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Brides Reflection in the Mirror Scenario

Lesson 6 from: Strategies for Shooting in Difficult Situations

Susan Stripling

Brides Reflection in the Mirror Scenario

Lesson 6 from: Strategies for Shooting in Difficult Situations

Susan Stripling

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Lesson Info

6. Brides Reflection in the Mirror Scenario

Lesson Info

Brides Reflection in the Mirror Scenario

00:00:02.78 --> 00:00:05. So now let's step into a slightly different scenario 00:00:05.43 --> 00:00:09. same room this is the same room the window over here 00:00:09.35 --> 00:00:13. where the dress was is hanging is where I was sitting 00:00:13.38 --> 00:00:15. to shoot the picture of the ring that we just looked 00:00:15.56 --> 00:00:19. at we've moved on through the day we've had the dress 00:00:19.35 --> 00:00:21. hanging in it that's my friend tim a videographer 00:00:21.28 --> 00:00:23. he's kind of cool we shot the dress hanging in that 00:00:23.63 --> 00:00:25. window is really pretty then it was time for the bride 00:00:25.93 --> 00:00:29. to put her veil on and get ready so if you look at 00:00:29.49 --> 00:00:31. where tim the videographer is standing right there 00:00:31.93 --> 00:00:34. take the dress out of the window put a bride in it 00:00:34.88 --> 00:00:38. and put the bride in tim's location facing the window 00:00:39.78 --> 00:00:43. keep an eye on this mirror righ...

t here you have this 00:00:44.43 --> 00:00:47. the bride is directly facing into that window I'm 00:00:47.79 --> 00:00:50. shooting right next to that mirror so that I get the 00:00:50.82 --> 00:00:54. bride and I get her reflection in the mirror well 00:00:54.36 --> 00:00:58. how did you do that? Eighty five millimeter now I'm 00:00:58.28 --> 00:01:01. telling my auto eso at eighty five millimeters I'm 00:01:01.04 --> 00:01:03. comfortable shooting at one hundred sixty eighth of 00:01:03.29 --> 00:01:06. a second anything slower than a hundred sixtieth of 00:01:06.12 --> 00:01:08. a second at eighty five I might start to see blur 00:01:08.98 --> 00:01:11. as my client start moving around I'm not going to 00:01:11.19 --> 00:01:13. shake the camera at one hundred twenty fifth of a 00:01:13.53 --> 00:01:15. second but if a client start kind of booking it through 00:01:15.88 --> 00:01:20. a scene they might be a little bit fuzzy f one eight 00:01:20.4 --> 00:01:23. I broke my own only shoot it at one for rule I s o 00:01:23.78 --> 00:01:26. five sixty because my camera's adjusting the I s o 00:01:26.73 --> 00:01:31. for me aperture priority ah ha ha ha exposure compensation 00:01:31.46 --> 00:01:32. minus two 00:01:33.73 --> 00:01:36. now yes you can shoot this manually and dial in your 00:01:36.92 --> 00:01:39. settings exactly where you want it there's nothing 00:01:39.07 --> 00:01:41. wrong with that and I don't shoot aperture priority 00:01:41.63 --> 00:01:44. because I don't know how to shoot manual I d'oh to 00:01:44.4 --> 00:01:47. me what the way my brain works when I see a scene 00:01:47.03 --> 00:01:49. like this is okay my camera meter's going to look 00:01:49.95 --> 00:01:53. at this it's going to see all of this darkness here 00:01:53.78 --> 00:01:55. and it doesn't like it to be that dark it doesn't 00:01:55.95 --> 00:01:58. want me to have a history ram where the blacks go 00:01:58.2 --> 00:02:00. way up on one end it wants it to go really dearly dearly do like a little bell curve but that's not the way I use light I use bright bright light and dark dark shadow my history rams often look like you instead instead of a bell curve simply because of how I use the light so what it's gonna do is it's going to say ok I have got to make this back here not that dark so if you trust your camera meter it's going to bring all of this up to a proper exposure then what's gonna happen to your bride's face it's going to be two stops blown out so basically what I'm telling my camera is listen take what you think is the right exposure and bring it down to stops then I've got what I want that's just how my own brain gets there maybe you take a meter reading off of her cheek and exposed that way maybe you dial in the exact correct settings on manual maybe you walk up and pop a light meter in front of her cheek and go that way there's twenty different ways to get to this picture this is just how I do it eighty five millimeter one hundred sixty eighth of a second one eight I s o five sixty because my auto idea so is working for me aperture priority because I'm working with natural light exposure compensation dialed down minus two to combat that really bright light I now have a correct exposure on her face and because I've exposed correctly for her face the background darkens down right in tandem with it sort of makes sense you're nodding nobody's falling asleep for left yet so should be doing pretty good same room same scenario how the bride is facing the light here here's my window right here her dad came in to see her for the first time she talking to her dad talking to her mom and they're just talking like I didn't step in and interrupt a moment or anything like that I just sort of gently scooted mom in over here, she'd been talking to her dad, and her mom was standing like on this other side, and I was like, hey, do you mind just going around on to the other side? The light from the window is 00:04:01.388 --> 00:04:04. coming through, bypassing the bride and it's, illuminating 00:04:04.83 --> 00:04:08. dad space and it's also putting really beautiful light 00:04:08.04 --> 00:04:11. on mom stays. The bride's face is dark for me, that's. 00:04:11.43 --> 00:04:15. Fine, because to me, the story here is about her dad 00:04:15.25 --> 00:04:17. and about her mom. Not so much about her.

Ratings and Reviews

user 1c7bd6
 

Wow! Fabulous course! Ditto with the above reviews! Thank you, Susan, for giving us such helpful information for shooting weddings in such challenging situations. You have such a brilliant and quick mind for making the magic happen! The camera settings by each photograph was so very helpful. Since I didn't write anything down I shall be in search of your books. Susan's class is a must for anyone considering a career in Wedding Photography. Thank you Suan and Creative Live!

Kat Penniman
 

As the description says: MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING! Spot on! Thank you Susan for sharing what you know and helping me become a more creative photographer despite less-than-perfect scenarios. As photographers, oftentimes, we find ourselves placed in a position where we are expected to create beautiful photos in the midst of difficult situations like low light scenes or crappy background. Her explanations are very clear and she definitely knows her craft. She cares about her clients and she's determined to give them great pictures despite what's thrown at her. If you are a strobist or use flash in most of your work, this course is not for you. But if you a natural light photographer and sometimes struggles to take photos indoor where light source is very challenging, take this course! You won't regret it!

Jessica Lindsay-Sonkin
 

Susan is amazing. This class is a pile of case studies, with behind the scenes and camera settings, to help you find the light. There are parts that can be repetitive, but that is because Susan is passionate about helping photographers memorize this message and put it into practice. A worthwhile watch!

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