Engagement Studio Shoot 1.8

For my second shoot I decided on an Engagement Portrait.  Fortunately two friends are getting married January 2011 (andy and Lisa). I thought it would be a great opportunity to practice shooting a couple plus give the bride and groom to be, experience of having their photograph taken together before their big day.

I discussed with Steve via email my plan and due to the limited capabilities of my Canon 300D, I used the college Canon 5D camera and the 24-105mm lens.

My camera has a measly 6 mega pixels and very small view finder - it can be particularly slow and with a limited time slot of an hour and a half in the studio, I needed to work fast.  The plan shows inspiration images of Lynsey Thompson's work plus other portraits images found on other wedding photographers websites.  I showed the plan to Andy and Lisa and had asked them to wear dark clothes, I wanted them to feel comfortable and understand what was needed to get great shots from the shoot which they would be pleased with and which would represent their engagement.  I also advised them on health and safety with regards to fire exits, tripping hazards and not to touch any equipment without supervision if necessary.

I discussed various lighting methods and ideas with Steve.  Above shows the studio, I used a white background and Bowens GM500 lights positioned either side with barn doors attached to reflect the light off the back wall which angled the lighting perfectly onto the bride and grooms side, giving a nice glow to their faces.

I used a tripod, 3 in 1 grid diffuser directly above and at the front.  For some of the shots I also used a stool to seat the bride and groom for their individual shots and a fan to create movement in the brides hair for her portrait.  The light is soft and subtle and I love the glow created on the side of their faces - it creates a sparkle in the eyes giving the idea of excitement.

I am very pleased with the results.  I experimented with different poses, taking individual shots and couple poses standing, seated (on stools and on the floor) and lying down, making sure the bride and groom to be felt comfortable, after a time they relaxed and started to enjoy themselves.  The light at first created too much shadow on the brides neck line, with slight adjustment and adding a soft box on the right hand side this corrected the problem.  The bride and groom were also happy with the results.