by Leigh
Night photography has always scared me….even more than standing this close to a flame and lighter fluid! So when someone contacted me about photographing his marriage proposal (starting to get nervous) and then tells me that it's at night (now REALLY nervous!) I had my reservations. I was about to turn it down when I decided I needed this push outside my comfort zone. He told me about his proposal and some of the ways he figured out to provide some light sources for me. My 50mm 1.4 would have been my fastest lens, but I really needed a lens that I could use wide and zoom in a bit closer as I needed to be in the background not up in their face. So I chose my 28-70mm. My plan was to set up with my tripod and stay in one place since I knew I would have to crank up my ISO. I wanted to avoid any extra variables that would cause more noise in the photos.
When I arrived he walked me through his plan. He has cleared a pathway through a wooded area. At the start there were logs that had been made into Swedish flames which he had learned about in his boy scout days. A pathway had been lit from above with warm white lights creating a welcoming, intimate space. The path opened to a larger clearing with two adirondak chairs, a fire pit, more lights strung from above and a bottle of champagne. He had thought of everything down to the last detail. And as prepared as I thought I was….I quickly realized that my plan to stay stationary and shoot from a tripod was not going to work. I was just going to have to wing it. I'm realizing that winging it usually serves me better than trying to carefully plan and account for everything.
The moment was so beautiful and I felt so honored to be a part of it. Once she arrived I didn't have time to be nervous. My instincts kicked in and I knew what to do. I just had to trust myself and my camera. All my well thought out plans were thrown out the window as I realized that spontaneity is my friend. My creativity comes through much brighter when I let myself be present in the moment and just go with my gut. And what do you know….I took some photos at night and I like them. And more importantly….she said yes!
10 comments:
What amazing photos (and a great lesson about being prepared, but trusting your gut)! They will treasure your images forever :-)
Thank you Lisa!
So beautiful :-)
Oh wow - that is the scariest assignment ever! I would have chickened out! But looky at you - nary a blur or a halo - these pictures are great. And, being the old romantic that I am, let me just say "Awwwww! - What a nice way to propose!"
Good job Leigh!
What a special moment and captured so beautifully! So glad you didn't back out because these will be such a treasure for this couple. Lesson learned: sometimes all the planning in the world has to go out the window and you have to just be in the moment. Great night photography, my friend!
OH.MY.GOSH. Leigh...these are just incredible. I can imagine how nerve-wracking this must have been, but you captured the moment so perfectly!
Wow .... 1) How romantic is he !!!!! Wow!!!! 2) You done good!!! Great shots.
diane @ thoughts and shots
Wonderful. Simply wonderful and soooo romantic. And you were invited to be a fly on the wall. How fun! I think that perhaps we do our best work under pressure, when we trust ourselves and the culmination of what we've learned in the course of pursuing our passion for photography. Great work, Leigh! I'm so proud of you.
What a fun proposal, what fun to be able to be the one to capture if for them - they turned out great! While I love to try new things and techniques, I would have been just a wee bit nervous too. And I have to say that if shooting football from the sidelines has taught me anything, that's to be prepared...for anything. It's just when someone else is expecting a certain outcome, I don't tend to trust myself.
But inquiring minds want to know....how did you take them so she didn't see you or hear the camera?
Oh this was just delightful, they will definitely cherish this moment with your photos forever....and how romantic is this guy??!! Wow!
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