- Austria
- Maid of Honour
- Wedding
- Tirol
- sunny
- Spontaneous
- Portrait
- Natural Light
- Moment
- Italy
- Bride
- Harsh Light
- full body
- Free
- Directional Light
- Castle
- Candid
- broken rules
- Bridesmaid
- Wide
The story behind the image
In this case, our bride wanted to go freshen up with her sister before the couple shoot and as we wanted to include this moment in the storytelling part of the day, we followed her from behind and started shooting. It was at that moment that they turned around the corner and the light suddenly shone on them with such a beauty. We were fortunately ready for the shot as we were already taking pictures of them. As that moment happened, we saw it, and shot it. Had we not been paying attention – this brief little chance would have gone by and we wouldn’t have even noticed it.
Composition
We were shooting the ‘journey’ of the bride and the sister with a wider lens as we liked to showcase the castle and where they were. It also helps with storytelling to see a transition between locations. Just before this moment happened, we knew we wanted to show them turning around the corner so we let them get ahead of us a bit so we could include that corner. We balanced the frame with having the subjects just off-center to the right, while the “corner subject” crept in on the left.
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
The focus was on our subjects, and very simply we used our single point auto focus. The main reason we do this besides out of habit is just that we like to have complete control over what is being focused. We have tried the servo modes where the camera tries to track subjects, but we found we have more accurate shots when we just use the old fashioned “half press, focus, shoot” method.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The Brides body
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1600 @ f/2.5 ISO160 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
As the girls moved into the sun around the corner, we had to be quick with our exposures. We quickly increased our shutter speed to account for the sudden blast of light. There was no science behind this calculation – only feeling. A feeling that gets more and more accurate the more you understand and use your camera.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Sunny
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
The edits were done with an experimental preset that aimed to keep things a bit more natural even though we opted to go a bit darker to enhance the light. Since the light that was illuminating the dress was a key factor in this image, we edited around this. We darkened the edges with a radial vignette, kept the exposure and contrasts relatively low and always kept any eye on the skin tones.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The main challenge with this shot was to get our exposure right as fast as possible. As they had just walked out of the shade from the entrance tunnel, our cameras were still set to expose for a darker scene.
Solutions
There are no real tricks or tips to solve this besides being very affluent with your camera and knowing where what
buttons are and how to manipulate them quickly. As the girls hit the harsh light we saw our meter jump to “over exposed” and quickly raised our shutter speed.
Location
Location Name
Schloss Freudenstein
Location aDDRESS
Castel Freudenstein Str. Masaccio, 39057 Appiano sulla strada del vino BZ, Italy
Loation Type
Courtyard
Country
Italy
Always be on the look out for these little moments. While they may seem insignificant at first, sometimes you’ll capture a truely beautiful moment. Not just for you, but for your bride and groom.
As much as possible, learn your camera. Learn where everything is, what it does, why it does it and how to change it to what you want. It is hands down one of the most important things to know.
