- calm
- Center Framed
- Close up
- delicate
- full frame
- gentle
- Indoor
- intimate
- Leading lines
- Moody
- no smile
- Soft Light
The story behind the image
I learned that sometimes if you are not giving direction to the couple, magic happens. They are who they are, they are no pretending to be someone else. It’s good sometimes to step out of control and let the emotions fly. The lovely place I shot at was the Tupelo House above the play records store. Nobody was there, just 3 of us and our energy. Before I got this shot I tried a few different angles from different perspectives.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I told my couple to stay as close as they can to each other so that there is no gap between their bodies, to close their eyes, feel the skin of each other, listen to their breath, hold hands and feel the energy. Listen to the music and soak into it.
What did you say?
Could you close your eyes and feel the music? Try to stay as close as you can. Closer. Closer. CLOSER…
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
The composition was about beautiful lines. The girl in the picture is absolutely gorgeous, but I wanted to focus on her neck and lips. I am always attracted to lips and I believe it’s a very sexual element. It’s not centered and almost on the “rule of thirds”, so lines lead to lips. The boy in front of is out of focus which gives a great perspective and depth perception.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I typically use live-view, it’s a great Sony option, I used to be a Canon user but when I switched to Sony I use live-view 90% of shooting time, it’s very convenient. I mostly use AC focus mode. I’m focusing on the subject typically and then relocating the focus point depending on composition.
Focus Mode
Continuous Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Lips
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/200 @ f/1.4 ISO640 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
I used window light and had the couple directly in front of it. It’s all-natural light though, and It was a gloomy rainy day and even though the couple was in front of the window, I had to bump my iso up to 640, I typically try to shoot with iSO 100-200, but this time it was too dark outside. Using window light in a room creates a really beautiful, soft light on your subjects and keeps some shadows visible which adds to the drama and dimensions of the subjects.
Light Type
Natural Light
Weather
Indoor
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
It’s a custom preset. The main adjustment was the white balance and exposure. I bumped the exposure a little bit up to brighten the image as well as playing with shadows and highlights. I try to shoot with minimal post-processing, so typically the raw images are not that far from the edited one. I typically start editing in Lightroom and then go to Photoshop to get rid of skin imperfections and blemishes. I used a frequency separation for skin retouch.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Custom Preset
Challenges
Couples are different and the challenge is to know what type of person is in front of you and find the boundaries.
Solutions
Ask as many questions as you can about the couple, what do they like for example, and try find out how they are as a couple and their vibe. Some poses work for certain people and some do not, so you need to figure out who is in front of you.
Location
Location Name
Loveland
Location aDDRESS
122 W Loveland Ave, Loveland, OH 45140
Loation Type
Private Home / AirBnB / Apartment
Country
United States
I called this image “Intimacy without too much skin showing. It’s rare nowadays.” I wanted to show it’s absolutely unnecessary to be naked to show the intimate moments. It’s all inside us and my goal as a photographer is to show it in a unique way. You can see people without clothes with absolutely no connection and my goal was to show that intimacy is not all about being naked.
