Honeymoon Photography Explained.

So what do I have to do to come up with the shots that I create for my clients on their honeymoon? The process is probably very close to what you would imagine. There is more to it that what I am about to write, but I do want to share the basics.

Once my clients have reserved my services for their honeymoon, I then do a good amount of research and compile a list of locations in the city that we will be traveling to. This list is then presented to my clients for their approval or modification.

Once the list of locations has been set, I then place all the locations on a Google Map in order to plan a sequence of shoots based on distance from the hotel we will be staying in. This Google Map is then posted onto my blog so my clients and I can access the map from our cell phone while we are on location.

Over the next few days, I will be posting images captured just last week from a honeymoon in Munich, Germany.

In an effort to better explain how I create my artwork, I will include smaller images to support the selection of the final image, in hopes that this will somehow give insight to the thought process that happens during the actual shooting.

Image Number 1

The first location on our list was Nymphenburg Palace. Out of all the shots we took at this location, I ended up with a total of 15 that I think are worthy of my signature.

Lets look at the first of these fifteen.

Here I have presented my final image. It’s been digitally enhanced, and if ordered as a wall portrait, this image will be printed and mounted to canvas for a deeper artistic feel.

Once my clients and I have arrived at a location, I always like to do a quick look around for different compositions. When shooting indoors this process can be very quick compared to photographing a client in Paris and trying to find the best angle with The Eiffel Tower in the background.

So there we were.  I had selected the first location and we were surrounded by at least 30 tourists, listening to their audio tours, walking through the building. And of course, in every room there is a museum proctor. Normally this individual is making sure the guests don’t touch the art, but in our case he was making sure that we were following all of the rules that are in place for professional photographers.

So, I place my clients into their spots, pose them, and wait until the area is clear before I release the shutter.

The proctor is watching me, and tourists are standing behind me taking their own pictures of my clients. Being a professional, you just have to put all of that out of your head and be on your “A Game”!

Here are a few additional shots that led up to this final image.

   

 

So at this point we have arrived, I have scouted the entire facility, and we have set up at our first location.  My clients coats are sitting at my feet.  My camera bag was not allowed in the facility, so all of my equipment is packed into a special jacket that I have with may deep pockets.  

When I’m wearing that jacket, I know I must look pretty weird, but I don’t really care.  My goal is to conform with the rules imposed and get the image.

So now we start shooting….

   

You can clearly see that I am changing the height of my camera, trying to determine if I want more floor or more wall.  When I shoot so there is more floor, I lose the chandelier , and I love that element in the image.  I could have used a wider angle lens in order to get both the floor and the chandelier in the image, but that would have made my clients smaller in the image.

I decided I wanted more head room than floor in the image.  had the floors been buffed to a high gloss shine, then I would have been able to better see my clients reflection in the floor, and this may have changed my mind.

Next you can see the pose.  I have the groom placed on the right, as the light in the image is traveling from left to right.  The groom would have been casting a shadow on the the bride had he been placed on the left.

There is good connection in the image with the groom’s hand on her waist, and the bride’s hand on his chest.  It is important to note that I have placed her hand on his chest, and not on his arm.  If her hand were placed on the groom’s arm, then we would have seen the top side of her hand.  Showing the top side of a woman’s hand in a photograph is something to be avoided if at all possible.  Instead, I have placed her hand on his chest so we only see the blade side of her hand.  Placing the hand on the chest also breaks the wrist creating a more feminine hand pose.

Their heads and faces are both turned toward the light just enough to light the masks of their faces.

The brides weight was placed on her back foot, which allows the far shoulder to dip, and her front shoulder to raise.

And lastly, when you compare the final image to the left, to the additional images posted, you can fully see the digital enhancements that have been made.  Notice how rich the final image looks.  Notice that the vertical pillars on either side of the couple have been straightened.  Notice how I have darkened certain areas of the image to draw the viewer’s eye to a certain area of the image.  And while this image has the clients a but further away, their faces have been retouched as well.

Aric C. Hoek BFA, CPP
Professional Photographer