- black & white
- black and white
- calm
- Center Framed
- Close up
- Cloudy
- holding each other
- intimate
- Intimate Framing
- Natural
- Natural Light
- noon
- Soft Light
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I told them both to sit on the ground and I had Zane face Emily, rest his head in Emily’s lap and wrap his arms around her while she leaned over him and wrapped her arms around him. I had them rest their eyes softly and just breathe in the moment of this connection between them. The moment was captured so naturally and beautifully.
What did you say?
Can I have you both sitting facing each other? Zane, rest your head on Emily’s lap and wrap your arms around her. Then Emily, rest your head on Zane’s and wrap your arms around him. Now both of you just rest your eyes closed and embrace this moment of affection between yourselves.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I typically follow the rule of thirds which is a type of composition in which an image is divided evenly into thirds and your subject is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines. For this image, I chose to break that rule a touch and have their faces in the center of the image to really narrow in focus on them. I used their arms as framing for their faces. I wanted to scale in on their faces to capture as much emotion as possible cutting away any other distractions in the image.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I focused in on their eyes using manual focus. I had to use manual to make sure both sets of eyes would be captured. In this specific image I focused in on Zane’s eyes while trying to make sure both sets were captured clearly. Emily’s eyes don’t have as much clarity as I would have liked, but there is a softness to them which I am content with.
Focus Mode
Manual Focus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
Zane's eyes
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/200 @ f/3.2 ISO640 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
I relied on natural sunlight for this image. At this time of day when the photo was taken, it was just above my subjects. I typically like to shoot around sunrise or sunset when the light is a lot more soft but I was lucky that there was cloud coverage allowing the light to soften. This helped me avoid harsh contrast and shadows on my subjects. I was happy with the lighting situation but I would be interested to see how a more soft sunset light on their faces would have changed the look and mood of photo.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Midday
Weather
Cloudy
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I used ExFilm 07 from Archipelago Presets in Adobe Lightroom. I wanted a more moody but romantic feel to the photo to capture the essence of the intimacy between them. I lifted the shadows and lowered the contrast to soften the image. I used the brush and healing tools to edit any imperfections and soften the texture of their skin. I also increased the clarity on their eyes to sharpen the focus on them.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
The main challenge here was lighting. As it was mid-afternoon, the light was right above my subjects which can sometimes wash out skin tones, and create harsh contrast and shadows on my subjects.
Solutions
The clouds helped diffuse and soften the light on my subjects so I was still able to still achieve a dreamy effect. I made sure when editing I paid attention to shadows and contrast.
Location
Location Name
Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, BC
Location aDDRESS
4902 Beacon Ln, West Vancouver, BC V7W 1K5
Loation Type
Beach / Coastal
Country
Canada
I learned that you don’t need to be afraid of lighting situations. Play around with each type of scenario and adjust your subjects accordingly to achieve your desired outcome. I also learned that you don’t need to rely on epic surroundings to create epic photos. This was taken at a gorgeous beach, with extensive mountain, forest and ocean views and you would never know by the looks of it. You can capture just as beautiful of a photo by focusing on your subjects, the emotion between them and what feelings you want to evoke when someone looks at your photograph. As someone who typically shoots epic landscapes, this was a fun way to explore and experiment and I look forward to pushing myself to create more photos like this. All in all, don’t be afraid to try something new. You just might fall in love with it!
