A photographer is running “Stranger Sessions” which are couples’ photo shoots — except that the said “couple” have never met, seen, or spoken to each other before.
According to an exclusive report by WKBN27, photographer Courtney McKibben, who is based in western Pennsylvania, is organizing photoshoots which she describes as a literal “blind date.”
WKBN27 reports that McKibben asks individuals who are interested to fill out an application where they’re asked to describe themselves and what they’re looking for in an ideal partner.
The photographer will then match two individuals together and organize a location for their Stranger Sessions photo shoot. McKibben says she blindfolds the two strangers and then take photos of the pair laying eyes on each other for the very first time.
“I will blindfold him, hide him in an area where the female cannot see him,” the photographer tells the news outlet.
“She will arrive probably 10, 15 minutes later, and I will blindfold her and guide her to her new man, and that’s where we’ll do the first look.”
After taking off the blindfolds, the session is treated exactly like a couple’s photo shoot. McKibben encourages the pair to get close to each other.
‘They’ve All Gone on a Second Date’
The whole concept of the Strangers Sessions photo shoot is to bring people together, potentially helping them find their significant other in a unique blind date experience.
According to the report by WKBN27, given she just began doing the Strangers Sessions photo shoots a month ago, McKibben says they have been pretty successful.
“They all have gone on a second date, or have plans to go on one,” the photographer says.
According to McKibben has over 10 more stranger sessions booked, and she’s still in the process of reviewing hundreds of applications.
On her Instagram page, McKibben reveals that a couple called Mae and Nico, who took part in a Strangers Session photoshoot, went to dinner afterward. The pair also have a second date planned together. They both praised the photographer’s “blind date” concept.
“It’s kind of hard to date nowadays, and getting older and all that stuff, you get busy working, so I figured it would be a fun little thing to do,” Nico tells WKBN27.
Meanwhile, Mae says: “I’m kind of tired of the dating apps, and I think it takes a lot of guts to even do this, so that would be the kind of person I would want to be in a relationship with, that steps out of their comfort zone.”