A bride waiting
Nov, 2015Views
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carolinehughes
July 30, 2016
thanks so much. As soon as i saw the window when i went into the room I knew the shot I wanted :-)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in a hotel room in Florida at my friends wedding. I'm not from Florida, so we had all travelled across for the wedding, with me as photographer. Since I was travelling, my gear was bare minimum (camera, lens and flash), but this didn't matter when I saw this window (less is more and all that). Before the bride was even ready I was telling her to get organised quickly because I wanted her in this window asap lolTime
This was before the wedding ceremony, so it was a lovely time of the day. It was late morning and everyone had an air of excitement about them and were very, very keen to record every moment. I love this image because it has a sense of calm and poise before all the excitement had a chance to take over and the outdoor ceremony (in very hot weather that I'm not used too!) began.Lighting
When I came into the room and saw this beautiful window I knew I wanted to use this space to create a silhouette-type/backlit image. When I saw the dress I just knew it would be one of my favourite images of the day. I love symmetry in images, so I knew I wanted the arms level and wanted the brides profile to show do give a sense of the person. I just wanted it all to be naturally lit, with the light framing the bride casting her in shadow, but without losing detail in the dress and thankfully the light was strong and the room was white so it helped bounce some light into the room and back onto the dress.Equipment
I'm a canon girl, so for me this was on my 5D mk2 with my trusty 24-105 f4 lens (my go to lens).Inspiration
This wedding was early on in my wedding photography experience, but every one I do I always try to create one or 2 images that I consider a stand alone piece of art. It's important to tell the story of the day for the couple, but when I can get the chance to create a 'piece' for either the bride or the groom individually, or one of them both, I always try to take it. It's always dependent on a lot of things - the venue, the time, the light, the couple! - but I always try. When I saw this window I just knew I might get a 'wow' pic here.Editing
I did - I always shoot in raw so I've the best control of producing the image I have in my head, without the need to carry lots of gear. In this case, I used lightroom to bring up the contrast to get the strong look I wanted and I reduced the exposure in the window to bring in a little more detail from the balcony. Then I made it B&W.In my camera bag
In my standard wedding bag (not always the case when I'm doing destination wedding work) I carry a canon 5d mk2 with my 24-105mm lens attached. I also have a canon 7d mk2 with my canon 70-200 f2.8 lens attached. With the crop lens on this camera it means I've the best focal length spectrum with this set up in both cameras. I also always carry my nifty fifty (canon 50mm 1.4). I have 2 flash guns (a canon 580exII and a yongnuo 580) and I've recently added the magmod flash adapter system, which I love. I throw a reflector into the boot too, just in case.Feedback
I would say the key to getting a similar image would be about finding a good window (I liked this one because it was an odd number) with plenty of space to frame it properly. In this case, it was all about the symmetry, so paying attention to arm position is important. Also, when turning the head to get a profile of the face, pay attention to the tilt of the head as for some you need to bring the chin down, in others it works better with the chin up. Also, in this case I wanted some detail from the balcony, but you don't have. Just think about the final image you would like.
