Lessons

Lesson Info

Shoot: Bridal Portraits

Let's, bring out gorgeous bride in here. Oh, my gosh. That is absolutely stunning. Come inside. Here that'll be cool. You look absolutely amazing. That's good that's. Very cool. Thank you so much. Okay, so we're gonna take the veil out because I was under strict instructions by the dress designer. We don't do fails. Okay? All right. Sorry. What I'm going to do here now, the very first thing. Like I said, I'm just gonna fix the draping at the back. Yeah, sorry about that. Okay, so very first thing I think about my structure and I think about how I work, what I wanna do first calling all that difficult. We need to get the safe shot. Right? You need to get a safe shot. Okay, so what are we going to do to get a right? A nice, easy, safe type of shot. Sean, if you could put the seventy two, two hundred two point eight onto that, please, that would be good. All right. And then, if you could get her flowers back for me as well, please. Okay, so when I am working in people's rooms or in a hote...

l room, I do move, move furniture around. I do put things into places that I want them to be in way need your hearings in please if you could you could just pop those in putting the earrings and is always quite a nice structure as well so maybe we could get a shot of us sitting down and putting the hearings in into the mirror so if you sit down over there for a second and then yeah okay right right now I'm looking into this mirror it's absolutely beautiful the shot that I'm seeing with her and you guys are very attractive people but you're in my shock so surely is going no no stay they say that I wouldn't want to bother you sean is going to come over here if you could take the reflective surface off of that please and even yeah take it off look inside all right? And now we're going to use this scrim going to use the scrim as a background so I'm going to instruct him where to be and he's really just going to be making a background so that I don't have you guys in my shot or that dress is so stunning right? So two point eight okay that's stunning just lean forward and there we go okay hold it there just a sick for me sean you're gonna come in behind my keep coming keep coming no, no no right up nice and high there that's cool ok take the lens cap off always helps right. So remembering I was up at the top overexposing I need to change that now back down to normal exposure might have to increase my higher so because shawn's blocking the light which is fine, I'm happy with them. I can go up to four thousand higher. So for this shot absolutely no problem whatsoever. Keep it there. That's nice, beautiful just like that shown a little lower with you, mate that's it there we go, that's cool. And I just want to take a shot off what it would look like without shown during the background there. I thought that bad, actually, you guys are pretty cool. So that's it beautiful. Okay, so now what I can do, you keep keep it there. Leaning forward a little more. What I've just seen is a nice reflection in that in the mirror over there. Put this hearing on on the side for me veneto overexposed just a little bit shooting raw, so I'll be able to tweak that. Okay, chin down. Just a little lean forward, lean forward, ok. Fixing the hearings again that's it keep it there just for a sick that's. Beautiful. Keep it that chin down, seymour chandan okay, now from there, turn your face to be in the right hand mirror that's it oh, my gosh okay I know that it's not cool to temple the time but lets us have a quick look at the chin in this way a little bit more for me beautiful chin don that's it keep it there and nice right I'll probably end up putting that into black and white but that's ah that's a really nice cool shot and I think it works really nicely for that okay, so up you get peace sean did you get her flowers with flowers? All right, this is looking good day has devon left the building devon's laurent it's not too much of an issue I've just got a little we'll get a few just a little bit of a hair issue over here which she's going to appreciate if I say you know if I call a makeup on us look things are not so called here with the hair please can you come help me out she's going to be happy about that? So what I'm gonna do over here right now I'm going to move some furniture on just a little bit bearing in mind again that thing's probably cost a lot more than but I could afford to replace to be very very careful okay, so I'm going to do here right now if you could sit down on the end of this shades for me like this leaning forward flowers in like this this is the shot that mummy once so take a seat over there for me for a sec. Can I get those nice flowers in the background of this show? And you're gonna put that back on for me for a second? Stunning. Very, very cool. Okay, bring your flowers in nice and close there that's it that's beautiful. Chin up a little bit. Okay with in terms of coming this side shot right over there terms of what's going on with the the pose and everything here her face looks absolutely amazing. The makeup is great. The flowers of great the dress designer is not going to be dead happy with me because the flower the florist gonna be happy with me the dress does that design is not going to be ecstatic with me because I can't see the bodies so flowers down a little bit lower for me that's it perfect that's cool! And then if I see things like this gaping area over here, I'm gonna come in and just say, you know, and little things like that she's going to appreciate that I'm getting that done for her. You take your shoulder, not bring your shoulders back. That's nice, good job. I think I've actually fixed that. I don't mean to we're okay sorry, devon, I when I took out the veil, I might have done some things I shouldn't have done so this piece came out a little bit over