- 8 person group
- Moving Group
- Walking towards Camera
- Walking
- walk towards
- south african
- Soft Light
- Rule of thirds
- Outdoor
- Natural Light
- Natural
- Middle Thirds
- afternoon
- linked arms
- Laughing
- Jokes
- Group
- giggle
- Funny
- Fun
- full body
- Energetic
- dark skin
- Wide
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
One of my silly go-to methods of getting the whole bridal party relaxed is having the lock arms and then saying “Okay guys, while you are walking we are going to look at each other, laugh at our steps because our steps are SO funny” and then a give a very sarcastic laugh and shout for them to go for it. It is pretty cheesy but it always works like a bomb. We found that if we are willing to put ourselves out there and laugh at ourselves, the bridal party usually follows suit and we all have a great time together.
What did you say?
Okay guys, while you are walking we are going to look at each other, laugh at our steps because our steps are SO funny
Composition
With this specific shot, there is not much room to play with, especially with a bigger group like this. The only rule we followed here was to get everyone in the shot. Our main goal was to capture the great energy this group had and to try and show what fun they all had together. This composition works well because it is a no-fuss straightforward shot with the focus on these beautiful people.
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We used continuous focus for this shot where we choose the focus points, as the bridal party was walking towards us and we were walking backward so the focus tracking automatically was necessary for us. We chose to set the focus points on the couple, so the center of the image, and then keep the focus there as they are the most important and need to be in focus all the time.
Focus Mode
Continuous Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The bride and groom's faces
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/400 @ f/2.8 ISO1250 WB-Auto
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
So in some sense, we were really lucky with this light, because it was overcast we basically had a massive diffuser and the light was nice and soft. We usually love the dramatic sunsets, but all in all, this was just another version of perfect and pretty easy to work with because we did not need to think about the light too much.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
We started out using the Tribe Archepelagio Terrain preset, but we have been tweaking it for a few years to create the preset we used on this photo. We love warm and moody tones so that is what we try and create in the editing process. The preset already tweak the HSL and tone curve so we do not bother too much here. In this photo, we did not use any local adjustments as it was overcast and the light was nice and even.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
For this shoot, it was definitely the weather. As mentioned it was raining the entire day. During canapes, everyone was huddling and hiding from the rain. After the ceremony, when it was time for the couple shoot it was still raining and inevitably everybody starts looking to the photographer for suggestions.
Solutions
We basically just waited it out. While we were waiting we started with some of the family portraits and also taking pictures of the guests enjoying the party. When we saw it was staring to open up we grabbed everyone form the bridal party and ran to go get the shots. Our best advice when it comes to rainy weather is to just stay calm and come up with a plan. Rain is not the photographer’s fault, but it is our job to think of a plan.
Location
Location Name
Shepstone Gardens Johannesburg
Location aDDRESS
12 Hope Rd, Mountain View, Johannesburg, 2192
Loation Type
City
Country
South Africa
Just stay calm and think ahead. What would you have wanted your photographer to do in this situation on your wedding day. Don’t stress too much and just have fun.
