- Bride
- Mid range
- sparkler exit
- Sparkler
- night
- Natural Light
- natural frames
- Natural
- Low Light
- broken rules
- kissing
- Groom
- exit
- Evening
- Energetic
- Dark
- Center Framed
- sparklers
The story behind the image
Fortunately the guests had some of those super long lasting sparklers which meant that our couple could run through them twice before they were even close to burning out.
We told our couple that when they have a chance, to just stop in the middle of the sparklers and go in for a big fat kiss with each other. Apart from that, we let everything happen organically. It was a moment full of energy, fun and good vibes and those are always best left naturally.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
As we had already asked our couple to go in for that kiss when they had a chance, everything happened organically. We also asked the guests if they could stand a lot closer to each other so they could form this tunnel of sparklers our couple could go through.
What did you say?
Give her a big kiss! Hold her close and celebrate with her!
Composition
We chose to frame this shot in portrait since we wanted to capture their full bodies as well as have the sparklers in the frame. We also positioned ourselves so that we could compose them in the door of the building as it created a natural “frame”.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Focusing in low light can be tricky, and in this case we were fortunate enough to have the sparklers emit quite a bit of light to work with. This meant that our cameras, while not fast, did lock onto our couple and assure a sharp image.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The couple
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/320 @ f/2 ISO2000 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
We love to shoot sparkler exits without flash simply because most sparklers (depending on the amount of guests as well) emit a lot of light. We waited for our couple to get further down the tunnel so that we could frame the rest of the sparklers in the background which naturally created a rim light. This always looks great and really helps to separate your couple from the background.
Light Type
Sparklers
Time of day
Night
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
The biggest challenge was nailing our focus while doing our test shots. We always like to get our exposure and settings correct before the couple exits so we don’t need to worry about it as they start. However, when doing the tests – if you don’t have the sparklers lit, it can be hard to dial it all in.
Solutions
The best thing to do is to be ready to change your settings. As the couple was lined up and about to start walking with the sparklers already lit, we quickly checked the back of our screen to make sure that we were exposing correctly.
Location
Location Name
Shustoke Barn
Location aDDRESS
Shustoke Barn Shustoke Barn, Coleshill Road, Shustoke, Coleshill B46 2BL, United Kingdom
Loation Type
Wedding / Event Venue
Country
United Kingdom
If you have a few ideas you’d like to do during the sparkler exit, make sure you find your couple just before (and not 2 hours before) they go for the exit and give them a heads up.
If it happens that they get through the exit and forget, then just gently remind them. If it’s too late, no worries at all.
When you have a group of guests holding the sparklers, chances are they are going be a little too far away from each other through fear that they might burn the couple (which we don’t want to happen), but asking them to stand a bit closer (check in your framing) can make all the difference.
