At weddings sometimes time gets out of control. This time the ceremony lasted longer than scheduled and the sunlight disappeared. When I started the photo session with the couple, I only had approximately 15 minutes because the reception was about to begin. This delay meant that I had to react much faster than usual and come up with ideas in a very short time. Without an interesting ambient light and the darkness around, it only remained to leave everything in the hands of a good flash and creativity.
After taking several photos with the couple, I decided to give the bride and her dress a bit of prominence. I quickly explored the location and found a door with the interior illuminated by the light of a lamp. The bride’s dress was very large which made it difficult for her to move, there were two people helping her with her dresses, and thanks to that we were able to get to the point where I could take her picture.
Without much time to try out ideas, I had to come up with something. All we had was a big dress, a flash with a wide softbox, and a few little mood lights that could make a good contrast. The challenge was in front of me, with a clear goal: to achieve an epic image for this bride in a very short time.
The main fear was not achieving what my mind imagined, I had the help of my assistant, but the place was uncomfortable and not easy to work in either. I could not communicate due to the distance between the bride, my assistant and me, giving instructions loudly and shouting, while shooting; the light could not be at the point I wanted and suddenly there was a moment of synchronization of everyone, the girlfriend, the lighting assistant and I as a photographer knew that that shot had been achieved as I wanted.
The lesson that this shot leaves me was the importance of having quick decision-making when time is short. To have more confidence it is necessary to be prepared not only creatively but technically, practicing with the flash and your camera before the wedding helps to solve situations related to the management of light.
It is always possible to improve a photograph, in this case, cropping a bit more would help, greater development of the person being portrayed and paying attention to more details.
