Generally, I direct my couples to do some activity that they can enjoy together. For this image, I just wanted to recreate what the Taj Mahal is known for, a symbol of never-ending love. I just asked Rahul to go down on his knees, tell her in his own words why do you feel she’s the one for him, what she means to him. I wanted him to spend a little time there so she could feel the moment and I could get a few shots and adjust my composition if need be.
Rahul, can now is a perfect chance for you to go down on your knee and tell her why she is the one for you. In your words. Give her that official proposal she deserves and be 100% there in this moment together.
Calm
I thought to create this image using a simple rule of thirds. When I spotted the birds, I adjusted the couple in the lower quadrant while trying to get a bird on one of the intersections. I put my camera down on the floor for two reasons. One I wanted to hide the people in the background. We were shooting from a height of about one meter so that helped. Second, I wanted the viewer to have a full view of the Taj Mahal along with the couple in the foreground. An image becomes almost 100% more interesting if there’s some frozen action. Since the couple was stationary, I included the flying bird. It gives the photograph that effect of being still in a moment.
Center Framed
The focus was on the couple. However, I exposed for the Taj Mahal. I wanted the Taj to be correctly exposed. One can always paint the couple black in post for a perfect silhouette, but if the highlights are blown, they can’t be recovered in post. Hence, expose the highlights and focus on the couple.
Single Shot Autofocus
Single Point
The Couple
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.
I was working with Natural light. It was behind my subject. It’s always super fun to use natural light and create silhouettes. However, this can only be done when the light source behind is quite big and bright. In order for the subject to be completely dark and thus create a silhouette, the light source behind must be bright.
Natural Light
I wanted to retain the white color the Taj Mahal has, plus also wanted to maintain the light intensity of the early morning sun. So I just adjusted the white balance. Also, I used to spot healing tools to edit out the little heads of people I couldn’t manage to hide while taking the shot. Plus, I used a local brush to clean the sky.
Shooting at Taj Mahal in itself is challenging. The moment you enter the Taj Mahal, it’s filled with local photographers offering their services to you. The light constantly changes and there are always too many people to get a clean shot.
Be patient and choose the right spot away from all the photographers at the main entrance. Shoot low if you can, to hide people in frames and even politely request people to move for a shot.
Taj Mahal
Agra, Taj Mahal, India
Castle
India
Use light to your advantage to create compelling images. There are a lot of things that can be done to produce a different-looking shot. Using a super-wide lens to make the subject smaller and capture Taj bigger. Placing the subject a little farther away from each other with respect to the camera to create layers. Use reflection to hide the area beneath or to create a reflection of taj and/or the couple. There are so many possibilities for creating astounding images here, I would want to explore all the possibilities before making this very shot again.
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