- afternoon
- Mid range
- Unposed
- Soft Light
- running
- Playful
- off center
- Natural Light
- Natural
- Movement
- Motion Blur
- Moody
- medium distance
- Beach
- Laughing
- holding hands
- Fun
- Evening
- Energetic
- dark skin
- cloudy sky
- Cloudy
- broken rules
- blurry
- black couple
- Warm Tones
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Coupled with the fact that I wanted my couple to stay warm, and to also capture their natural energy, I asked them how they would feel about running across the shoreline hand in hand and to end in the bride being picked up and spun around.
What did you say?
Hand in hand, I want you to run – not too fast – across the shoreline. Please engage in each other’s eyes and laughter as you do this! When you have reached “this point” T to pick up M and spin around.
Composition
The framing of this image I would describe as intentionally cropped. I wanted it to be known and obvious to the eye that it was shot during movement – from both the subject and myself. I wanted it to speak volumes of the beauty at the moment that could simply not be held tack sharp, or perfectly composed, for the frame but rather to express how wonderful, blurry and beautiful all the moments of life can be.
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Out-of-focus shots, although arguably ‘easier to nail than tack-sharp focus, still need to be readable as you don’t want to blur too much that you can’t tell what is actually going on (unless of course, that is the intention). I shot with a shutter speed of 1/20 to capture this blur. Note that the couple was moving pretty quickly. If I would re-shoot this exact image I would try and play with having the shutter speed slightly faster perhaps 1/50 to see what that would capture in terms of blurred motion.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Anywhere on the subject
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/20 @ f/13 ISO50 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
This was shot late afternoon and the sky was overcast, we did not have any golden hues or rays but we made the most of the dramatic clouds. The light was naturally diffused by the clouds so no harsh lighting.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Weather
Cloudy
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used ‘Archipelago’ Preset Nomad 01 and adjusted the white balance temperature to add warmth, bringing the tint slide down to cancel out some of the pinks and bring back the green tones. The contrast is taken right down to keep the image as soft as possible, same with texture. The highlights are also brought down to bring the detail/depth to the clouds.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The biggest challenge for motion blur with couples is probably getting the shutter where you want it to create the amount of blur you want with the pace of the movement you are presented with.
Solutions
It definitely takes a couple of tries! So, it might be best to try it out on practice subjects first to then already have your “go to” settings in your head which you can then adjust according to your light situation real-time.
Location
Location Name
Botany Bay
Location aDDRESS
Botany Bay, Margate
Loation Type
Beach / Coastal
Country
United Kingdom
Movement, running shots are best (from my own personal opinion) at the peak of everyone’s energy – I usually find this is the middle of the shoot. The beginning is loosening up and the end is usually more peaceful.
