04/12/2024
Let’s talk inspiration for a sec —
My biggest motivating factor in photography is environment & composition. But what does that mean?
Each photographer has their process when they get behind their camera - some are motivated by intricate posing, some by specific lighting scenarios.
For me? My process is dominated by composition.
My background in photography comes from years of landscape & nature work with my grandpa. With this kind of work, your two biggest tools are lighting and composition. There are no faces to add interest.. or bodies to contort.. or shallow depth of field to give that “professional” blur.
It’s you, your camera, and the same scene that everyone else can take on their iPhone. But how you compose the image & what lighting you use is what makes you stand out.
So when I walk into a space as a wedding photographer, I still gravitate toward those founding elements of composition and lighting. For me, I’m looking at where can I place my subject (that’s you!) that will allow the environment to enhance the photo, not distract from it.
So what does this all mean in practice?
When taking this photo of Kyley and Sam, I saw this shaded porch. The light was soft and even, so I knew they’d look gooood. I guided them to stand together in this corner due to the lines leading from each side of the railing and angling up toward them in the center. I also saw the lines of the railing + the lines of the window panes leading to that same focal point.
I could’ve asked Kyley and Sam to stand next to flowers or next to an open field. But then your eye would’ve scanned around the image at the background. I could’ve asked them to stand to the left or the right of the corner, but your eye would’ve still be drawn to that edge. But here, everything in the image leads your eye right back to their giggles.
And that, to me, makes my heart sing.
