- Center Framed
- Cloudy
- Cold
- Dark
- Energetic
- Evening
- full body
- kissing
- Leading lines
- Moody
- Natural
- Soft Light
- Waterfall
- Wet
- Wide
- windy
The story behind the image
This specific photo was made at the very end of the day by the foot of the Skogafoss Waterfall. It was the last location to visit and shoot at, mainly because it’s one of the wettest places we’ve ever been to and made pictures at and there is no way to continue shooting after that. So we took everything we could from this :)
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
There is no way we can control the couple at the foot of the huge waterfall, that’s why we just directed the couple to walk towards the waterfall and to keep kissing at the point we mentioned where they should go to. Meanwhile, we were following their steps shooting and finally stopped at some point to capture the kiss with the waterfall in the background.
What did you say?
Could you guys just take each others’ hand and walk towards the end of the path?! Once reaching it – just face each other, kiss, and feel the power of the water falling down! It’ll be just epic!
Composition
The composition here is pretty simple – to show the whole spot and scenery, we shot it pretty wide. Put the couple right in the center, to bring additional focus on them and their passionate kiss. We also tried to shoot a bit lower, to show the very top of the waterfall and add a bit of extra scale to the whole scene.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We chose the focusing point at the lower part of the viewfinder with our single focus point. Usually, we shoot a lot via Live View, but it wasn’t an option, because of the huge amount of water and mist coming from the waterfall.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
the couple
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/2500 @ f/2.5 ISO400 WB-5800K
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 at the very end of the shoot and the sun was pretty low. That means the light was very diffused and soft, which is definitely a win situation for any photographer. As the sun was very low, and we were in the canyon, the direction of the light was not so important. We instead focused more on the background and composition of our couple than on where the light was coming from.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Evening
Weather
Cloudy
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
We first used our color preset in the picture. Then corrected the exposure and white balance and reduced contrast & cropped the image to center the couple. Then we used a gradient to bring back some details and exposure to the water at the top of the image. We did some brushwork to return exposure and contrast to the couple. Finally, we finished with adding some grain to the whole image.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The biggest challenge was definitely shooting by the foot of the waterfall. That means a huge amount of water coming right in the lens.
Solutions
The solution is simple – we ALWAYS have a bunch of microfiber towels with us to clean the lens. If you don’t have some special towel – you can always borrow one from the hotel :)
Location
Location Name
Skogafoss
Location aDDRESS
GFHP+QP Evindarhólar, Iceland
Loation Type
Waterfall
Country
Iceland
Our main thoughts and advice for anyone – Try to always be prepared for any shoot. You should always be ready for any weather conditions, any situation you can face during the wedding day. Planning and preparations are very important to achieve brilliant results.
