Paul Francis Photography

One of my favorite photos that Paul has taken is this beautiful and intimate photo of Melissa & Eugene on their wedding day. And he used no super fancy lighting equipment to achieve this!  Before getting into the technical details of what went into taking this photo, I first have to preface by setting the stage of what was going on before and during this photo was snapped. Melissa & Eugene were married in the late fall, and in the late fall it gets dark quick. Paul planned to take a few extra pictures of the lovely couple for a few minutes during the reception since their time outside was limited due to the sunset timing. After Melissa & Eugene started their fun and lively wedding which included lots of noise and merriment, they slipped away for a few minutes to have their picture taken. This is one of those photos that Paul captured during that time, and it is so soft and intimate, you would never know what was going on just feet away from them in the reception hall!

In order to create that soft intimate feel, Paul shot with his aperture wide open (f/1.4). And whenever shooting with the aperture wide, we make sure to focus on the eyes, because that is usually the focus of our image and where we want the viewers’ attention to be drawn. Since Melissa’s eyes are closed, Paul focused on Melissa’s fantastic eyelashes. While her eyelashes are perfectly crisp, everything else around them is slowly softened by the natural blur a shallow depth of field creates.

As I mentioned earlier, this photo was taken inside at night and there was not much available light. Paul turned up his ISO and then used his flash to add some light, by turning it towards the ceiling and bouncing the light. When the flash is turned toward the ceiling, the light bounces off the ceiling and is softened as it is reflected back down onto the couple. And soft light is super flattering.

Paul  then had Melissa & Eugene sit on the steps of the lobby at the reception hall, while he stood in order to get a higher angle. The higher angle and tight framing adds to the intimacy of the photo, because there is nothing else but the two of them in the frame, as if there is no one else but the two of them in the whole world.

Soft light, a wide aperture and shallow depth of field, focus locked on the eyes, and just the right angle and framing turn this photo of Melissa & Eugene into more than a photo, but a love story.

*Carolyn

50 mm, f/1.4, 1/125 sec, ISO 3200