid pictures of marriage proposal at the Myrtle Beach State Park](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/candid-pictures-of-marriage-proposal-at-the-myrtle-beach-state-park-1500x399.jpg)
![Saying yes to the marriage proposal and putting on the ring](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/saying-yes-to-the-marriage-proposal-and-putting-on-the-ring-1500x710.jpg)
![Kissing after saying yes to marriage](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/kissing-after-saying-yes-to-marriage-1500x437.jpg)
![Engagement portrait in front of the sea oats and the Myrtle Beach State Park](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/engagement-portrait-in-front-of-the-sea-oats-and-the-myrtle-beach-state-park-1500x499.jpg)
![Kissing in front of the sea oats and the Myrtle Beach State Park](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/kissing-in-front-of-the-sea-oats-and-the-myrtle-beach-state-park-1500x468.jpg)
![Girl with arms around boyfriend in front of the sea oats](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/girl-with-arms-around-boyfriend-in-front-of-the-sea-oats-1500x499.jpg)
![Couple kissing in front of the sea oats](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/couple-kissing-in-front-of-the-sea-oats-1500x499.jpg)
![Portrait with the sunset lighting the sea oats from behind](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/portrait-with-the-sunset-lighting-the-sea-oats-from-behind-1500x1047.jpg)
![Couple holding each other in front of the sunset and sea oats](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/couple-holding-each-other-in-front-of-the-sunset-and-sea-oats-1500x744.jpg)
![Kissing in the sunset](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/kissing-in-the-sunset-1500x744.jpg)
![Just engaged couple holding hands walking down the beach](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/just-engaged-couple-holding-hands-walking-down-the-beach-1500x499.jpg)
![Lifting up girl for a kiss in front of the ocean](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/lifting-up-girl-for-a-kiss-in-front-of-the-ocean-1500x497.jpg)
![Engagement picture by the oak trees](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/engagement-picture-by-the-oak-trees-1500x691.jpg)
![Leaning fiance against the pier for a kiss](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/leaning-fiance-against-the-pier-for-a-kiss-1500x724.jpg)
![Couple laying in the sand kissing in front of the ocean - Myrtle Beach State Park](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/couple-laying-in-the-sand-kissing-in-front-of-the-ocean-myrtle-beach-state-park-1500x1001.jpg)
![Couple laying in the sand smiling at each other in front of the ocean - Myrtle Beach State Park](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/couple-laying-in-the-sand-smiling-at-each-other-in-front-of-the-ocean-myrtle-beach-state-park-1500x1001.jpg)
![High contrast black and white under the pier](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/high-contrast-black-and-white-under-the-pier-1500x1061.jpg)
![Showing the engagement ring](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/showing-the-engagement-ring-1500x1070.jpg)
![Standing together in the water](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/standing-together-in-the-water-1500x720.jpg)
![Engagement pictures on the pier](https://www.ryansmithphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/engagement-pictures-on-the-pier-1500x497.jpg)