Reimagined Portrait Art – You likely don’t need to take a close look to see that these two images look very different. You may need to look closer to see that it is the same bride and groom. What if I told you they were photographed on the same day, at the same time of day in the same location. How can they look so different?
It’s simply a difference in the technical skill used to create these images.
If you look very closely at the image on the left, you will see that the sky and the wedding dress is over exposed. You can not see any of the fantastic lace detail on that gown or see that it is actually a perfect summer’s day with fluffy white clouds in the sky. The subject’s faces are actually in shadow as the sun is up and behind them.
This means that the sky/dress are actually a brighter exposure than the bride/groom.
Look at the richness in colors in the right image, look at the detail in the dress, the sky, suit and their faces. In the left image, can you see clearly their faces or the lace that bride chose to wear for her groom? You can’t.
Why? Because they are overexposed! They are blown out! A white sky in a portrait is a sign that the photographer did not control or balance the exposure.
A white wedding dress with no detail means also that the photographer did not control the exposure.
In order to create the image on the right, I have to balance the difference of exposure between the ambient light from the sun/sky with the subject’s faces that are actually in shadow. I either have to take away light from the sun or add light to bring the exposure on them up.
When clients first see my portraits, many asked if this was a “photoshopped”!
This is not a photoshop trick – the secret is in the details, changing the sky in photoshop would still have left the dress overexposed with no details! The colors and richness that you see in the grass, the canola, the clothing and the flowers would still be washed out like the left image if I had just replaced the sky!
Balancing the exposure takes considerable knowledge of gear, light and exposure, as well as some math to get the job done! I would much rather get the colors, exposure and details correct in my camera than spend time in photoshop fixing poor exposure control!
For this reason, I carry a lot of fire power on location so I can compete with the sun! The next time you hire a photographer, look carefully at their portfolios. Look at the dress and the sky in their work!
Balancing light takes a lot of experience, training and gear!
If the vast majority of their images are overexposed, or they say their favorite time to photograph is on cloudy days (on cloudy days there are no dark shadows so the exposure is closer together and easier to expose), well now you know why!
At Reimagined, I have fire power to ensure every detail of your day is recorded and not forgotten!
Thank you for considering Reimagined Portrait Art to photograph your next milestone on your journey.
