- calm
- Center Framed
- Close up
- Harsh Light
- holding each other
- intimate
- Intimate Framing
- Leading lines
- low key
- Moody
- Spot of Light
- Sunset
The story behind the image
We saw it, loved how it looked and then shifted our couple slightly just so it would land more or less on the eye of our bride. Without wanting to hurt her, we told her to not open her eyes while she feels the sun on it, and instead to just look down.
We then exposed for the highlight and ended up really loving the feel of this image. It was a quick moment that we took advantage of and one that we don’t regret trying out.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our groom stand just behind our bride and embrace her. While this was happening, we had our bride turn slightly towards him as we asked her to try and find the sun light. We then encouraged our groom to cuddle into her gently while playing softly with her hands.
What did you say?
Oh wow! The light is just so friggen awesome right now! There’s a spot of light that has just appeared on you. Cuddle into her from behind and really hold her close, and bring your face down to hers. Now, let’s turn slightly until we get that light on her eye. [bride], just keep looking down. Play with your hands and even gently sway from side to side
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
We shot this from a slightly higher angle by holding the camera away from our eye and using the live view mode. We did this because an angle from this height tends to make people look a little more flattering, and it also gave us an angle that felt more intimate as we excluded a lot of the scenery by doing this. It feels like you are within this little world with the couple.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
The focusing was simple with this shot as we had our camera in live view and we simply set it to search for focus within the center box. We moved that over the area where the light was hitting our bride as there was plenty of contrast for the camera to detect and lock on to.
Focus Mode
Live View Single Shot
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The Highlight
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/4000 @ f/1.4 ISO125 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
The light was coming just to our left, and so we turned our couple very slightly so that the light fell onto her eye. It was important that she didn’t open her eye as we didn’t want to risk her being hurt by it. We then exposed for the highlight that was on our bride making sure that we didn’t blow it out and lose detail.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Sunset
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
When it came time to edit this image, we applied our usual protea preset except this time we focused primarily on the highlight. We knew we wanted a darker and moodier image, and so our exposure sliders were dropped to compliment this. We also increased our white balance slightly to add more warmth to the skin tones. Finally, we brushed in a few shadows just to help the overall image feel even more moody.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
Though this wasn’t a challenge per se, it was something that we had to think about. We had to be careful with moving our couple too abruptly as we didn’t want to ruin the moment they were sharing together.
Solutions
We had to be very soft with our words, and as to the point as possible. We didn’t bla bla for too long and instead just asked them directly to turn slightly until we said stop.
Location
Location Name
Sankt Peter-Ording
Location aDDRESS
Sankt Peter-Ording, Germany
Loation Type
Beach / Coastal
Country
Germany
Things may pop up during a shoot that you would naturally turn away from, but sometimes it’s worth pushing yourself and embracing them. Whatever they may be. Try something new whenever you can and you know you have a bunch of awesome shots already. Thats the only real way of progressing.
Sure, you may come back with a bunch of undeliverable images; but you’ll also be coming back with a whole bunch of knowledge and experience which in and of itself is a win. It makes you a more prepared, more wise and more informed photographer.