here and maybe on this side as well thank you so much I put it down you see there you go exactly what your question was yeah she needed it down on purpose I'm thinking it doesn't but that was done intentionally so that's perfect I'm happy if that's what you were going for that's brilliant cool but devon will also appreciate the fact that maybe I asked her about that you know I was wrong about it and I'm going to admit it but I'm gonna you know she's it's a good thing it's not a bad thing getting excited about this okay so leaning forward again for me that's beautiful that's it perfect thank you, devon okay flowers over that no, just tilt the flowers over that way a little bit in flower sit up a little straighter for me that's perfect hold it just like that and keep it there I am two thirds of a stop over because of what we had from the last shot but that's quite nice. Okay that's working perfectly I've got nice narrow side lighting over here so she looks nice and slim and beautiful. What I need you to do is to turn a little bit more sideways for me lean right forward for me like that that's it flowers down a little lower beautiful that's stunning keep it just like that that's nice chin into your shoulder this way and then work the shoulder up a little bit okay mommy needs a nice happy one so there we go that's it beautiful absolutely stunning. Okay can we put the flowers onto your laps of the heads of facing towards me that's a cradle of flowers underneath there we go and I like it a lot crazy woman's gonna be begging me for a cover here that's it nice and happy chin up a little bit. Okay, now we're gonna do one way I need you to have a nice I'm not going to feel silly but I need a life spontaneous hit back laughing happy area go it's just a couple of those that's it beautiful chin into shah larry go eyes to me that sit in fact, you're looking the right when it was working perfectly feels so there we go chin down into your shoulder looking down at the floor that's the shot to keep it just like that that's beautiful and okay, I'm very happy with those I think they work really nicely the florists going to be happy make up artists going to be ecstatic with that great shots and now we need to play around a little bit we've got our safe shots we need to play so what I'm going to do here is let's just take these away from you a little bit here, sean if you can get the led for me please excuse me uh my white balance I'm still on I'm on daylight balanced white balanced usually in a bedroom you might have quite a lot of tungsten around but we in the studio thes lights are daylight balanced anyway. Okay, now I'm bringing in the l e d which is also but daylight balance if you could stand up for me that that would be quite nice okay, uh come across this way a little bit beautiful. Okay, shawn um it's making a little bit of space there for you what's the flowers. Okay, come a little closer to me, okay? So from there I need you like we did on the roof one knee across the other it's a chin up a little bit you turn your head up to the light and sean, your you're gonna be a high as you can is that is that is powerful as it's gonna go I needed a strong as it can be closer to her. Okay, now I've created this artificial light so the background is going to be darker in the shot and I'm gonna have to probably shoot this on manual because of the complicated lighting what the complicated lighting but because I'm introducing lighting from the front let's just have a little look at this so we're gonna have this kind of hollywood lighting type of also I'm overexposed for that way over. All right, so I need to go up I go down on my side let's go down to eight hundred shown you can go closer like us even closer right there we go as long as you're out of frame I don't care yeah, there we go. Right hold it there just for a sec this is check the lighting on that uh now we're getting somewhere uh I could probably go even a little darker let's just go up to five hundred shutter speed I wasn't foreigner let's go to five hundred okay, turn your body straight on to me and then drop the one shoulder and then our chin up for me. Beautiful. There we go that's it that's cool, nice and this hand over here just feel your body. You know I keep it onto that leg there uh this and just feel it like there we go that's beautiful. Turn up again so you're looking up in towards the light a little more that's nice, beautiful from their turn your body sideways to me bring your shoulders around I mean chin in this way I just need to fix your lips a little bit over here that's perfect little bit turn your back to me so I can see the back of the stress chin don in today like that beautiful that's absolutely stunning hold it there that's nice okay keep it like that uh this elbow almost just hanging down over there I wanted to bend the elbow a little bit so this this hand this arm that's coming down they just bend the elbow a little bit yes that's it that's perfect chin into your shoulder this way around a little bit for me chin up again that's it beautiful keep it just like that all right let's have a little look at that ok all right, I think I've got enough to make a story for a double page spread day now what I'm gonna ask you to do but I'm gonna ask you to do is to come down onto the side of your bottom like this so your legs are almost like a mermaid bring your foot out to the side and leaning in like that and then maybe we're just going to a couple like this we're leaning onto the into the shades over there right sean let's get some flowers a lot more flowers into the shot if you can bring her back okay uh yeah all right so you're leaning right in like that lots of body shape this top leg must come out to the side a little bit more for me there we go that's it right we might be using the led over here for a sec yeah okay that's nice we're all