HOW i SHOT THiS

  • Blue Hour
  • Cabin
  • Center Framed
  • Colorful
  • composite
  • Dark
  • Low Light
  • lower thirds
  • night
  • Outdoor
  • photoshop
  • Stars
  • Wide

The story behind the image

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This photo was taken quite spontaneously during a meeting with friends who run a wonderful place where weddings take place – Folwark Ruchenka. The session lasted about 15 minutes because I wanted to use the last rays of the sun and the shapes of the field houses.

The sun was already setting, and I came up with the idea of ​​combining existing and artificial light. The photo was not posed because I always focus on naturalness, so I left a loudspeaker with music on and told them to hug.

The stars were added in Lightroom/Photoshop later on though. From the moment of the idea to combine natural and artificial light, I knew what I wanted this photo to look like, but it lacked the WOW effect, hence the addition of the stars, which in our country, unfortunately, are not visible too well.

For me, the basis for working with each couple is their naturalness and bringing out emotions. Therefore, often before I start photographing at all, I talk to the people I will be photographing, play music for them, and sometimes I leave them for a few moments together so that they can feel special.

Often, during the sessions themselves, we are accompanied by music that makes people feel more at ease. I often try to distract them, or on the contrary – I want them to feel as if it was their last meeting as if there was no tomorrow. It brings out wonderful emotions in people.
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Directions

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
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What did you say?
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Tone of Directions

Calm

Composition

This photo was made with several different options – different framing and poses because the couple was very natural and they were constantly doing something and changing their poses. However, the best thing for me was the central framing, which directly leads our eyes to the couple, as does the mixing of colors. This frame was supposed to be simple, and at the same time unique due to its emotions and color.

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Compositional Rules

Leading LinesSymmetry

framing

Lower ThirdsWideLower AngleFull BodyNegative Space

Focusing

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)

I focused on the couple since they were being lit inside the little cabin. Since I was outside and shooting a bit far away, I just simply moved my focus point over any of them and found the focus this way.

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Focus Mode

Live View Continuous

Focus POints

Single Point

Focused on

The Couple

Equipment &
Exif

Camera
Canon 5D Mark IV
Lens
Canon 35mm f/1.4 L II
Flash
None
Filter
None
1/125 @ f/1/4 ISO4000 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 image was taken just before the sun had completely disappeared. It was during the infamous blue hour. However, the main source of light on our couple was the artificial light in the cabin. I had no control over it (it was basically On or Off) and since I loved the contrast between the warm glow of the artificial light and the cold tones of the blue hour, I kept it on.

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Light Type

Mixed Lighting

Light Quality

Soft,Harsh

Time of day

Night

Weather

Clear

Editing Workflow

How did you edit this image?

I first applied my personal preset to this photo and adjusted the colors to get the overall tones I was after. I kept things relatively dark and contrasty as I wanted the stars to really stand out. Once I had finished the base edit, I then brought the image into photoshop where I overlayed the stars and set the blend mode to Screen.

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Editing Software
Preset Used
Own personal Presets

Challenges

The biggest challenge of this photo was time, because the sun in Poland in May sets very quickly and we only had a few moments to take the “perfect” photo. Literally moments after this photo was taken, it became completely dark.

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Solutions

The only thing was to be quick. I had this idea in my mind and I knew what I wanted, so I didn’t waste time and went straight to the point.

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Location

Location Name

Folwark Ruchenka

Location aDDRESS

Słoneczna 25, 07-102 Ruchna, POLAND

Loation Type

field houses

Country

Poland

Try and take advantage of ‘on the moment’ inspiration. Sometimes ideas come to you and if you’re fast enough, you can make them happen. It’s just about trying, believing and putting that first foot forward.

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