03rd Aug 2007
engagement sessions on the beach
I wanted to talk a little bit about using your flash on your engagement sessions. Yeah, its harder and more work but the results for me turn out WAY better if I’m using the remote strobe for assistance. Let me show you what I’m talking about.
I know I know, I’m a lucky A$$ for having a Mexican wife and for being able to shoot in the Riviera Maya…I figured if I’m going to get to pimp my locations I was damn well going to utilize all my tools in the toolbox to do it! I was asked to shoot this couple’s engagement, rehearsal, & wedding, 3 consecutive days of shooting this past July 5, 6 & 7… The Maroma Resort was magnificent…One of my clients was trying to book this place last week but unfortunately, Maroma has 0% availability up to July 2008. WOW!
Anyway, back to the pulp. Case in point is that I had a portable studio of 2 small flashes with backup battery packs (Sd-8A’s). This lightweight portable studio is the key for moving around in 2 hours time and hitting all the locations we set up…
I am going to post a slideshow of my favorites from the session (which I recommend you watch) so you can feel out the location and understand why I made some of my choices to light the couple as I did.
David & Lynore’s Engagement Session at Maroma, Riviera Maya Mexico Keep in mind that I had a photo assistant for the entire session. Every image was shot with the Canon 5d with L glass, shooting 100% in Manual Mode. Strobes triggered by Pocket Wizard on Hotshoe. NO on camera flash used at all.
Here, I used 2 Nikon Sb-28 speedlights set to FULL power. Each light was bounced to reflect off a small roof to provide fill for their heads and faces. This was the first photo I shot. This was the balcony of their room, and it was a killer killer view.
ISO 100, 1/200 F7.1
This was the 2nd image I shot. I moved around to stand on the top of the wood railing seen in the first photo, to get this high angle. I was going for the reflection and you can just see the edge of my shirt, concealed by the center of the door…this one was a balance act and tough to get… Same flash settings, I just moved them a little closer in to my left and right. You can see the flare coming in…
ISO 100 1/200 F6.3
and here is my setup shot for that image showing the placement of the 2 Sb-28’s. Shown only to showcase setup.
I shot a few images with a snooted speedlight hand held from about 10 feet away and then decided that the best place for the light was on the bench across from them. Set to full power.
ISO 100 1/200 F11
Here we bounced the speedlight to 1/2 power to light up the room (white everywhere threw the bounce to help fill everything)…pretty simple stuff but I felt like this would provide a dynamic and interesting framing choice next to the setting sun and cloud formations in the background.
ISO 100 1/200 F13
Walking along the beach… I’ve got my speedlight set to full power again. My assistant is walking and keeping a consistent distance to subject so the throw of the light doesn’t change.. I think he was about 10 feet away. The shooting technique is very dangerous and I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody who doesn’t have adequate backup or insurance. We will pretty much do anything to get the shot and here we are walking in the ocean, with the camera not strapped around my neck, and I am walking parallel with the subject holding the camera about 12 inches off the ground. Walking in the ocean isn’t advised because the waves are crashing against your heels and possibly your camera rig. I seem to splash the lens and body every time I do this, but always end up with killer stuff!
ISO 50 1/200 F5.6
this one was made with a homemade snoot , about 15 feet away, set to 1/2 power to spotlight the couple against the background. 
ISO 50 1/200 F5.0
Finally, we ended up in the couple’s room again, this time on their SPA DECK…can you friggen believe it? Anyways, it was a perfect location to finish off the session… I spent about 45 minutes here shooting different setups and so forth, the SLIDESHOW has lots more to see. We used 1 flash, set to full power, and bounced it off the white wall next to the couple. This setup shot shows how we bounced the light… A waiter was pouring the glass of champaign and I tried to sneak off a cool pj shot of that moment, kinda forgot about my assistant in the background and missed the waiter’s face…oh well, it turned into a setup shot.
This light was my favorite of all, flash was set to full power.
ISO 50, 1/200 F5.0
ISO 125 1/200 F7.1
And last, we pulled a white sofa cushion, seen in the 2nd photo early on in this post, and used it as a bounce wall 
because if you look at the photo with the 2 champaign glasses, you will notice a wall made of natural vines. I wanted soft light, so we set the speedlight to full power and used a full CTO gel, switched the WB on the 5d to tungsten and viola!
