"Gone With The Wind"
© David A. Ziser
This is another image I captured in my Nikon days and it is still one of my favorites. Sure, it’s classic bridal portrait, something you don’t see much in today’s internet feast of wedding imagery, but its an image that speaks to the bride’s mother and father. It is a beautiful photograph of their gorgeous daughter the way THEY envisioned her on her wedding day.
A big mistake that too many wedding photographers make is that they think there’re shooting for the bride and groom only – NOT. Their job is to create images not just for the bride and groom, but for their parents and grandparents as well.
You might call that “Business Building Tip #1. You know, shooting for only half of your prospective client list is not good business. Anyway, let me step down from my soapbox and get back to this image.
Compositionally I have the clouds in the sky leading to and surrounding my bride. The slight breeze picked up the veil and gently tossed it into the air adding a sense of motion to the image. The way the bride is standing with her shoulders turned one way and her face the other in the same manner the renaissance artist depicted their subjects is both flattering and elegant and adds “motion” to the image as well.
Lighting, just out of camera range, is coming in from camera right positioned to cast a loop lighting pattern on the bride’s face and add the detail to the folds of her beautiful gown. No umbrella used in this photograph, just flash and reflector. When shooting outdoors, you need as much fire power as possible to overcome the ambient light. So I often don’t shoot thru my Zumbrella.
A digital post-production tweak in Lightroom 3 finished the presentation. I hope you enjoy it.
Camera specs: Nikon D1x fitted with Nikkor 16-35mm lens at 16mm, F10 @ 1/500 second (yes Virginia, early Nikons synced at 1/500 second), ISO 400. Enjoy! -David
That was always one of the things that set the south apart for shooting weddings was in the "Bridal Portrait" which was a classic studio or location portrait. It speaks a more timeless message than the hoards of brides wading in a lake or stagnant pond that populate the blogs and forums across the web. Plus it never failed to draw a crowd when it is on display at a reception.
ReplyDeleteNow I just have to convince some of these midwest brides that it is an essential, too. :-D
Excellent tip David. I was one of those photographers who shoot for the bride & groom ;-) Thanks to you i know better now!
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