her flowers just get her flowers in over here somewhere just over a day like that okay and let's see what we can do over here. Well all right I'm back down on the floor again now that it's all good okay let's just have a little look at this, okay shawn can you move her flowers to the bottom right ends can you even in a little more more more walking going okay, stop it that's perfect. Okay, keep it just like that okay, my chin up just a little bit more for me ok right ok I wantto back button focus focused on her face there we go okay now from their hit up straighter for me that's it keep it there beautiful you're left hand the one with the ring on it just yet stunning ninety dead arm to go down your leg so put it until that's it there we go bend your elbow up like you had it lovely absolutely stunning keep it like that yeah, keep moving keep working that's cool you're doing great day, right let's have a look at that ok that hand that's on the sofa bring it up to your yeah and keep it yes it's very good, nice and soft beautiful hold it just like that here we go and lovely absolutely stunning. Okay, so my thumb has retained focus I haven't led my thumb off for the focus and well, that was nice looking that way looking away from me beautiful hold it there. Okay, so what I'm going to do now is I'm going to ask shawn to help my up so she's not sitting there war my thumb is still retaining focus so the folk again and then my if you could just come out of short for me first so what I'm going to do now is I'm going to take a shot to keep the light where you have a tissue on what I want to do now is I'm going to take a shot off the flowers in the background because they are still the same amount out of focus as the original shot right? And I don't like the flowers phone uh maybe I just should get a case so maybe maybe shawn's light fell over onto that which is fine yeah let's just do it with and without okay and like them a little bit more that's cool, right? Very good. Okay, so in terms of my post production, if we look at those images, those flowers are out of focus, as when I shot her right here I haven't taken the picture again with those flowers in focus and trying to then put them out of focus back in the postproduction side of things so what I'm going to do is instruct my retouch as she already knows what's what we're going to do here if we could go to the view with his a lot of images together if you look at the shot with maya in it let's just take that image for example I'm going to take that shot and then the other flowers we're just going to put all around the background there and it's just going to be a war ofthe flowers behind her just in terms of the retouching so I've seen what what we've got have seen what we can work with and now in my mind I know we can not do all of these things in the background and then beautiful double page spread that's going to work so nicely there for me we call okay so that's the kind of thing that you can do we got our safe shots we did a little bit of hollywood lighting this is still a little bit more of the kind of directional hollywood lighting it might have been nice tio it could have bean that you wanted to shoot it with natural light you could have brought in your flash that kind of thing if you wanted to you know there's so many options that you could work with yes, you have a question question but um because we're shooting for an album do you always have to either be straight horizontal are straight and vertical do not want to tilt I've only ever seen tilting in wedding photography so by virtue of that fact I stay away from it okay because you only see skew horizons in wedding photography I have no idea why but wedding photography is renowned for skew horizons if you're shooting a face and she's tilted her head sideways and you moving your camera with her and it works as an image that's cool but don't shoot skew horizons and don't shoot that type of shot sideways man okay, are we good? Anybody else internet were great I mean we're in great shape here they're just really resonating towards what you're shooting yeah, and we really love the fact that you're taking you know you're making mohr out of less can't mohr flowers you're thinking in the future s o we did have a question regarding light meters yes and we noticed they weren't in your kit can you talk to us just a little bit of a little bit will go out with an equipment question gets a little bit about that please write in terms of like meters I think like meters are very effective two I think that using a light meter is a lot more technically correct what I have found is that as I've grown in my career I've found that is I found less use for four like meters when we're shooting film and we were shooting slide film particularly because it doesn't have the exposure latitude that negative film had when you were shooting slide form you had to use a light meter and it was essential that use the light meter if you want to use the light meter to do this perfect you are going to nail your exposure and you're going to look a lot more professional so it does look professional and it is very cool and it works like there's like our the light meter could you get a light meter reading there for me please it's gonna work it's gonna be great I've got to the stage in my career now where you saw on the roof when I set up the shot I told sean put it on about five and then I said my aperture sitting upright my shutter speed bang and I nailed the exposure that was because I've been doing it for twenty years s o I think like me they are cool I definitely think that they're not our cake it's just that I I don't use them in this environment anymore I use them in my studio when I'm shooting commercial work I would definitely use it like me today but in the wedding environment I don't but I think it's a good thing to do that