HOW i SHOT THiS

  • Beach
  • holding each other
  • Soft Light
  • Playful
  • Pick up
  • Natural Light
  • natural frames
  • Movement
  • Moody
  • Golden hour
  • Carry
  • Fun
  • full body
  • Free
  • Energetic
  • Directional Light
  • Dark
  • cross light
  • Center Framed
  • Sunset

The story behind the image

This was an after-wedding shoot and so we were over the moon to hear that our couple wanted to go hang out once more after their actual wedding. Since their wedding itself didn’t really allow us time to shoot in beautiful light (even though we did try and convince them otherwise), this after-wedding shoot was just awesome. It meant that we could pick the location and the time of day and go create something awesome.
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Doing an after-wedding shoot has so many advantages that it’s hard to list them all out just here. Amongst them is that it takes a bit of stress out of what could be an already tight schedule wedding. It means that you could do a quick couple shoot on the day, and then go out together again a day or two after to an awesome spot and really enjoy those hours stress-free shooting together. And that’s exactly the story behind this image. We started offering after-wedding shoots and we had such a wonderful experience with our couple on the wedding day as well as here, on the beach in Sintra, Portugal.
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Directions

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)

When we asked our groom to pick up our bride, we wanted him to move with her (so we could get movement in her dress, her hair & the overall posture). We asked him to walk and turn and dance while holding her up. As for the kiss, we really emphasized for them to take their time, and go for the most beautiful & gentle kiss they could.

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What did you say?

Pick her up and go in for the most gentle, most beautiful kiss you can. Really take your time. While holding her up, walk with her and turn her around – like you’re dancing

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Tone of Directions

Excited, Energetic

Composition

We chose to shoot this with our 50mm in portrait because it meant that the compression would give our couple & their moment a bit more presence. It’s wide enough to show their entire body as well as the environment; while being close enough to really feel the emotions. We kept them in the center column as best as we could to give them the most impact.

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Compositional Rules

Rule of Thirds

framing

Center Framed

Focusing

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)

Our focusing here was on our couple; and we achieved this very simply with moving our single point autofocus over them. There was plenty of light and contrasts for our camera to pick up and focus on. As they were moving, we kept refocusing in between shots. This may not always be perfect, so long as you’re fast, your success ratio is much higher.

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Focus Mode

Single Shot Autofocus

Focus POints

Single Point

Focused on

The grooms face

Equipment &
Exif

Camera
Canon 5D Mark IV
Lens
Canon 50mm f/1.2 L
Flash
None
Filter
None
1/640 @ f/1.4 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

This was taken during the most spectacular time of the day; the late golden hour. The sun was just about to disappear under the horizon and being on this already golden-colored beach meant the light that bouncing around was just divine. We chose to shoot our couple cross-wards to the sun as we wanted the highlights & shadows. It adds so much more depth & dimension to your subjects.

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Light Type

Natural Light

Light Quality

Soft,Directional

Time of day

Sunset

Weather

Clear

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.

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Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic

Challenges

It’s very easy to get carried away when all elements of a shoot have lined up perfectly. The light, the couple, the romance – all of it was really on point and we found ourselves burning so much time in one spot because we simply were loving what we were getting.

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Solutions

It helps to force yourself to take a step back and look around you again to see the other spots you found during your location scout. Once you know you’ve got that awesome shot, try your best to move on to that next place because gold could be waiting for you just around the corner.

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Location

Location Name

Praia Da Adraga

Location aDDRESS

PRAIA DA ADRAGA, Sintra, Portugal

Loation Type

Beach / Coastal

Country

Portugal

If you are shooting destination weddings and happen to know that your couple will be sticking around there for a bit longer after the wedding – consider offering them an after wedding shoot. It’s not only an awesome chance to come back with more portfolio work, but you get to see them again, you get to explore new places and it’s another business sale. Even if you do the first few for free to have something to show and convince future brides – totally worth it.

Of course, this isn’t only limited to destination weddings. Even your local spots could be amazing.

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