- Blue Hour
- calm
- Center Framed
- Colorful
- Creative
- Directional Light
- Evening
- eyes closed
- Leading lines
- Mid range
- Moody
- Natural Light
- Serious
- Soft Light
- split
- standing apart
The story behind the image
The main goal for the day was to hit Taft Point to soak up one of those top-notch sunsets you always see floating around IG. The first time we visited, it certainly provided, but the light quality the second time around with this couple was just breathtaking.
We have always been a fan of prisms and using items to bend light in front of the lens, etc. (our favorite toy right now is our old-ass 24mm tilt-shift which yields some interesting results!). But for this shot, we stuck with our trusty Canon 35mm, and to jazz things up we used our triangle prism for a frame or two, just to mix things up. The times when we normally use this, we just put it to the side of the frame for a slight light leak effect, but this time we thought about using it in the middle of the photo instead for sh*ts and giggles. It was just a little test shot and nothing that really stood out to us at the time. In fact, we didn’t even like it that much… But the half-face look ended up appealing to us a lot, and here we are!
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
There was amazing energy up there, so we just asked the couple to close their eyes and take it all in, in a kind of meditative tone, that eases couples’ minds when they’re closing their eyes on the edge of a cliff with a huge scary drop and all, haha. They didn’t even know what we were doing, and neither did we at first, so no goal was really in mind. We just whipped out the prism and winged it. We like it when random unplanned decisions just work!
What did you say?
Okay folks, close your eyes and let’s take all this amazing energy in
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
The main composition of this shot is based purely on the couple. Whilst we were up at Taft Point, we spent a great deal of time using the landscape to our advantage, but we wanted to change it up and focus entirely on them. They were central in the frames we were already taking with (almost) an equal amount of negative space around them, and then we stuck the prism in the middle. The location itself is very much a secondary factor in this whole frame. The landscape is bokeh-ed it out and also creates both a light and dark backdrop for the couple.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
The focusing for this image was pretty standard and easy. Auto focus was set up for a single shot and the viewfinder was used to lock the center focus point on the grooms face. The frame was then shifted to the right so the couple were in the middle with the prism.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Grooms face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/250 @ f/2.0 ISO1000 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
After the sun had set behind the mountain, we had this incredibly soft warm light to use with slight purple hues. We had just changed positioning to get a few more shots showing additional context, which was predominantly backlit. As the light was looking so good at this point and was hitting them perfectly, we decided to change up the angle with the light coming behind us and hitting the couple directly. We didn’t have to do anything with the light – we just let it speak for itself. California light is the best kinda light!
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Blue Hour
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
We use our own custom preset which we’ve tweaked over the last few years to get to what we have today. There wasn’t too much needing changed after applying it, other than adjusting the exposure and color balance bringing some extra warmth to the image. We also used a local adjustment (brush tool) on the bride just to brighten up the exposure on her side a little as her face was a teensy bit more shadowed than his.
Editing Software
Adobe Camera Raw
Preset Used
Custom preset
Challenges
The main challenges came from using the prism and bending the light to get the desired effect. It took a few goes of twisting the prism around.
Solutions
Taking time to move the prism in all directions until you feel like you get the best result. It can take a while to nail this technique, especially if you haven’t used a prism before, but with practice it can be rewarding and add an extra dynamic to your image(s).
Location
Location Name
Yosemite National Park
Location aDDRESS
Taft Point, Glacier Point Road, Yosemite National Park, California 95389
Loation Type
Mountains
Country
United States
This idea was based purely on a whim and there was no real “idea” prior to executing it. Our best advice, and the way we’ve learned anything, is just try and step outside your comfort zone at times and see what happens. Some of our best images have came from trial and error!
