We had our groom stand facing towards the sunset and asked the bride to come in behind him and cuddle onto his shoulder. We told them that we’re going to step back and we just want them to enjoy that moment together. Take in the sun. Take in the moment. Take in the feelings. It was just then that our bride closed her eyes as she took a breath, and we capture this shot.
Alright, guys, we want you to have your own moment. Your own quiet moment. [Groom], just stand here looking out towards the sunset, and [Bride], come in behind him and cuddle onto his shoulder. Gently rest your chin there and for now – forget about us. Forget the pictures. Forget everything. Just be with each other. Feel each other. We’re going to be shooting from back there so really, don’t mind us.
Calm
To be honest, we tried framing this shot with the couple below the horizon line as we always preach but for some reason, it just didn’t feel right. We ended up shooting it on the same level as them and it struck more of a chord with us than that ‘golden rule’. I guess it’s because it adds a little more power to them as they seemingly tower over the landscape. This lends itself to the emphasizing the moment they are sharing. Giving them such a presence in the shot means that what they are doing also takes that power. In the end, that was the goal. Was to frame this moment.
Center Framed
The focusing of this shot was very straightforward. I moved the focus point over the groom (for no particular reason as there was plenty of light & contrasts to work with) and the camera tracked him the whole time. I now shoot with AI Servo almost always since the R5 has an incredible system that seemingly never fails.
Live View Continuous
Single Point
The Groom
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.
This was taken during sunset so the light we had was incredible. Since the sun had just about set, it became a lot softer and much easier to work with. I had the groom face the sun as I wanted both the bride and him to have their faces lit. We then positioned ourselves to their side profile as we wanted to capture the dynamics between the highlights hitting the front of their face and the casted shadows on the back of their heads. This adds dimensions to your subjects and makes them feel a lot more separated from the background. Ultimately making them more prominent.
Natural Light
Afternoon
Cloudy
To edit this shot, I added our Protea preset as a base but tweaked the greens and yellows to keep remove a little of the warmth it created in the background as we wanted more subtle/muted tones. While still paying attention to the skin tones, I adjusted the white balance, exposure, shadows, and highlights to get the overall tones & mood I was after. I then added in a gradient filter to bring a bit of the detail back in the sky as well as adding one from the bottom upwards to subtly bring more attention to the couples’ faces. Finally, I cleaned up the image from a few distractions and added a bit of grain to close it off.
One of the challenges we had for this shot (or the whole shoot in general) was the fact that the bride was wearing high heels and so movement on the grass/field was almost impossible. We simply couldn’t risk her hurting herself had we asked her to run, jump, spin, or be energetic so we had to figure out stuff that was much calmer and still.
Embrace what you’re given. That’s what we did. We couldn’t do what we usually would do, so we took the situation and asked ourselves ” Okay, how can we make a kickass shot that doesn’t involve a ton of movement or energy?”, well, fortunately – we know and LOVE these quiet moments between couples and I’d be lying if I said I came up with this idea 100% on the spot. The truth is, I found inspiration here on HIST (and no, I’m not just saying that to promote it).
Masseria San Giovanni
Masseria San Giovanni, 72015 Fasano, BR, Italy
Garden / Field
Italy
Taking all that was said in this post, my best piece of advice would be to embrace any and all situations that you come across. Even if they’re hard. Find ways to use them to your advantage and don’t let yourself be overwhelmed just because it’s a challenge. Stuck shooting in harsh light without shade? Embrace the harsh light. Use strong contrasty shadows creatively. Can only shoot indoors because of the rain? Embrace the coziness. Find a window, use it and create some drama. Embrace all situations and you’ll ultimately become a better photographer for it.
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