HOW i SHOT THiS

  • back of bride
  • Close up
  • close up of hands
  • cloudy sky
  • Details
  • gentle
  • Goosebumps
  • intimate
  • Outdoor
  • Soft Light
  • windy

The story behind the image

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This photo was taken in the famous Slovak mountains of the High Tatras, where we and the wedding couple planned a wedding portrait photo session. The weather was not very good for us that day, it was about 15 degrees with a very strong wind. I took the photo at the end of our photoshoot, which was quite quick, as the bride was dressed in a very summer wedding dress. I have seen a similar photo with goosebumps in other photographers’ work, for that as soon as I noticed them in the bride, I took advantage of the situation and photographed these details.
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Directions

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)

I told the couple to stand from an angle to the sun, which was behind the clouds from which they peeked out here and there. I asked the groom to hug the bride and put his hands on her back and warm her a little. I like the hands in the photos very much, here they symbolized protection from bad weather. At the same time, they have intensified the moment when your loved one is holding you and you have butterflies in your stomach and chills.

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What did you say?

Please put both hands on her back, as if you wanted to warm her up, and stay like this for a while.

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Tone of Directions

Calm

Composition

My main goal was to capture the most detailed colds and photograph the moment of hugs. I used a 35mm lens, which I have 80% of the time on my camera. It’s not always perfect for details, but this time it worked, as I was able to get close to my back and at the same time squeeze her whole back and part of her hair into the photo, which created an interesting element and added dynamism to the photo. At the same time, I wanted to have at least a bit of emotion from the place where we took photos, so I left a free space on the left for the lake and the surrounding nature. I also wanted it to be clear from the photo that it was a bride, so I incorporated at least a little of her dress into the photo.

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framing

Center Framed

Focusing

Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)

I always focus on the center point with the composition, but in this case, it didn’t quite work. I tried more contrasty points, as the couple is at an angle, I focused on the hands, first on the back, then on the ring, in the end, I liked the middle the most, where the chills stood out best.

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Focus Mode

Single Shot Autofocus

Focus POints

Single Point

Focused on

The center of the back

Equipment &
Exif

Camera
Canon R6
Lens
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 art
Flash
None
Filter
None
1/2000 @ f/1.4 ISO100 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

The sun was under the moving clouds. I turned them so that the sun fell on the side of their backs, but at the same time created a subtle shadow in the middle, thus achieving the depth of the subjects in the photo.

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Light Type

Natural Light

Weather

Cloudy

Editing Workflow

How did you edit this image?

For editing, I used my own preset, which tries to mimic the look of a film camera. At the same time, I kept the vignetting, which was naturally created by the lens, thus achieving a greater focus on chills, which are the most important in the photo. In Lightroom, I added a sharpness brush through the chills, again to achieve the greatest possible focus on the chills and her back. Using Soften skin (lite) brush, I softened the skin and texture on the groom’s fingers a bit. The last step was the Graduated filter, with which I increased the exposure on the lower half of the photo, as I found it dark compared to the upper half.

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Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Own personal Presets

Challenges

The biggest challenge was the weather. We were all ready for summer temperatures, but the mountains led us astray. I had to pose very quickly so that the bride would not turn blue, as a cold mountain wind was blowing in addition to the low temperature.

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Solutions

We did a fast half-hour session and then quickly went to warm-up in the car when moving to the next location.

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Location

Location Name

Ždiar

Location aDDRESS

Ždiar, Slovakia

Loation Type

Mountains

Country

Slovakia

Use the weather to your advantage. Document what happens next to the photoshoot. If the weather is cold and the bride is cold, let the groom warm her, if her hair is blowing in the wind, incorporate it into the photo. Take pictures of the entire scene, but don’t forget the details that tell the story of the couple and their photoshoot together.

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