- bouquet low
- Middle Thirds
- Warm Lights
- Soft Light
- simple
- Roots Presets
- Relaxed
- Posed
- Low Light
- Bridal Portrait
- Indoor
- full body
- Free
- Center Framed
- Candles
- candle light
- calm
- Window Light
The story behind the image
That’s exactly what we did here. We fell in love with the romantic candlelit setup with the tasteful designs and really wanted to make sure we walked away with some kickass shots. We asked our couple if they liked the idea of shooting in there and it worked out perfectly.
In fact, we documented their whole reaction to walking in and seeing it for the first time. Another bonus for our storytelling. We don’t always need to follow the “sequences” of the day, and breaking it up a bit can make your project really interesting.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our bride stand with her feet pointing away from us so we could see her back. From here, we asked her to slightly twist from her waist towards us while keeping her right shoulder slightly raised while holding her flowers down low. Completely relaxed. Finally, we asked her to look down towards her flowers which naturally causes her face to tilt.
What did you say?
Turn slightly from your waist and keep your shoulder just a bit up. Hold your flowers completely relaxed and look down at them. Take a deep breath and just relax.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
There are a ton of leading lines in this frame and one of the crucial points was to place our bride at the intersection of the tables. That way, both tables lead towards her. We also wanted to keep her full body so we paid close attention to keeping her dress in frame and to leave enough space around her.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
When aiming for full-body bridal portraits, you can be a little less strict on where you actually focus point lands; since if you shoot this far away enough, your whole subject will fall within the focal plane. In any case, it’s good practice to move it towards your subject’s face (even if it makes up a small part of the frame).
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The Brides face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1250 @ f/1.6 ISO1250 WB-Shade
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 chose to use the dining room for the portraits not only because of the beautiful setup but because of the romantic lights from the candles. There were a few windows to the right of our frame which helped light up our bride, and so we made sure to position her in a way that she turned towards the light; lighting her face.
Light Type
Candles
Weather
Indoor
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
Our main challenge here was the low light and being able to focus accurately.
Solutions
We switched our camera to live view which seemed to help the camera lock on to our bride much easier.
Location
Location Name
Vila Vita
Location aDDRESS
Eventscheune Dagobertshausen, Im Dorfe 14, 35041 Marburg
Loation Type
Wedding / Event Venue
Country
Germany
If you have a beautiful dinner setup – take the chance to photograph your couple amongst it. It can look super cool. If there are candles, try time it so you can shoot when they are turned on.
Remember to ask your bride to take deep breathes and open her back & shoulders – it helps them form a better posture and looks much more flattering.
