I generally like to talk to my clients prior to our shoot with at least a phone call. I think a good, old fashioned phone call does wonders for starting to build a rapport, and that puts us on the path to some great results from our shoot. There is one circumstance where I waive my old fashioned rule:

Proposal shoots.

And my reasoning on this is backed up by some experience. Men who are going to propose sometimes prefer email because planning a surprise is a bit like a conspiracy, and they don't want to receive a phone call from a co-conspirator while with their future wife.

Boy, do I love these things. They're nerve-wracking in the best possible way. Now, I don't mean that they're nerve-wracking because I'm worried the future bride might say no. That thought never enters my mind. But I'll tell you this, it does get the blood pumping to have to keep your eye out for the future spouses. And although I'd NEVER let it happen, the last thing I'd want is to ruin the surprise. That's why I blend in. I basically channel every drop of Angeleno I've got to become part of the landscape until the right moment. I can be Local Jamie. I can be Tourist Jamie. I can be Secret Agent Jamie.

Tyler and I didn't speak until he had himself a fiancee. And that's acceptable. I'm always willing to be part of the surprise...

(That last photo is when Tyler lets Sydney know that there's a photographer in the wings...)