I’ve been told I’m observant, and I suppose as a photographer, we should excel at observation. This is a good example of an opportunity that arose purely by accident, and was taken on a whim.
It was towards the end of the wedding breakfast, and the bride had ventured through to the bar area to talk to the wedding co-ordinator. It’s during the wedding breakfast that I withdraw and get something to eat, returning before the guests finish so I’m good to go with regards to the informal portraits etc. On this occasion, I was also sat in the bar area, watching the guests as they finished their coffee and made idle chit-chat. Whilst the bride talked to the co-ordinator, she took a step sideways to allow another guest to pass through a doorway, and by doing so, she stepped under a ceiling mounted spotlight.
I noticed the fall of light, and how it reacted with the wall and dress to soften her features and give a nicely lit glow to her. The light fall off was also nicely controlled and gave focus to her face. I grabbed my camera, asked her to smile and took the shot. No other frames were required, just the one.
It’s funny, sometimes I can spend quite some time setting up the lighting for a particular shot, and then take a number of frames till I get it right.
And then there’s the times when it all happens in just one click
I provide training via Focal Point.
