LIGHTING CONSIDERATIONS

Lighting reigns supreme in photography. Lighting is, by far, the most influential element that determines the location where I will place my subjects and the pose I will choose. Correctly reading light at the scene requires serious skill, but determination and tenacity will help you succeed. To simplify the complex subject of lighting at quick, run-and-gun situations such as weddings, I have broken down lighting into two major categories: high-contrast light and low-contrast light.

High-Contrast Light (strong directional light). High-contrast light basically means that the light is very directional. The smaller the light source, the higher the contrast will be. When dealing with high-contrast/directional light, I allow the light to determine the pose and whether I will give the bride and groom equal importance or just feature one of them. Many conditions can create high-contrast/directional light, but some of the most common examples are direct sunlight, windows, and doors that lead outside, as well as lamps, etc. Correctly positioning and posing your clients under high-contrast/directional light is more challenging than using low-contrast light, and it requires more refined skill, but it will reward you with much more dynamic photographs that set you apart from your competition. Watching how a photographer handles high-contrast/directional light is also one of the most effective ways to quickly determine a photographer’s skill level.

Low-Contrast Light (flat light). Basically, flat light is open shade. Open shade is the easiest and most common type of lighting that photographers seek at weddings. Low-contrast/flat light provides the photographer with the most posing options because the light falls on your subjects almost equally without the danger of harsh, splotchy light on their faces. Although open shade is the easiest type of light to use in order to achieve relatively flattering light on your subjects, it is important to know that not all open shade areas are equal. Depending on the situation—for example, whether there are nearby structures, buildings, walls, etc.—some open shade spots contain a higher intensity of light than others. The higher the intensity of light within an open shade area, the more beautiful the light in the photograph will be.

LOCATION CONTEXT CONSIDERATIONS

Context. Context gives the viewer a sense of place. At any location, whether it is a beautiful garden, a building, or a city alley, you must decide how much of the scene you want to show in your photo. Everything you choose to show in a photograph contributes to the impact that photo has on the viewer. If you choose to show a great deal of the scene, then the photo will give the viewer a lot of context. In contrast, if you choose to tightly crop the photograph, it will remove or limit the context the viewer sees.

My general rule: If I choose to crop tight, I make sure that my subjects’ expressions appear completely genuine and that the lighting is strong and flattering on them. When I choose to show much of the context of the scene, I make sure that my subjects’ behavior makes natural sense within that scene. Lighting is still important, but I am much more lenient with the lighting on my subjects when I am composing a high-context scene.

MOOD AND EXPRESSION CONSIDERATIONS

Depth. Locations that offer depth are relatively more romantic because the lens’s bokeh creates a painting-like blur in the background, while your subjects are tack sharp. When photographing at locations with depth, I usually attempt a more candid, romantic mood and expression.

Mood, Character, and Charm. Certain locations have such distinctive character and charm that they can automatically transport you to another time. Locations such as the interior of an old library, which has a nostalgic mood and character, inspire me to match the quiet atmosphere of the location with an equally quiet and pensive pose. Another example would be a charming nursery filled with flowers and plants of all colors. In such a lovely location, I try to create a pose with the couple that has a feeling of child-like innocence.

Dynamic (walls, bright colors, high-contrast). Dynamic places are the opposite of romantic environments. Walls with high-contrast scenes and bright colors inspire a more energetic pose—something lively, playful, and fun. I usually make the couple genuinely laugh, or I capture a moment of pure joy and happiness.

If you are familiar with my previous books, you know I have discussed posing in more and more detail. In Picture Perfect Practice, my first book, I introduced a variety of couple poses with a quick paragraph explaining some technical issues about each pose. In my second book, Picture Perfect Posing, I devoted the entire book to addressing everything regarding posing. In that book, I explained in much greater detail how to successfully achieve and create posing variations for couples. I began each explanation with the foundation of the pose and guided the reader through the process of achieving beautiful interpretations of each of those poses.

Wedding Storyteller, however, focuses on how to become a great storyteller. Here I would like to focus less on the mechanics of posing and more on how posing and facial expressions can be used to create a sense of harmony between the couple and the mood of the location where they are photographed. I consider this posing/location harmony whether a bride and groom are being photographed individually or together.

Very rarely, if ever, do I see this issue being discussed. This is surprising to me because mastering this skill will greatly deepen the quality of your work as a wedding storyteller, and your images will become much more refined and sophisticated. Not to mention, it will free you from having to continually repeat the same poses over and over. This approach allows you to choose your pose and facial expressions based on the mood and lighting of any location. The goal is to make the pose/expression make sense within the context of the location. These decisions should be based on the personalities of the couple, the energy of the day, the timeline, the lighting, and the context of the location.

