The Finnish email scam that wasn't

[boxofrocks]

A few weeks ago I received the following email out of nowhere:


Hi,

We are Finnish couple and we are getting married there in Coppell on 16th of January 2007. We have to find photographer also. There will be only me and my future husband. No guests. And priest of course. Is your day still open then?

I almost deleted it, because we all know that these kind of emails are usually scams, right? Well, against all odds, not this time. After I did my due diligence, I discovered it was legit. Pete Quinn and I were there for their nuptials today, and they were delightful, if a bit stiff (especially him).

I'm doing an Asuka book for them at a fair profit margin. Just goes to show you...you never know.

[Roy]

Congrats Tom!

[mcphotography]

cool - it's nice to see a legit message like that sometimes - congrats!

[srwatters]

Nice story Tom. Helps me believe there are still some good folks out there on the 'Internet'.

[ndsimm]

dang it! and I deleted that email!!!
J/K
Congrats man...I like the shot AND the frame

[Silvernic]

That is cool to hear. I wonder how many of us would have just ran!

[boxofrocks]

Thanks for the nice comments, guys. They were very trusting people to do something like this with someone they'd never met--and pay him cash (I had a hard time getting approval on an international credit card--and you never know who's going to do a charge back--might be hard to fight one across half a continent and one ocean).

I'm really looking forward to getting the Asuka book back. I hope they'll be thrilled--I know if they aren't it won't be due to a lack of effort on our part.

PeteQ was awesome to work with. We'd shot together a few times in the past, and I can't say enough about what a nice guy he is. If you get a chance to work with him, don't pass it up. He's a real gentleman, and knows a thing or two about the business of photography.

Thanks again, Pete!

One more from yesterday. I'm just beginning to develop some of these frames (keep in mind they'll be a part of a book), so these are early attempts. I'm not sure I'm crazy about my results thus far.

C&C welcome and appreciated.

[ndsimm]

Are you creating these frames yourself, or are they plug-ins? either way they look nice

[PeteQ]

Wow, you got one of Arto smiling!! That's the shot of the day!

[gardener]

They're a very nice looking couple and she has a beautiful smile...

[PeteQ]

It was fun and had it's challenges. At least with most weddings you can follow along with the ceremony and get an idea what is coming next. Since this one was done in the Finnish language it was almost like shooting a sporting event, as we weren't quite sure what was going to happen next!

[boxofrocks]

Originally Posted by ndsimm

Are you creating these frames yourself, or are they plug-ins? either way they look nice

Thanks.

The frames are from Graphic Authority (they were at Imaging USA, but I got a library of psd files from them late last year), and they aren't actions. They are layered PSD files that you can edit to your personal taste.

I'm still getting the hang of them and adapting them to my personal style.

[boxofrocks]

Originally Posted by PeteQ

It was fun and had it's challenges. At least with most weddings you can follow along with the ceremony and get an idea what is coming next. Since this one was done in the Finnish language it was almost like shooting a sporting event, as we weren't quite sure what was going to happen next!

And the minister wasn't much help, either. Nice guy, but gave us no idea what to expect. The couple had never met him, and they basically walked into the church for the first time ever 10 minutes before the wedding.

[boxofrocks]

Originally Posted by PeteQ

Wow, you got one of Arto smiling!! That's the shot of the day!

Sort of. One of the few shots of him smiling, and she had her eyes closed. I layered her face from another image.

I think Finnish people must blink more often than Americans. I've never seen such a high percentage of shots with closed eyes before.

[kenw]

"I've never seen such a high percentage of shots with closed eyes before."

a couple of reasons come to mind:

1) in Finland at this time of year, it's dark, what? 18-23.5 hours a day?
2) fair skinned folks are much more light sensitive (especially in the eyes)
3) nervousness can make blinking worse.

fabulous work, it restores my faith in there just being a few remaining honest, normal people.