- Josie Jones and Damon Coe took part in a blind date photo shoot that has captivated social media.
- Their electric chemistry was captured by Indiana photographer Lindsey McCaffry, who loves photographing total strangers.
- Jones and Coe told Insider that they felt an instant connection during the shoot.
- Now they’re talking every day – and have already been on a second date.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Blind dates are usually filled with awkward hellos, nerve-racking goodbyes, and a whole lot of small talk in-between.
Unless, of course, you’re in the hands of Indiana photographer Lindsey McCaffry, whose blind date photo shoots include exciting surprises, gorgeous waterfalls, and steamy kisses.
All of the above were part of Josie Jones and Damon Coe’s first date – and it went so well that they’ve already been on a second.
Insider spoke with Jones, Coe, and McCaffry about their instant chemistry on set, why blind date photo shoots are so great for forming connections, and what’s next for them.
Lindsey McCaffry has wanted to do a blind date photo series for years.
McCaffry initially scheduled to shoot Jones' blind date on the same day that she photographed Daniel Allen and Karmon Waite, whose pictures were an instant hit on social media last month.
But when the man that McCaffry had selected for Jones dropped out at the last minute, she decided to hold another model call to find the 27-year-old a new match.
The opportunity to do the shoot was extra special for Jones, who has spent the last 18 months helping her mother through cancer treatments.
"It's been a really rough year," Jones told Insider. "I'm always helping someone and I love that, but sometimes you just need a little time for yourself and this was the perfect opportunity. This was something I had to do for myself."
It was Damon Coe's mom who sent him the link to apply for Josie Jones' blind date photo shoot.
"She's always wanted me to try something like this," Coe, 27, told Insider. "So I filled out the application. I thought it was going to be a one in a million shot."
A few days later, Coe received an email from McCaffry.
"She said I was going to be the new match," he said. "I was pretty ecstatic that I was going to be a part of it."
McCaffry paired Jones and Coe together because their answers to her application questions were "very similar."
McCaffry included "typical dating service questions" so that she could match people based on common interests.
"We asked questions like, 'How old are you? How tall are you? Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you want kids? What kind of music do you like? What does a typical Saturday night look like?"' McCaffry said. "They were pretty simple questions and, surprisingly, we were able to get a lot of information."
McCaffry liked that Jones and Coe were both family-oriented and had the same taste in music. She had a "gut feeling" that they would be a perfect match.
Before their first date, a stylist from Sebastian Professional virtually helped Jones and Coe get ready.
After the success of McCaffry's first blind date photo shoot, Sebastian Professional offered to provide free styling sessions to the next lucky couple.
The company sent over products for Jones and Coe to use, while stylist Angel Cardona provided guidance over Zoom.
Jones said the styling session helped her feel far more confident going into the blind date.
"That was a huge thing," she said. "I wanted to look cute and it made me feel confident knowing that my hair looked good."
As they headed to the shoot, Jones and Coe were nervous about seeing each other for the very first time.
Just as she did with her first blind date, McCaffry made sure to blindfold Jones and Coe so that she could capture the moment they first saw each other.
Jones and Coe couldn't hold back their excitement when they got to take their blindfolds off.
"My first thought was just, 'Wow,'" Coe said. "She was very pretty, she had a great smile, stunning eyes. I was very happy."
"My first reaction was, 'Holy cow, he is so tall,'" Jones recalled with a laugh. "He was so beyond handsome, I was so excited and nervous at the same time."
As the shoot began, Coe surprised Jones with flowers and jewelry.
Much like Sebastian Professional, Pandora reached out to McCaffry after her first photo shoot and asked to be part of the next date.
The Danish jewelry company donated its newest collection for Coe to gift to Jones during the shoot, including earrings, rings, a necklace, and a charm bracelet.
McCaffry quickly realized that Jones and Coe were far more nervous than the couple from her first blind date photo shoot.
"This couple was completely night and day different from the first couple, very much so," McCaffry said. "Their personalities were very different. The first couple just kind of did their own thing and treated it as a date. This couple treated it as a date as well, but were more inclined to look at us."
"It wasn't a challenge, it was just different," she added. "I had to tell them, 'I will do my job, you guys enjoy yourselves!"
To help settle their nerves, McCaffry spent more time doing "cute warm-up photos."
"I wanted to get them comfortable with each other before we moved on to anything else," she said.
"After that, we had an instant connection," Jones said. "I don't think there was any time that was awkward, we hit it off pretty fast."
And as the shoot continued, Coe and Jones kept finding moments to talk and learn more about each other.
"It was a way better first date than I've ever been on, it was so much fun," Jones said. "People just see the pictures, but we did actually sit and talk through the whole thing. We told each other jokes when they were taking pictures and got to know each other."
By the time they got to the waterfall, McCaffry said it was like photographing a "totally different couple."
McCaffry was ecstatic when she started taking pictures at the waterfall and saw Jones and Coe's electric chemistry together.
"It's like fireworks for us," she said. "It's everything we dream of as photographers."
And Jones said it was "so much fun" to shoot passionate photos in front of the waterfall.
"There were times when they were like, 'Okay guys, stop for a second,"' Jones recalled with a laugh. "But we had an instant connection and she captured those moments perfectly for us."
Jones' favorite photo is the picture of Coe holding her leg as they went in for their very first kiss.
"You can actually tell that we're kind of nervous, but ready to kiss at the same time," Jones said. "You can just see the chemistry."
A day after the shoot, McCaffry shared the photos of Jones and Coe on Facebook — where they were an instant hit.
McCaffry believes her blind date photo shoots have been so popular on social media because "everybody loves a good love story." She even turned Jones and Coe's shoot into a special magazine.
"It doesn't matter who you are," she said. "It just gives you all the feels."
"People are so intrigued to see two strangers meet up for the first time and get so comfortable with each other," Jones added. "I think it's just the anticipation of who's it gonna be, are they gonna have a connection, is the chemistry actually going to be there - that's what people really like about it."
The shoot went so well that Jones and Coe went on a second date just days later.
"We've been talking every day since," Jones said. "We're super excited to see where it takes us."
With two successful blind date photo shoots under her belt, McCaffry said she's convinced that it's far easier to photograph strangers "than a real couple."
"They don't know each other, they don't know their likes or dislikes, they don't know their comfort zones and those types of things, so maybe they're more willing to be open and try new things," McCaffry said. "They don't know what kind of couple they are yet, so they're willing to just be like, 'Okay! I'll do whatever!'"
McCaffry is already planning her next blind date photo shoot, and can't wait to do many more in the future.
"It's a true session of passion for me," she said.
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