ISO 125 1/200 F5.6
Thoughts? Comments?
I know, i hardly post here but please bear with me… I’m trying to keep up. This one has some super duper pulp, I hope it helps out. If you feel so inspired from these images, please go to the Flash Flavor Flickr group and post a few images there and tell us your motivation for the shoot!
Cheerios!
matt
Matt, yous a mad motha….shut yo mouth…
I notice that your a big fan of hard light…it seems to jive with your style…
I’m so, glad I found this site….. Educational and Inspiring! Thanks, thanks, and thanks.
Matt,
Thanks for the insight in how you took those great shots. As a learner (even in my 50s) I appreciate you discussing your setup shots.
Now, I’ve got to practice, practice, practice.
Sooooo nice! Learning a lot by watching your photos! Just keep the update ratio high - can’t get enough of this stuff
Cheers,
Henrik
[…] FlashFlavor brings you some really great engagement photos with Engagement Sessions On The Beach. […]
Hey Matt, they were fantastic. What is this location ? Watched the slideshow too… great finishing touches. Thanks so much for the education.
Man the photos are kick ass… to me they seem like a james bond photo shoot excellent work Matt, Thanks for your thoughts
Hi, Mat!
Cool stuff you are sharing. I might do the same here in Finland around the ice blocks in the sea.
Thanks for sharing!
Robert Hammar
Hey Matt,
Great shots! However, it would be nice to see a level horizon on your shots.
Bill
Bill, thanks for the comment. we do actually have the Grid focus screens in our 5d’s and do actually think about composition in regards to horizon and its position. Every now and then, we tilt because we enjoy that. I admit, sometimes, there may be a frame or two where the horizon is off a tad, but oh well. Don’t hold it against me too much.
cheers!
matt
Your stuff is always a killer! Love it! You inspired me to do the same!
Excellent stuff and thank you as ever for sharing. Your second setup shot is not online - would appreciate it if you could please re-upload it. I am so curious as to how you did those amazing shots… thanks. Mohamed
Oleksandr, i’d love to see what we inspired you to do… isnt this stuff a blast!
Mohamed,
I think you are asking me about this setup shot: http://www.mattadcock.com/dwf/setup.JPG let me know if you can’t see it.
cheers!
matt
Hey Matt, thanks for posting all those great shots. I try to visit your site as often as I can for all the simple yet effective ideas. I have a few weddings coming up in September and I can’t wait to shoot them in a new way. Thanks for the insight and keep it up !
Hey Matt,
what kind of slide show are you using? i’d like to add that in my new website. thanks
Vin
Vin,
sure thing.. we use: http://slideshowpro.net/
we have custom templates for all our websites. Its good stuff!
cheers!
matt
wait a second–these people do not look like real brides and grooms… They are totally Bond style. I love it. As for the horizons, they work for me, lighting helps them… I’m a stickler for the non-tilty-tilty, but these don’t bother me at all, they are very minimal tilt and I think the composition does not suffer because of it. If they were straight, I don’t think it would *add* anything.
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article engagement sessions on the beach, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
Absolutely the most beautiful wedding picture I’ve ever seen. The artistic skill in capturing the beauty and poignancy of this moment is accolade-worthy. Definitely deserving of awards.
Matt,
Your second setup shot, linked in the sentence: “This setup shot shows how we bounced the light” gives a 404.
Also, I wasn’t sure how switching to a CTO gel would make the light any softer, could you elaborate?
Otherwise, great set of pictures!
im a filipino photographer, i want to know a lot more photography techniques and tricks that you guys doing for over the years.
before when i look in my photographs i am happy beacuse i think it was great but now i understand that theres a lot more in photography than just capturing the moment. can you guys teach me with your style or tips how to be good in photography. thanks a lot…
keep an eye on this site, also check out strobist, and a few others out there that are all about the educational program. They will hook you up!
Matt…
Ohmg!!! You frigin’ rock!! Your stuff is absolutely unbelievable, I’m completely without words. I’m a newbie, and trying to learn the whole exposure, lighting thing, in camera, and your work is so inspirational! Thanks for such a killer site, and the incredible amount of info that you so freely share.
Again, I can’t say enough or give enough props on your (and Sol’s work) Thanks for sharing!
Ben