- almost kiss
- bouquet
- calm
- Center Framed
- cool pose
- Directional Light
- Flowers
- full body
- Harsh Light
- Indoor
- intimate
- Leading lines
- Natural Light
- Wide
- Window Light
The story behind the image
What was difficult here was the harsh direct light; which really made the image quite special. It was also pretty tough to try and arrange everything and get it to what I want while still trying to evoke an emotional & natural connection between the couple. I didn’t want it to look posed, yet at the same time, to still look and feel like a painting.
For me, it was a big step out of my comfort zone and the couple harmonised with the beautiful light. It was natural and that’s exactly how I wanted to capture this. In my opinion, thats the most important thing in wedding photography – to get involved with the couple and the situations, and to put you down preferences behind you so you can portray the moment in your own style & interpretation all while keeping in line with the couples feelings and tastes.
And thats exactly what I ended up learning through all of this. A breath of fresh air, an open heart towards the couple and their being and an engagement with new ways and methods. I would not change anything about it. Even if it does not necessarily fit in with my usual style of photography; I interpreted it in my own way and moved beyond my limits.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Since the light was playing a big role, a lot of my directions were focused on making sure that I kept it a part of the picture. I asked the couple to simply look at each other deeply, and stay relatively still. To just be in this moment and realise that their love is forever; and I am just here to capture it.
What did you say?
I would like you to stand still as if you were being painted. At the same time try to speak with your bodies. You are silent, but your eyes are not. Let them speak to one another and try block out everything else around you.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I wanted to create a portrait that was reminiscent of a painting while still being incredibly meaningful and emotional. Normally I use an 85mm lens for more intensity & feelings. But here, I chose to use the 24mm lens to allow more space and more of the light in the image. At the same time, I was shooting directly forwards onto the florals which helped to give the overall image this “painted” feeling. My Goal was definitely to portray the couple framed within their own florals and the light of the location, but still create a special atmosphere and feeling of intimacy and connection in the static of a “painting”.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Due to the vastness of the image, I put the focus on the couple or the bride’s face.I used autofocus because it seems to me to be the most flexible for weddings and rapidly changing conditions and subjects.
Focus Mode
Continuous Autofocus
Focus POints
Multi Point
Focused on
Face of the bride
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1000 @ f/1.4 ISO80 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 photo was taken at noon indoors right next to a large glass window, just to the side of our couple. The midday sun is always quite challenging to deal with but fortunately the window created a natural diffuser, which helped to soften it slightly which helped to create this painterly effect.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Indoor
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used my own presets and wanted to make the image contrasty in the light and shadows. For this, I used the shadow and highlight sliders in Lightroom and adjusted the white balance and tint more towards the yellowish direction. Because of the harsh light and strong contrast, I still had to edit the skin a bit in terms of irregularities & imperfections which I did in Photoshop and not in Lightroom because of having more control over the detail.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Lichttrunken Sonnet to the moon
Challenges
The biggest challenge here was the blazing midday sun, which caused really harsh shadows.
Solutions
So, I didn’t try to change or manipulate it, but rather to use this light as a stylistic device and play with it.
Location
Location Name
Studio Schanz
Location aDDRESS
An der Schanz 1a, 50735 Köln
Loation Type
Industrial
Country
Germany
Use the light and work with it as it is. Turn and work from different angles, and out of the comfort zone often comes miracles. So don’t be afraid to try something new.
