- almost kiss
- Back lit
- calm
- Center Framed
- Close up
- intimate
- Intimate Framing
- Natural Light
- Shade
- Soft Light
- Square Crop
- Sunset
The story behind the image
So when we start our shoots, mentally we are already prepared that the first few shots may not always make it to the final gallery. We’ve just become accustomed to this, but what does happen near the end is just… magical. By the end of the shoot, our couple is nicely warmed up, romanced, and comfortable with each other. That’s when we take photos like this.
These close, intimate, soft, gentle-moving images a vast in their own way and meaning. We’ve built up trust with our couple and they’ve forgotten that awkwardness of being photographed – and instead, they’re focused on each other and the moments and we are but ‘music’ in the background.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our couple stand really close to each other and gave them only a few suggestions on what they could do. We just asked them to embrace each other, as slowly as they could. To show each other that they love one another, without too much movement. We said all this, almost as a whisper. Softly. Gently. As to not break the stillness and delicacy of the moment.
What did you say?
Stand up close together you guys, and I want you to take this moment and as gently as you can, embrace. Show each other that you love each other. Quietly. Softly. Lovingly. Don’t stop, and as best as you can block everything around you out of your minds and just be present with each other.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
Choosing to crop this image in a 1:1 ratio happened by chance. I almost discarded this image but I kept feeling that there was something here worth looking for. The original image lacked any sort of feeling as the composition was too wide to really feel the emotions. But out of sheer experimentation, I came across this crop. Square. And I fell in love with it. I love that it blocks out almost everything, while still leaving enough vertical real estate to include important things like their hands, their lips and the position of their heads.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Since we like to be very picky on what is in focus, we tend to shoot with a single focus point; and when we want to have even more control we make sure to shoot through the viewfinder as we have more focus point areas to choose from. For this image, we tried to focus on the brides lips as initially this was the point of interest we wanted.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The Brides lips
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/400 @ f/2 ISO1600 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 shot was taken right at the end of the couple shoot just as the sun had set. It had already dropped below the horizon so the remaining light was very, very soft. We did however pay attention to where it was and positioned our couple so that the little bit of light that was left was off to the side and behind the couple. We did this because we wanted to have a bit more separation from the background by backlighting our couple.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Sunset
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
The editing of this shot was quite a bit more hands-on than normal. I explored many different crops and ultimately went with a 1:1 ratio. Once I cropped, I threw on our Protea preset but reduced the Color Grading as I found the overall tones were edging a bit too much on the warm side. I tweaked the usual exposure sliders to get the overall feel and tones that I wanted and then I jumped in with a radial filter to create a manual vignette. I then spent some time with the brush tool dodging and burning some details to help make the bride and groom stand out a bit more.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The hardest part was finding the crop that actually really worked. The image originally didn’t have nearly as much impact, even though I could ‘feel’ that there was something about this image that I liked.
Solutions
I decided to try something completely new and unlocked the “ratio lock” of the crop tool. I ended up playing with all sorts of ways to crop the image, and ultimately loved the 1:1 square crop. It also stopped me from cropping so heavily that the final image had 2 pixels.
Location
Location Name
ConneKT Technology Park
Location aDDRESS
ConneKT 1 ConneKT 1, 97318 Kitzingen, Germany
Loation Type
Garden / Field
Country
Germany
If you’re ever stuck for inspiration, just let go of any rules you may have and try something completely new. Even if you end up completely destroying the image in the editing, just “undo” everything. It’s a good thing to practice, get messy, learn what looks good and what doesn’t and just get to know what’s possible.
And remember, this is your art and your vision. Do things that you truly find beautiful and believe in yourself and your work.
