I let them know to hold hands a few inches away from eachother (the boat was really bobbing on a stormy day so they had to hold on) Then I asked them to both look toward the horizon and take a deep breath smelling the sea air. I had them stay in this pose for awhile before I had them sit down to help steady themselves.
It was very hard to shoot on the seas on a smaller sailboat without falling over so I was holding on too in the background!
“Okay guys, hold hands next to eachother but leave a gap between you. Look off into the horizon and take a deep and serious breath. Stay here for awhile and take in the beauty!”
I framed the image like this because I wanted the sea, the mountains and part of the boat in it. I wanted a wide enough angle as I could get to really show we were out at sea so I shot with my 24mm lens. My goal was to show the scale of their full bodies in comparison to the bow of the boat and mountains in the distance.
I tried to keep the horizon lone at the chests and not near the necks or heads.
Center Framed
I always use manual focus especially on the high seas when we are bobbing in the ocean and their hair and bodies are going every which way. I focused on their faces but I shot pretty wide open at 4.0 to make sure as much was in focus as possible since it was the ocean in the background and not a forest or anything. I was swaying like crazy and wanted as much in focus as possible so it wasn’t blurry.
Single Shot Autofocus
Single Point
His face
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.
The sky was extremely overcast and stormy with no real sun. Alaska does not get much direct sun and it was very diffused. I love this lighting because there are no shadows or bright spots!
Natural Light
Cloudy
I use G-Presets Campfire in Dawn Photo 2- film as a base but I change it up quite a bit. Always changing up the tone curves and saturation of blues/yellows for a more vintage look. Luckily this photo did not need much else!
The biggest challenge was the stormy seas and rocking of the sailboat. She was also pretty seasick and we wanted her to have fun and not be having the worst day. It is also Alaska and very cold.
We took several breaks for them to warm up and we photographed everything as quickly as we could (maybe 30 -45 minutes) and got her to the least rocky area of the boat in the back with some water and snacks so she could feel better. In the end we had a blast and this 70’s groovy loveboat was a fantastic day!
Ressurrection Bay in Seward
1300 Fourth Avenue, Seward, Alaska 99664, United States
Ocean
United States
If a couple is planning on eloping on a sailboat, make sure to pack anti-nausea, snacks, water, and boat shoes! Also, hairbrush and hair spray to fix flyaways in between photos! The adventure is so amazing but being prepared with waterproof gear is also important!
In small quarters like this, a wide-angle is so important and I’m glad I brought it that day. There isn’t much room to move around so when in doubt bring a 24mm!
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