“What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.”
– John Berger
Couples Photographer in New York City
One of the biggest misconceptions about photography is that camera makes a difference. Although the camera is important, there’s SO MUCH more. In my experience, It’s All (mostly) About the Light.
I recently had an outdoor session and unfortunately, we couldn’t start as planned. By the time we started the session, the sun had set behind the horizon line, we were on the beach, and the only light that existed was park lamps, but we were on the beach. We could reschedule OR we could create light and work with what we have. Guess which route I chose… I like a challenge lol
The gallery below represents some of my favorite images… I’ve used Nikon Z6 with 24-70 2.8, higher ISOs, and for external light, I added Neo2. What makes these images my favorite is that I barely had any light to work with and they presented technical challenges that I had to overcome (I hope I did). Since my clients enjoy black and white images as much as I do, I had the freedom and flexibility to push the equipment capabilities and creative bug further and further.
While we still had some sunlight, barely any lol I grabbed this image.
Then added neo2 to give me a drop of rim light and we got this incomplete silhouette.
Another one of my favorite images… Look into the Future… I love the diamond that was created between these two.
As we were walking along the park row, I noticed a beautiful street lamp, illuminating the area and yet offering gorgeous shadows.
There’s a saying among photographers, shoot 90% of the client and 10% for yourself. I’m lucky and glad that this couple allowed me to make it the other way around. They were ready for anything, on the ground, on the tree, on the rocks. I’m sure, if I asked them to stand upside down and twirl, they’d try :). But seriously, this square image was 95% in-camera. In post-production, I raised the contrast a bit. It was actually one of the hardest images to get – it was tough to focus and shoot handheld at 1/20 second.
We walked around a bit more, captured a few more images, and as we were walking out of the park, I saw another light.
Once again, my couple was up for pretty much anything and we captured this image.
Normally, in our sessions/events, we expose, for what’s called middle-to-right. This session was a bit different and the creative challenge was to properly pose and light my couple, capture their connection with one another, and at the same time represent the true environment that was there… nearly pitch black.
I am honored to work with these fine gentlemen and thankful for the opportunity they provided me to capture these images and preserve their memories. They gave me an opportunity to chase the light.
“I am forever chasing light. The light turns the ordinary into the magical.”
– Trent Parke
