I tried to intervene as little as possible to allow a more natural moment to flourish between the couple. I did of course give them the idea to get as close as possible and to stop just before they kiss. This is a moment I find the most romantic as it leaves so much for the viewer to explore. I often shoot these moments; the ‘almost kiss’ moments.
Okay guys, get as close as possible without touching each other, close your eyes and relax as much as possible.
Calm
Shooting this in portrait was a perfect choice in my opinion as I excluded a lot of potentially disturbing elements from the image. That way, the couple took all the attention as well as the moment they were sharing. The composition came naturally to me, and what I noticed I did was to have them on the 2 of the 3 thirds where the guy was on the top and the girl on the bottom. This creates a balance in the overall image. I did crop this image later on when editing just to fine-tune the composition.
For focusing, 99% of the time I am using autofocus and set it to track the eyes. In this case, I had the focus moved to the girl’s eye & eyelashes as this was the element of the greatest interest.
Single Shot Autofocus
Single Point
Her eyes
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.
All my shots are made with natural light, and I am always on the lookout for soft light that has lights & shadows. I don’t like strong contrasts. I always try and shoot in the afternoon or on cloudy days to have the best conditions. Of course, that’s not always the case. In this case, the light was being diffused and let in through the car window where it was falling onto the guy first, then the girl. I positioned them so that it hit them equally and I could capture the highlights & shadows; which creates dimensions to subjects. Makes them feel more real.
Natural Light
Indoor
For the post-production of this shot, I used lightroom. I first adjusted the exposure, increasing it, as I always underexpose a lot when I shoot, increased the contrast, decreased the texture and saturation to a minimum, and increased the details almost to the maximum to increase the noise a little. I also added extra film grain, but without exaggerating. Finally, I cropped the image to fine-tune my composition.
The biggest challenge when you have real couples in front of you, not models, is to put them at ease and get to have these shots in which they are really themselves and put themselves into play, leaving aside shyness and opening up to you. In fact, these shots always happen towards the end of the session.
Each couple has their own characters, so I try to respect them, not to be too insistent, you don’t always get the same complicity, not with everyone, it would be impossible. A little tact and experience will help you understand when to go a little further and when it is not the case.
Pineta di Suvero
Liguria, Italy
Forest
Italy
I am very attached to these shots because I created a level of understanding with the couple that allowed me to play with them and they were extremely open to satisfying my every request. This is the perfect condition for shooting. It will not always be possible but don’t give up, maybe one negative experience will be rewarded by the next. So my advice is not to give up, try, try and try. With the right touch and the right ways, patience, and experience you can achieve everything.
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