- Bath
- Indoor
- Wet
- Soft Light
- Serious
- Natural Light
- Intimate Framing
- intimate
- Home shoot
- calm
- holding each other
- gentle
- cuddling
- Cloudy
- Closed Eyes
- Close up
- Center Framed
- Window Light
The story behind the image
I had always wanted to do something like this, and they were the perfect couple to explore this and explode my creativity freely.
We spent the afternoon chatting, drinking some beers and we slowly got into the session, first in the living room, playing guitar and being goofy, and then we made our way to the bathroom.
It is always awkward at the beginning, but as we have a really great connection, things went really smoothly from the beginning.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had been playing around and laughing for most of the session, so for this shot, I asked them to get a little more serious and intimate. I asked S to place herself behind R, get really close together, cuddle him from behind, touch his body. And to take a deep breath, relax, and just be present with each other.
What did you say?
Alright! Let’s get a little serious now. S, stand behind R, just relax and breathe for a minute. Be present with each other, close your eyes and just enjoy the moment
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I wanted to get a close-up of them, having them both covering the whole frame, but having him mostly being the protagonist in a way. Close-ups for me are a way of intimacy as if you are entering their space, and that’s what I wanted to achieve in this case. I wanted to create some sort of feeling of peace, where she is standing behind him as if she was protecting and comforting him.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I was focusing mostly on him. I think I set the focus on his eye.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
His eye
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1250 @ f/1.4 ISO1250 WB-5700
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
The light was coming from above, through a skylight, which was the only source of light we had. It was a gloomy day, so pretty diffused light. This created some really beautiful soft light to work with while also creating dimensions on the couple.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Indoor
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used my custom preset “Desaturated” (yep, that’s the name!). I think I just adjusted the brightness, lowered the saturation of oranges, set the highlights towards a more blueish tone, and adjusted the contrast to give it a little bit of depth
Editing Software
Preset Used
Challenges
I wouldn’t call these big challenges, but of course, you have to play with the fact that you are photographing a naked couple, the reduced space (it was probably around 7sqm room if not smaller), it was already getting a little dark, and it was a gloomy day so we had to be fast shooting.
Solutions
I think the thing I repeat the most is how important it is to click with your couples and for both parties to be 100% comfortable when shooting these kinds of sessions.
Break the ice by playing some music, chat before the session, take it easy, have a drink (doesn’t have to be alcoholic!)
Location
Location Name
Amsterdam
Location aDDRESS
Amsterdam
Loation Type
Private Home / AirBnB / Apartment
Country
Netherlands
ALWAYS have a speaker with you and play some music. I try to carry it with me to my sessions as it eases up the ambiance. And slow down, sometimes the most beautiful moments are there in front of you, when you least expect them, without having to do anything.
