Backlit wedding shot

windrunner

windrunner

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Michael
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This wasnt a planned shot. It was taken at the back door of the reception and I had like 3 minutes to get it between courses of the meal while the bride was getting some fresh air. The rain was pretty heavy and I placed the flash just into the rain, pulled the couple out under the brolly that Id nicked from the cloakroom and managed three frames. Only had one flash to hand and there was a wall behind me meaning I had to go wider than I would normally have liked.

I can see lots of room for improvement and I think its ok but the bride and groom love it, they both have as their facebook cover images and are even using it for the thank you cards - some of the comments on my facebook page also make me wonder if I'm looking at the same shot lol. From a technical aspect the lighting could be improved on and I wondered if anyone could suggest how it might go about achieving this ( a second flash etc) - . Its a shot I'd like to have up my sleeve when its raining and seems to be very popular.

Any thoughts welcome.

Once upon a time.... by Michael Carver Photography, on Flickr
 
I like it, maybe would of gone for a faster ss to freeze the rain a little more and a bit more flash power at the rear and possibly a very low power at the front to give some fill in as they are a little halfway between dark and light potentially but the colours are nice, the pose is nice and the client loves it so its a win.

Good job I like it :)
 
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dalegt4 said:
I like it, maybe would of gone for a faster ss to freeze the rain a little more and a bit more flash power at the rear and possibly a very low power at the front to give some fill in as they are a little halfway between dark and light potentially but the colours are nice, the pose is nice and the client loves it so its a win.

Good job I like it :)
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Cheers - yeah, Im not sure on the flash power. Any more and I would have a lot of blown out parts around the outsides of the dress, I think you are right about a little from the front to lift it though.

The slower shutter speed was intentional to try and get that effect with the rain lol.

Thanks for the comments though.
 
haha, super thats good stuff, to be honest the it looks good mate, what flash do you use?

Does it have the normal power settings plus the individual exposure compensation power options?

Maybe only an extra 1/3rd but its a great shot to me and the best bit is the clients love it which is always a major bonus! haha :D
 
This looks absolutely terrific to me.:):clap:
 
I'd be very happy to have taken that. The only possible "improvement" I can see is that it might be worth darkening the light spill on the paving bottom right a bit and seeing what you think.
 
Serendipitous Sid said:
I'd be very happy to have taken that. The only possible "improvement" I can see is that it might be worth darkening the light spill on the paving bottom right a bit and seeing what you think.
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great shot and agree with sid...darken that bright pavement area so that nothing is brighter than the brides dress / face etc.

I would love to have something like this on my site, so far its never blooming rained when iwanted it too lol. Good on you for grabbing it when you did, i would have been too busy umming and arring i reckon, something i need to get over lol
 
Lovely shot, the brides right shoulder looks like it needs a little PP it looks like a bruise when enlarged :plus1:
 
Great shot
Stick with it, more fill might not be an improvement.

It might be worth removing that light coloured twig in the greenery behind her as it catches the eye.
 
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Great creative shot, well done for coming up with it, I can see why they are so pleased with it. There might well be room for improvement but given the minimum time available to get it I'd say you did a cracking job, you could have spend half an hour messing about and it would have only been marginally improved.

The only distraction I found was that the way the rain has come out almost makes it look like its going up rather than down? Might just me me?
 
As a quick shot it's awesome, as Dan said there's probably a little to be gained from PP on the path.

You probably know that in an ideal world, you'd have got the backlight higher and added a fill from the front (though I'd have shot with and without the fill and offered a choice).

Tips for clarity (as there's some incorrect assumptions being made), the shutter speed is having no effect on the rain, that's just flash duration and you have only a little control over that*. The shutter speed is only effecting the amount of ambient, which is non existent. A street lamp or lighting of the building could be burned in with a longer shutter, but there's nothing there.

*with speedlights: lower flash power = shorter flash duration, but your flash power would be largely determined by the required exposure.
 
Phil V said:
Tips for clarity (as there's some incorrect assumptions being made), the shutter speed is having no effect on the rain, that's just flash duration and you have only a little control over that*. The shutter speed is only effecting the amount of ambient, which is non existent. A street lamp or lighting of the building could be burned in with a longer shutter, but there's nothing there.

*with speedlights: lower flash power = shorter flash duration, but your flash power would be largely determined by the required exposure.
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Thanks - that is helpful :)
 
I love this shot, well done.
Anything else you'd of done would have taken away, and not added to the feel.
Sometimes "less is more"
 
works for me, and Im no expert....its just so different from the normal wedding stuff
....so well done you!
 
If they like it (love it!) thats all that matters! You could tinker with it until its ruined but it appears to work as is.
 
It's very nice.
I think it would have been better to have moved the flash back to get a better angle on their heads and the umbrella in order to not be throwing so much shadow up there.

More ambient or fill, lower power, and rear curtain sync would help turn the raindrops "upside right." But too low of power w/o ambient (multiple flashes) would just freeze the raindrops as dots (which can look nice as well).
 
It's a nice shot, I do like it. The flattering comments on facebook are justified and the muggles looking at it see it as photographic Magic and it's one shot that they know wouldn't be possible with their phones/point and shoots.
 
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