- afternoon
- Roots Presets
- Middle Thirds
- Mountains
- natural frames
- Natural Light
- On rock
- Outdoor
- Playful
- Rim Light
- Shade
- M&S
- Soft Light
- standing on rock
- stylis
- Sunset
- Tease
- The Roots Preset
- Warm
- Water
- Melli & Shayne
- Lake
- Alps
- couple hugging
- arms over shoulders
- Austria
- Back lit
- Backlit
- calm
- Canon
- Center Framed
- Couple
- Couple Shoot
- intimate moment
- Dancing
- emotional moment
- Europe
- Free
- Fun
- Funny
- Haze
- holding each other
- intimate
- Wide
The story behind the image
This very shoot was one of them. We reached out to this couple on instagram and asked if they would be keen to be a part of a shoot we were putting together in Austria (where they lived). They agreed, and the process began.
We spent a few days putting together wardrobe ideas and a shoot plan, and got everything ready for the shoot. Everything went perfectly, and the kicker of it all was when we started to share these images – almost immediately we noticed we started to get likes & follows from people who matched our ideal clients.
Guys, we have no secrets to hide from you. Create your own styled shoots and be consistent with them, and good things will come.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our couple climb up (safely) onto this rock, and to hold each other very close. So close their bellies were smooshed against each other. From there, we asked (Girl) to bring her arms up and wrap it around (boys) neck, and for him to hold her by her waist. They held each other as if they were hugging, we could feel it and see it too. From here, we gave subtle hints like do a slow dance, or lean their foreheads together. Its a really great starting point.
What did you say?
Stand close and hold each other tight. Really bring your bodies together. (Girl) bring your hands up around his neck. Lean your foreheads together, there you go! Even do a little slow dance
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
For this shot, we really paid attention to our composition. We noticed that the mountain cast a reflection into the lake, and it lined up perfectly with this rock they stood on. We wanted to position them within this reflection and the rock as it created a natural frame. It’s subtle, but really makes a difference to the overall feel of the image.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Focusing was a bit of a challenge here since the sun was peaking just over the mountain tops causing a flare into our lens. What we did was simply cover the sun with our hand for a moment, focused on our couple, and then removed our hand while keeping our focused locked (half pressed shutter) and fired away. It takes a bit of practice, but you’ll get the hang of it quite fast.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The couple
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/500 @ 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
The sun was just about to hide behind the mountain tops but it wasn’t completely gone. We really fell in love with this composition and found that having the sun behind them wasn’t too much of a big deal (if we lost detail in the sky). We simply exposed for their skin with a slight under exposure afterwards,
and made sure we were getting images that we could work with.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Weather
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
To edit this shot, I applied our protea presets as a base and adjusted the exposure, highlights & shadows to keep as many details as I could in the overall image. I then realized that the blown-out sky actually works to my compositional advantage as it removes things from that space, allowing viewers to focus on the geometry of the mountains and the reflections. Since the image was incredibly ‘cold’ to start with, I had to push the white balance really, really high to introduce our ‘signature warmth’. Finally, I added a simple vignette to help with darkening the edges to bring more attention to the center of the image.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The biggest challenge was trying to direct our couple while they were out on the rock. There were a few things we had to consider; not just the distance and the main thing was that they could easily slip/trip if they stopped paying attention to their footing.
Solutions
Since we were aware of the challenges, we made sure to speak to our couple beforehand and give them a few ideas of what we want them to do when they’re on the rock.
Location
Location Name
Langbathseen
Location aDDRESS
Vorderer Langbathsee 4802 Ebensee, Austria
Loation Type
Lake
Country
Austria
Keep your eyes open for natural frames. It may take a bit of practice to “see” them, but they’re everywhere. Even when you’re not shooting, try look around your environment and see how / where you could put a couple. It’s good practice and helps you find those spots much faster when you’re location scouting.
If you’re struggling to focus because of the light hitting your lens, try use your hand to the light momentarily and then hold the focus after you remove your hand.
