I wanted the couple to have a moment to themselves so I asked them to dance. Roberto twirled Victoria and then ended by picking her up for a kiss.
Twirl her around and dance for a minute!
I really like my images to be straight and centered. I do break the rules sometimes, but it felt right for this image. I had them center framed as I wanted the attention to go straight to the couple. Since the desert didn’t offer too many other elements, this just meant that it only added more emphasis to the couple. Sometimes playing it safe is the way to go.
Lower Thirds
I shoot in manual for my settings but my focus is always on auto! I pinpointed the focus on my subject. The focus was a little hard since we were losing light but I made sure to go slow and take my time. Giving my camera enough time to focus.
Single Shot Autofocus
Single Point
The center of the couple
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.
The sun started to slip behind the mountains and the sky lit up pink. We were losing the light fast and it was getting harder and harder to capture the moment. The sun was behind a mountain off in the distance to our right. I wish I could have positioned them to the left a bit more so the remaining light glow would illuminate them better, but there was a giant dune drop off to our left. It was more aesthetically pleasing to shoot the direction of the photo.
Natural Light
Blue Hour
I first edited the photo in Lightroom. I used brush tools to help brighten the subject. I adjusted the shadows and highlights in this tool and brushed them where needed. I then adjusted my settings for the overall image as normal. After editing in Lightroom, I moved the photo to Photoshop to add the Aurora Borealis overlay.
The biggest challenges were the low light and editing!
I was able to put the photo into Lightroom and use a mixture of brushes and settings to get it to my liking. I then processed the photo in photoshop for “final touches” of the Aurora Borealis!
White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands National Park, NM
Sand Dune
United States
I used to be afraid of low light. But for what?! I will never pass up a beautiful moment just because of a little grain from high ISO. My biggest advice to you is to capture the moments anyway. Take your time with it. Get your settings right and don’t be afraid to play around in post process.
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