THE SITUATIONAL APPROACH TO POSING

One of the biggest breakthroughs I made in my career regarding how to better photograph weddings came when I stopped applying the same poses to every client. At the beginning of my career, I used to have between three and five go-to poses that I repeated over and over, regardless of who was in front of my lens. I paid no heed to my clients’ personalities, the location, the lighting, or the amount of time I had to photograph the couple photos. I thought, why should that matter? As it turns out, it matters a lot!

One of the most successful changes I made to my photography was to create a connection between the pose/expression, the scenery around the couple, and the lighting. In other words, this “situational approach” compels you to choose poses based on the conditions at a given time or place. The main purpose for creating this connection is to create a mood or feeling in a photograph that makes sense with the scenery or lighting.

As an example, imagine that you are photographing a couple in a beautiful garden that is backlit by the warm light of the setting sun. Close your eyes and imagine this scenario in your head. You would probably agree that such a scene inspires romance. Therefore, I would select a few poses and expressions that fit a romantic mood. Now let’s change gears. Imagine a quiet, antique, and moody room, such as an old library lit by old, rustic tungsten lamps. Ask yourself, what kind of photo/pose would make sense here? You probably wouldn’t have the couple jumping and laughing, right? It’s fair to say that a high-energy pose is probably not the best match for such a quiet and delicate room. However, if you find yourself outside on a sunny day photographing at a location full of art and vividly colored stucco buildings, the splashes of color at the scene would go well with a high-energy pose. Perhaps you could include a photo where the couple is reacting to a human impulse with a smile or laughter. As a final example, let’s imagine a situation where the main light is coming from above—the sun in the afternoon or a building light at night. These are very strong directional light sources. Under such conditions, it would be senseless not to choose a pose that would place the light at the most flattering place on the bride, the groom, or both of them. When photographing with heavy directional light, usually one person will receive the most amount of light, while the other becomes a complement to that. Alternatively, you could photograph just the bride or groom instead of trying to pose both of them. Either way, you are capturing the best light for one person. For this reason, when I find myself in strong directional light situations, such as with windows, I choose poses that feature just one individual. In evenly lit situations such as open shade, I can more easily feature the couple together.

EXAMPLES OF FAILED SITUATIONAL POSES

Though it pains me to put these photographs in the book, I believe that it is crucial for your success to see photos that, at one time, I thought were good. However, now that I have spent a long career photographing all kinds of weddings around the globe, I have learned what I wish someone else had taught me from the beginning: create poses that make sense. To remain respectful toward my clients from the beginning of my career, I will only focus my commentary on how these poses failed to make sense with the situation at hand. Believe me, I could write a book on the other things that are wrong with these images. Hopefully, when analyzing these photos, it triggers your brain to ask yourself before shooting, “Does this pose/expression make logical sense in this situation?”

Figure 11.1: This is a perfect example to illustrate the point. For some reason, this particular pose, in which one person is awkwardly staring at the other person from behind, is one of the most popular go-to poses for inexperienced photographers. Now ask yourself, does this make any logical sense? In what situation do people who are newly married do this on their own? Why is she looking at the camera while he is staring at her from behind? To me, the photo appears to be a bit creepy and very unnatural.

FIGURE 11.1

Figure 11.2: As previously discussed in this chapter, lighting is one of the most important considerations when posing people at weddings. In this case, the pose is somewhat believable, although the bride should not be staring at the photographer when she is being tenderly kissed by her husband.

FIGURE 11.2

Her connection with the photographer during an intimate moment makes the bride appear more interested in the photo than in the groom. But the critical issue, even more so than the moment being clearly interrupted by the obvious presence of the photographer, is the lighting. The lighting in this photo simply doesn’t make sense. The light is illuminating the couple in all the wrong places. Furthermore, it also leaves splotches of light on their bodies and faces, which are extremely distracting. The lighting is not complementary to either the bride or the groom. The next time you shoot a wedding, I hope this image comes to mind and reminds you that, although you might be in a rush, at least pay attention to the light.

Figure 11.3: For this photo, I was attempting to be fancy and create a foreground/background composition by having my assistant hold the bouquet in front of the lens. For the background, I had the couple pretend that they were at their first dance, even though we were in the middle of an ugly alley. When looking at this photograph, your brain probably hurts. Too many questions come to mind trying to make any sense of this scene.

FIGURE 11.3

Looking back, this is an open shade situation. Although the lighting is weak, there is still some light coming from the right side of the photograph. I could have changed my angle and had the couple face the light featuring both of them, giving the couple the best light at the scene. This would also have removed that random blue square from the composition. Remove the bouquet from the foreground, and this photo might have had a fighting chance.

Figure 11.4: In an attempt to be clever, I tried to create a foreground/background scenario using reflections to add a level of complexity and creativity to the image. This photo begs the question, “How does this make sense?” It doesn’t. First, there is far too much context in this photo. Usually, when reflections are used, you don’t want the viewer to know where the reflection is coming from. There is no scenario in which a bride’s head would appear to be coming from the piano keys, her eyes staring at the photographer, while her husband is standing on the other side of the piano observing her.

