- bouquet
- Harsh Light
- Trees
- Srong pose
- Soft Light
- simple
- Shade
- Serious
- Posed
- Old timer
- Natural Light
- lower thirds
- Groom hold flowers
- calm
- Germany
- full body
- Free
- Forest
- flowers low
- Contemporary
- Cloudy
- Classic
- Center Framed
- Car
- Wide
The story behind the image
But you could also take it a step further and include it in your couple shoot. We love to do this, and often if we have to move from the wedding venue to the shoot location, we will ask our couple to bring this car (sometime’s they will drive, other times they will be driven).
You can have them inside the car, and even outside to pose with it. It adds a lot to the story of the day since it is something significant to your couple.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our couple stand facing us and go in for a very chilled, relaxed pose. We wanted them to look into our camera and not have too much of a “smile” since our goal here was a contemporary, cool look. We asked them to stand next to each other with the groom holding the flowers down low, and to have their arms around each other. If your bride is not sure what to do with her empty hand, have her hold her dress, or even lean in on her hips.
What did you say?
Stand next to each other and look into our camera! [groom] hold the flowers down low, and both of you put your arms around each other. Also, try not to smile too much. Give us a cool look! there you go!
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
Our main goal with this composition was to include the car completely, and from it’s profile. We loved the shape of the old-school car and wanted it to be feature of this image. With our couple dead center just covering the doors, we left enough space around them to include the remaining parts of the car as well as to show where they were.
framing
Lower Thirds
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Our focusing was very straight forward. We positioned our AF point over our couple and let the camera lock onto them.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The grooms face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/400 @ f/2.2 ISO100 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
At this point in the day, we had only a few clouds. We found the spot where the car was parked and it just so happened to be in the shade from the trees. We did time it so that we could shoot when a cloud covered the sun, helping to soften the light overall.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
The edits are made to be warmer with a big focus on skin tones and light play with shadows and highlights. A few minor local adjustments were made (Gradient and Brush) as well as finishing off with a fine layer of grain. The whites are not blown out nor are the blacks 100% crunched.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
When it comes to serious non-smiley photos, it can be quite challenging to get your couple looking ‘cool’ opposed to looking angry or unhappy. It’s a fine balance between being sort of ‘cocky’ and ‘chilled’.
Solutions
What helps is to really pay attention to their faces and body language. If you notice they are looking a bit too serious, ask them to try and “feel cool” or “arrogant”. Mix up your words and see what results you get.
Location
Location Name
Faber-Castell Waldhütte
Location aDDRESS
Faber-Castell Waldhütte Faberhof 1, 90596 Schwanstetten
Loation Type
Forest
Country
Germany
Don’t forget about the car if your couple has a special one for the day. They went through the effort of organising it and it would be a shame not to have any photos of it.
If you can, have your couple bring the car with you to your couple shoot so you can grab some frames with them and the car together. Whether they are outside or inside the car, it’s still a pretty cool thing to have.
