- afternoon
- Mountains
- Shade
- Rule of thirds
- Posed
- Outdoor
- Natural Light
- natural frames
- Lying on rock
- calm
- lying down
- Looking down
- Leading lines
- High Angle
- From above
- Drone
- Center Framed
- Soft Light
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I simply asked the dad to lay on his back with his legs crossed at his ankles and then asked the mom to lay next to him. I asked her to rest her head on his chest and to just place her hand under her belly to help define it. That was important because this shot was going to be pretty wide, and seeing that she was pregnant was the goal.
What did you say?
“ok dad go ahead and lay on your back and cross your legs at your ankles. Now mom, I want you to lay next to him resting your head on his chest and put a hand under your belly to define your bump. Dad, wrap your arm around her.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I wanted to include both sides of the canyon in my shot so tried to include roughly the same amount of canyon on each side of the couple. I tried to take the shot directly above them and not at an angle. This also throws in a good few compositional elements like leading lines and natural frames.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Focusing was very simple for this image as I positioned the drone directly above the couple. I then tapped the screen on my phone to where the focus should be (which was the couple) and the drone locked on without issue.
Focus Mode
Live View Single Shot
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
the couple
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/60 @ f/11 ISO800 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
Natural light – the sun had gone behind the canyon wall and the time was about 1.5 hours before sunset. I used the light this way because before it goes behind the canyon wall it is direct harsh light and I would rather have it in the open shade vs direct harsh sunlight. I would not have done anything differently.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used the spot removal brush to remove myself from the image, then used SMAL 01 as a base, decreased highlights and whites, increased shadows and exposure, increased saturation but then erased it off the couple, removed grain, took to photoshop and applied Stormy Solis’ one click action (smoothed skin, lightened subject, darkened edges, added warmth), added sunshine action and bring back color action, used My Four Hens action to paint on warmth around the rocks, adjusted curves to decrease shadows and increase highlights, saved back into photoshop, applied SMAL 08 over image, removed grain, decreased highlights and whites.
Editing Software
Lightroom and Photoshop
Preset Used
Challenges
The only challenges would be possible mild discomfort of the subjects from laying on the rock but they did not complain. Also flying my drone in a canyon is always a bit of a challenge and finding a spot to land it since the area was very uneven. If I did it again I would probably have started and ended in the road instead of trying to land it in the canyon (I lost 2 blades trying to land it)
Solutions
I recently discovered the Home button on my drone which has it land the same spot it took off, so that would have been a solution!
Location
Location Name
Redstone, Colorado
Location aDDRESS
Redstone, CO 81623, USA
Loation Type
Canyon
Country
United States
When doing a drone shot, look for areas that are interesting around your subject (layers, interesting curves, etc. – not just a field of mowed grass) and don’t be afraid to play with the saturation when editing to really make it pop.
