- almost kiss
- black couple
- calm
- Center Framed
- Close up
- face to face
- foreheads leaning
- foreheads touching
- gentle
- hands holding
- holding hands
- intimate
- Outdoor
- romantic
- soft
- Soft Light
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I told the models to stand face to face as close as they could and put their foreheads together and close their eyes. I also wanted to showcase her ring so I asked that they closed their hands together with hers on top. I think it worked really well. Super easy pose while still being impactful.
What did you say?
Ok, guys get face to face.. awkwardly close until you are cross-eyed. Get your hips closer together “leave no room for Jesus”. Clasp your hands together with hers on top between you close to your chins. Now close your eyes and take a breath.
Composition
I framed this image so the jewelry was featured while also giving a really romantic feeling at the same time. Composition wise I think I followed the rules pretty well. The hands are more of a feature than the faces but it works well. My goal was to portray intimacy and strength. I wanted the whole frame to be filled to give that feeling of closeness. To almost give you viewing the photo that feeling of what it is like to be that close to someone you love.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I was focusing on the ring but It was more over the hands and the faces. It was autofocus centre focus recomposed. I always shoot center focus and recompose. It’s just the way I like to do it. Some people move their focal point of let the camera choose. I find the center focus point to be the strongest and I enjoy shooting wide open to I find it the most reliable.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Ring
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/320 @ f/1.2 ISO125 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
It was diffused sunlight at golden hour. But there was a lot of smoke in the air due to forest fires. The sun was behind them and a little bit to the right. I used the light like this because it was soft and the location was faint towards the good view. The backside of the park has houses and isn’t as nice to look at. I got the results I was hoping for with this shot. I ideally would have liked some sun flare but the smoke was acting as a giant diffuser.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Sunset
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used my own preset in Lightroom which is pretty warm and rich. There I made a few adjustments on the HSL and tone curve while paying attention to the overall skin tones. I used the brush tool to lighten their faces and smooth the skin to help make things a little less distracting. Finally, I cloned out some blemishes as well.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Personal Presets
Challenges
The only thing challenging was running out of light because we got so behind and not having the equipment available to properly light it once the sun was gone. Luckily it turned out good and the Lightroom tweaks helped a lot.
Solutions
I prefer to only use natural light if I can get away with it. So just starting earlier would of helped. And making those final Lightroom tweaks really just saved the day.
Location
Location Name
Gonzales Lookout
Location aDDRESS
340 Denison Rd, Victoria, BC V8S 4K3, Canada
Loation Type
Beach / Coastal
Country
Canada
I learned to watch the time and have a backup fill light available even if I don’t think I will need it. Overcame massive time crunch and did the whole portrait section of the shoot in 20 minutes. I think other photographers will have no problem recreating this shot it is a very simple pose and I always find it lovely. I make people do this pose a lot for weddings and engagements as a way to show off the ring.
