01st Jul 2007
sneakin one in
On a wedding assignment when the client asks for nearly 100% documentary coverage, it becomes the PJ’s duty to discover moments of candid brilliance that can fill the album with beauty.
This post is all about a simple technique I use at weddings occasionally to grab an awesome portrait of the bride & groom without them ever knowing it happened.
This particular image comes from a reception where things were happening fast. The ceremony started at 5pm, on a December evening. It was total darkness when the bridal party started to be seated and served dinner. I have seen most photographers run away when dinner is served….which is ok sometimes, but you must be on the relentless pursuit of the image.
Here, I placed a flash on the floor behind the bride and groom at 1/16 power, aimed at the sky. I manually focused my 70-200 (at 200mm) towards the head of the bride & groom table and anticipated the couple to look at each other and appreciate this amazing meal they were about to be served…amongst their best friends in the bridal party. Little did I know they would celebrate that short little private moment with a kiss…
This image is 100% PJ. Raw emotions and totally non obtrusive. The remote flash flavor MADE this photo!
Sneak up on the bride and groom, use long lenses and a remote flash…. get some rockin PJ!
Cheers!
matt
work it, work it. Love it. Love real moments like this. So nice and well done. Does this mean I shouldn’t eat dinner anymore… ?
Great idea and a nice image. Well done, Matt.
Great use of backlighting! It really adds to the photo, especially since it can’t really be seen that it is a flash, it looks like the sun itself. Great work!
I take my hat off!!
That’s the money shot!
well done Matt
HOLA Amigos, thanks for commenting.
Cameron, you mean you actually eat at weddings? HA! jk.. .we are lucky enough to get a meal every now and then…
When the bride and groom sit down at the head table, it always is time to start to put on your thinking cap and come up with something crafty. I was lucky that they decided to have a passionate kiss here… I think my anticipation of this moment coupled with the anticipation of the kiss, just prior to the embrace of the lips, sealed the deal on this one…
Play a little here and there at the head table, all incognito
cheers!
matt
Hi Matt,
I look forward to every post that you make. They are full of very insightful techniques that I can put to good use right out of the gate.
I was wondering with the above picture…do you remember if you were running at your highest sync speed, or did you introduce any of the ambient light into the composition? Just wondering where the light on their faces came from. Usually the dinner is sooooo under lit.
Keep up the GREAT work!
Eric
Matt, your rock, great shot and good of you to catch the moment.
All my best!
Robert Hammar
Oh yeah
Cool idea - especially because you are almost guaranteed to get this shot - if the b&g don’t kiss then in the UK it’s usual for their friends to heckle them until they do
Fabulous work as always guys!
Thanks all, I pull this one out of my bag of tricks every now and then…
Eric: I wasnt using the highest sync speed, actually I rarely do (unless i’m outside). Ambient light is always your friend here… high ISO’s and low shutter speeds, very low light power…
faces are (available light) plus a little post production with PS to pull them out a tad.
Cheers!
matt
wonderful lighting ! THANKS FOR SHARING ! matt and SOL YOU BOTH ROCK ! THANK U KINDLY !