Had a lot of fun with this couples shoot. Blending studio and natural light creates a defined look that captures the true essence of the relationship. We wanted the romance to be captured in a empathetic and believable way. Shooting this couple really gave us an insight into a lasting relationship and it was an honour to capture these moments.   

Due to the pandemic, Geiisy and Douglas had a wedding without a photographer. To ensure their special day was never forgotten we told their story at a later date and it really showed there was no love lost during this difficult time.

After hiking throughh the woods and finding a suitable location we set up our gear. Two Profoto lights: An A1x, a B10 Flash and a large umbrella to fill in the shadows. Due to trauma on a previous film shoot we attached the umbrella to a large C stand and this gave us much more versatility when shaping light on uneven terrain. 

The panorama was the gem of this shoot, mixing the lush wilderness of the location with the romantic bond of the couple gave a poetic juxtaposition that couldn't have told a better story.    

The new weapon in our arsenal, the Mavic Air 2 with its 42 megapixles can make the most of these impressive vistas. However, using a smaller sensor could impeed the consistency of the images. Shooting further away from the models and capturing more of the landscape is a nice, artisic way of solving these problems. We should probably just buy a bigger drone... or a helicopter. 

Moving away from natural lighting we started to add a continuous light source. Here we used a retro studio light set 3200k that we salvaged from another photographer.  Compared to modern flashes the continuous light didn't give us as much leeway with exposure values. We had to make sure that the heat from these lights didn't cause our models to sweat and create an unwanted effect on their skin. 

Moving away from digital we turned to 35mm film to relax and take a more organic approch to the shoot. These photos with their timelss look perfectly fit the narrative and serve as homage to classic motion picture romances. The kelvin of the lights matched the specific colour temperature of the film giving us a unique and much desired effect within the photography community. As much as this effect can be replicated digitally, it will never be truly recreated.  

This shoot was magical. The opportunity to capture and create a special moment in peoples lives will never stop feeling incredible. We create what we want to see and if done well the clients see themselves in a way they never thought possible. Working almost with a shared conscienceness let us push our usual boundaries and create images of an exceptional qualitly while running the shoot like a swiss watch. 

Here's to the next creative leap of faith, we hope you've enjoyed this gallery. 

- Dom Sohail and Harry Coleman 

"Long live the picture taker"