4 Ways To Make Any Location Work

In an outdoor location loaded with obstacles, you can use Angle, Exposure, Aperture and Composition to alter your environment to make the scene better than it actually is.

We’re taking you behind-the-scenes to bring you innovative tips from our Photographing the Couple Workshop, will teach you all you need to know about posing, lighting, and photographing your wedding couples.

Stay tuned with our creative tips and upgrade to SLR Premium to gain full access to a variety of photography education!

1. LOCATION SCOUT FOR ANGLES

Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon Tilt Shift 90 mm, 1/400th, f/2.8, ISO 200

When choosing a location we look for one that allows us to work different angles. We shot at a lower angle and used the foreground to alter the environment. To achieve the same compression, we suggest using a 85 mm.

Check out some of our favorite 85mm lenses from Canon and Sigma.

[REWIND: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE LENS FOR COUPLES PORTRAITS?]

2. ADJUST THE APERTURE

With a shallow aperture at f/1.4 we are able to blur out the distractions and compress the background. By setting our white balance to 7000K we are able to achieve warmer tones throughout the image. One of our quick and easy tips to mimic Golden Hour is using a LED light string over the corner of the lens to simulate sun flare – you can see more here!

3. SET THE EXPOSURE

The Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO are part of what we like to call the Exposure Triangle. Understanding how each of these components functions is crucial to getting the image we want. See more on how to achieve a perfect exposure every time in this video:

4. SET THE COMPOSITION

When working on a time-crunch, using our 5 posing techniques helps to easily communicate with our clients, we call it our Foundation Posing Framework:

• V-up
• Open up
• Close-up
• Stack-up
• Reverse

When scouting locations, look for areas suitable for wide and tight shots to limit how far and often the couple will need to move. This is also a great trick for getting multiple compositions within one scene by moving around and seeing which angles to photograph from.

For example, in this scene we positioned the couple in the middle of the trees to eliminate the distracting background and then used the veil to create more interest. You can see 4 creative ways we use the veil in our wedding photography by clicking here.

Want to learn more exclusive tips? Check out Photographing the Couple, where we take you behind-the-scenes to see how we direct to get the most from our couple. Upgrade to SLR Premium to stream the entire workshop today!