- 35 mm
- Adobe Lightroom CC
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autofocus
- Canada
- city
- Cloudy
- Energetic
- Leading lines
- midday
- Natural Light
- Nikon D610
- Personal Preset
- Single Focus Point
- Single Shot
- soft
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
For the part the girls played I had them time their bouquet tosses differently each time, so I could have different heights to the bouquets in the air, and I did the same for the guys to make sure I had enough variation in poses.
What did you say?
It’s been a couple of years since tis shot was taken so I don’t recall, but it would have been something like “ok, at the count of three you’ll start jumping and tossing your bouquets in the air, starting from left to right.” And for the guys I would have prompted them to jump as high as they could imagining they were reaching for the bouquets.
Tone of Directions
Energetic
Composition
I had the idea to have the bouquets in the center of the image, guiding your eye through the frame so I needed to make sure that there was sufficient negative space around the bouquets to draw focus to them, while still including enough of the wedding party to create visual interest, energy, and symmetry.
Compositional Rules
Leading LinesSymmetry
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I wanted to ensure that the bouquets would be in focus, and knew that they’d be in line with the bridesmaids faces when tossed. I shot at f4 to ensure everything would be sharp and kept focus on the ladies faces (and same for the guys).
Focus Mode
Single Shot
Focus POints
Single Focus Point
Focused on
I focused on the faces of the wedding party.
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1600 @ f/4 ISO400 WB-Sunshine
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 a cloudy day in winter in Vancouver, so the light was very diffused and wasn’t a main priority for composing this photo. Because the wedding party are all looking up to the sky their faces are lit with soft and even light.
Light Type
Natural Light
Light Quality
Soft
Time of day
Midday
Weather
Cloudy
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
This image had a fairly simple edit including exposure, contrast and preset adjustments to both individual images in Lightroom to ensure that they looked them same. Once they matched (which was easy since they were shot in identical lighting just moments apart) they were exported to Photoshop to create the composite. Any distracting elements were removed (like city line along the bottom of each image) and that was it!
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom CC, Adobe Photoshop
Preset Used
Personal Preset
Challenges
None! I had a clear idea in my head and was lucky enough to be able to execute it without issue.
Solutions
N/A
Location
Location Name
Location aDDRESS
Stanley Park, Vancouver
Loation Type
City
Country
Canada
The image itself was quite easy to execute because I did have a really clear idea of what I wanted to create. My suggestion if you’re looking to step up your game in photography (weddings or portraits especially) is to create space the day before a wedding to get inspired (be it through art books, movies, art galleries) and give yourself some time to really think about your goal for the next day and how you can make some fun art of your own. My personal process before each wedding includes shutting myself in my office for at least two hours with all of my favourite art books, a cup of tea, and a notepad. I sketch out any ideas I might have and create a clear plan for how I’ll pull it off, so I go into each new situation with an idea that excites me. It makes each wedding feel new and fun and I get to be creative!