FIGURE 11.4

Again, looking back, if I had to create a similar photo now, I would choose a part of the piano surface that is completely clear of any distracting elements. I would lower my angle to be just inches from the piano surface. Next, I would make sure that both individuals have strong yet flattering light to increase the clarity of the reflection. But the most important decision here would be to create a scenario that is believable and that could happen naturally between the couple. Perhaps they would be holding champagne glasses and having a peaceful moment on their own away from the dance floor, and they happen to find a quiet corner by the piano. Finally, I would create a composition that would show the couple, their reflection on the piano surface, and nothing else. I would keep the viewer of the photo guessing how or where this reflection comes from, while they enjoy looking at a beautiful and quiet moment between the couple.

Figure 11.5: Although this could potentially be cute, it’s also completely abnormal. One of the best skills I have developed from years of pushing myself to be a better wedding photographer is to keep things simple. Simple and beautiful goes a long way in wedding photography. This photo represents thousands of photos that I have unfortunately taken myself or that I see inexperienced photographers take. The awkward pose is so obvious and the idea so gimmicky that it completely robs the image from what could have been a beautiful and elegant bridal portrait.

FIGURE 11.5

Having different ideas is good, but there is so much context in this scene. For example, you can see quite a bit of the room—the carpet, the large windows, the sofa. You need to create a believable scenario in a room such as this to take a successful bridal portrait. Posing the bride belly down with her legs up on this ottoman is far from natural. Ask yourself, if you were about to be married, would you plop yourself down on an ottoman such as this on your wedding day? You most likely would not.

It is important to remember my purpose for showing you these photographs. It’s not the photos themselves that are the problem; it is the fake, gimmicky poses and staged ideas that do not resemble a sense of reality at all. I have continually strived to create new ideas in photography. Now, I always ask myself, “Could this pose or my concept occur naturally, or does it appear staged for that particular situation?” When I’m not sure, I trust my immediate instincts. Often it is the lack of a genuine expression that proves that the photo was staged by the photographer.

Figure 11.6: It is very important for me to see a higher level of wedding photography across the board. When you begin to feel insecure about your creativity or skills during a wedding, when you are drawing a blank, and when you are aware that your clients notice your anxiety, this is when photographers are trapped into devising staged scenarios that make absolutely no sense. It is this insecure feeling that compelled me to come up with this photo. I was quickly losing light, and I had no idea what to do with the bride and groom. So, in an attempt to appear creative, I asked the bride and groom to sit in different rows that were set up for their ceremony, look at each other, and smile.

FIGURE 11.6

If we pause and analyze this photo, we notice that it suffers from far too much context. The context shows a scene of their ceremony setup. By showing the entire scene in the photo, I am making that scene a part of the story. But there is no story to tell. As you read this, take a moment and try to think of a pose that would make sense in this situation. What could the couple be doing in remembrance of their ceremony that would look natural to the viewer? If nothing comes to mind, you could always position yourself behind the bride or groom, and shoot from there to show what they see from their perspective. For example, you could position yourself behind the groom about 20 feet away and use a telephoto lens to crop tight and show the bride’s face smiling through the groom’s shoulder. By cropping tight, you crop out the entire scene and now the story becomes just about the couple, not about them and their ceremony location. Big difference.

Remember that if you are going to include the context of the scene in the photo, be sure that what the bride and groom are doing within that scene could have happened naturally. Keep it simple, and you will have a higher yield of successful photos.

EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL SITUATIONAL POSES

Figure 11.7: In this example, there are two main factors that contributed to achieving a great situational pose. First, the strong high-contrast directional light tells me exactly where to position the bride. Imagine if I had posed the bride three or four steps further down the staircase. She would have been in complete darkness, and I would have missed the beautiful light coming from the window to the camera’s right and bouncing against the wall. Second, I chose to show the context of a stairway inside a building. What do people normally do on stairways? They go up or down the steps. Therefore, I posed the bride in such a way that it appears as if she is simply going down the steps, perhaps making her way to the wedding ceremony. The bride is looking down toward the steps and thus not looking at the photographer. Therefore, you don’t really see or feel the presence of a photographer in this photo.

Figure 11.8: The structure’s wall directly behind the bride and groom makes this an automatically “dynamic” situation. As soon as I saw the wall, I knew a lively fun pose and expression that would go very well with it. I liked how the various green objects framed the couple: the grass at the bottom, the plants to the left and right of the couple, and finally the trees above them. For this reason, I decided to include quite a bit of context in this scene. I want the viewer to feel as if the couple were on a distant, exotic island. Although the lighting was flat because we were under open shade, I strategically had the bride turn her face to her left and upward to catch as much of the diffused sunlight rays as possible. This improved the lighting on the bride’s face significantly, even though we found ourselves in a low-contrast lighting situation.

