- afternoon
- Bruno Garcez
- calm
- Center Framed
- Cloudy
- hazy
- Him behind
- holding each other
- Looking out
- Mid range
- Natural Light
- Rule of thirds
- Serious
- Soft Light
The story behind the image
I tried to make a different edit to explore the file and keep the haze I made with a piece of old acrylic I had found on the spot. I also decided to shoot this with backlight to find out how far I could recover the photo in post-production. Finally, the couple was genuinely so natural and pretty much embraced the moment they were in and forget entirely about me shooting them.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I usually tend to be discreet and talk very gently with the couple in order to make them more comfortable. Then I let everything happen naturally. The couple was great and acted naturally, which made this so much more special. At this very moment, Erik was looking at the vines and Carlos was feeling a moment of affection toward Erik. It was a special moment because this couple easily forgot that they were being photographed. And it is so good when this happens
What did you say?
Guys, it’s a beautiful day in a beautiful place – just enjoy this moment together and take it all in.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I initially photographed the couple from a distance as they walked through the vineyards to capture all the beauty of the place. Then to finish off we did some more intimate shots. In this photo, I had to frame them in the corner to avoid some electricity cables that were just above us as to avoid it being in the frame. Later while editing, I refined the crop to have them in the middle bringing the attention straight to the couple, their moment and their emotion.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I am a viewfinder guy. I rarely use live view. I used single-point focus on their face. I was shooting in backlight but fortunately, I didn’t have any difficulty in focusing.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
First groom face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/10000 @ f/1.4 ISO100 WB-5000
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
Since I had already taken a bunch of shots of my couple in this environment, I felt that I could experiment with something more challenging. That’s why I decided to have the sun behind them and shoot backlit. Normally this can be quite difficult but the flare that it created was worth it. I also found this piece of acrylic on the ground and placed it around the lens of the camera which helped to create this beautiful haze effect.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Weather
Cloudy
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I just applied my preset and adjusted the exposure and warmed up the white balance. I adjusted the orange tones a bit for healthier skin and I cropped to center the couple.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The challenge here was to make the acrylic work the way I had in mind. I made a few attempts until I got what I wanted.
Solutions
I rotated the acrylic and directed it towards the sunlight until I got the effect I wanted. All in all, just trial and error.
Location
Location Name
Quinta Branca
Location aDDRESS
Quinta Branca N313 Lamego, Portugal
Loation Type
Vineyard
Country
Portugal
Sometimes if you try to be creative and think outside the box, even in a normal situation you can do something different and with a lot of impact. This photo that I created in a test manner turned out to be one of the couple’s favorites and one of my favorite photos from last year’s editions! I made a large print so I could see the grain from a distance and it turned out amazing.
Don’t be afraid to push your camera to it’s limits, especially if you have your safe shots. And if you want to have even more control with your compositions, shoot a bit wider and crop closer while you’re editing.
