- calm
- Center Framed
- Harsh Light
- kissing
- Mid range
- Moody
- Natural
- Natural Light
- Palm Tree
- Palms
- Rule of thirds
- Shadows
- sunny
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I asked the bride to stand behind a palm tree, so she had the shadow of a leaf on her face, and then I asked the groom to be behind her and kiss her cheek.
What did you say?
To the bride: can you stand few steps behind the branch?
To the groom: can you walk through her and kiss her cheek slowly?
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I was looking for a way to hide a little from the harsh light and add texture that shows the nature aspect of the venue. So I placed the couple literally in the garden and composed my frame based on the best way to get the shadow. Their faces are a little more on the center of the frame than I usually do because I could see my own shadow on them.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Using the viewfinder, I focused on the bride’s face as she was the most under the light. With her face a bit on the side, her right eye was perfectly lit.
Focus Mode
Continuous Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Brides' eyes
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/5000 @ f/2.0 ISO100 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
The light was directly in front of the couple, meaning I had it on my back. I was looking to play with the shadow and texture, as the sun was super high and the light was harsh. This was a way to “break” the very contrasty look I could have had by just having the couple under the sun. I usually like to shoot backlight, but in this situation, it was better to play with direct light.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Sunny
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
Based on my usual preset, I tweaked it to get more muted tones. I increased the temperature a little bit to get the warmth of the sun. I lowered the clarity just a bit to get a smoother skin texture. Then I dropped down the highlights. To get creamier muted tones, I changed the tone curve by lowering down the highlights and lights under the neutral line, creating a very slightly S curve. I desaturated the yellow and green and finally added some grain.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Own personal preset
Challenges
The biggest difficulty was to find an idea to use the harsh light in a creative way when no nice background under the shadow is possible.
Solutions
I saw those palm trees that were on the side of the way, so I gave it a try. No shadow available, let’s create one!
Location
Location Name
Coco Barn Wood Lodge
Location aDDRESS
Chemin du Moulin de Sis, 40150 Angresse
Loation Type
Garden / Field
Country
France
If you’re facing light conditions that you’re not used to, try to use objects or environments to get closer to what you want. And if nothing is possible, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Balance your light issue by unexpected composition, pose,s or movements.