FIGURE 11.7

FIGURE 11.8

Figure 11.9: During a wedding in the tiny, remote town of Donegal, Ireland, I noticed this beautiful gate framed by the two cranes. Again, I asked myself, “What do people normally do when facing a gate in a pathway?” They cross the gate. So, instead of trying to have the bride strike some awkward back-breaking pose with her hands on her hips, I kept it simple and had her hold her dress and just walk slowly through the gate, away from me. That’s all. This turned out to be one of the bride’s favorite photographs.

You might be asking yourself, why did Roberto pose the bride walking away from him rather than walking toward him? Well, look at the direction of light. You can tell by her shadow that the sun is directly in front of her. I wanted to create a moment when the bride would be peacefully walking away, while the sunlight created a beautiful rim of light around her entire body. This photo has a romantic undertone to it because this scene has depth. Clearly, quite a bit of context is necessary to show that the bride is outside and walking through this stunning iron gate. The action of the bride is perfectly natural with the location.

FIGURE 11.9

Figure 11.10: This photo was taken at a public park in Los Angeles and is similar to Figure 11.8, I noticed that the brown of the tree trunk on the left and the brown branches on the right frame the couple, who are positioned in the center of an even patch of green foliage. The direction of the light was coming from in front of them toward me. The fact that there was depth in the scene led me to create a soft romantic pose using the direction of light to achieve a flattering and romantic rim light around them. Because there was nothing else to see that would add to this photo, I cropped tight. By removing most of the context, the viewer remains fixated on the loving moment between the couple. To maintain a natural feel to this pose, I had to make sure that their expressions were legitimate. The bride is looking down, almost closing her eyes, while he tenderly looks at her eyes. It appears as if he paused during their short walk in the park to whisper something that he finds charming about her and she reacted affectionately to his compliment. Most likely, when you see this photograph, you see the moment between the couple, not the photographer staging this pose. Good posing means you don’t notice the pose.

FIGURE 11.10

Figure 11.11: At the beginning of this chapter I discussed location context considerations. This is a great example to review to determine whether or not to show context. This is from the wedding of my great friends Brooke and Alexander in New York City. They asked me to take some of the photos at High Line Park. As it turns out, we were not the only ones who thought to take a stroll down the High Line on a sunny Saturday afternoon (Figure 11.12). The place was crowded beyond belief, and it was also surrounded by buildings, plants, billboards, etc. I felt inspired by one of the billboards, which showed a photo of a woman in black and white. The problem was that it was across the street, and there were overgrown plants and junk all around it.

FIGURE 11.11

This is when getting rid of context comes in handy. I wanted to create a photo where it appears as if the woman in the billboard is either possessively observing the groom or looking at the viewer of the photo as if she is a protective figure for the groom. I used my Canon 200mm f/2 lens to crop out the entire scene except for the woman’s eyes. To keep the pose simple and natural, I posed the groom as if he was reacting to something amusing on the road toward his left. The result is a unique photo where the viewer has zero context of the location or its surroundings. However, you are intrigued by the composition of the groom and “big sister” protectively looking over his shoulder.

FIGURE 11.12

FIGURE 11.13

Figure 11.13: I wanted to finish the chapter with this example because I feel it showcases situational posing at its best. During Brooke and Alexander’s wedding photo shoot at the High Line Park in New York City, I thought it would be fun to have the couple sit down on the bleachers and enjoy a quick moment in the sun. This time, instead of cropping the public out of the photo, I decided to not fight them, but to include them to create a much higher energy photo. It is New York after all, right? So, I asked myself, if I were sitting on the bleachers minding my own business and suddenly a couple sits close to me on their wedding day, what would happen? Well, a person can’t exactly ignore them; I would naturally stare at them, and maybe say something congratulatory to them. Then if one person says something, maybe another will, too, and the next thing you know, people begin to laugh and stare and enjoy the moment they are sharing with the couple on the most important day of their lives.

So that’s exactly what I did. I had the bride and groom sit on the right side of the bleachers to isolate them from the crowd, and I asked everyone to look at the couple, knowing that they would soon break into natural laughter. Almost everybody laughed and was having fun! Brooke and Alexander didn’t stand a chance, and they also cracked up at the looks and sounds of everyone staring, smiling, and laughing with them.

I absolutely love when the situation, the pose, and the moment work perfectly together! The reason why people have a negative association with posing is because many times photographers place their clients into poses that are awkward, unnatural, staged, and make no sense in a particular situation. When you can imagine poses that go well with the situation, the photo appears believable, and the pose is not even noticed. You don’t have to contort someone’s body to take a good photo. The best thing to remember is to keep it simple.