As photographer, we often think our job is to take the best picture of you... Which can mean lighting... it can be a pose... it can be at a location that matters to you... what really is the best picture of you? More importantly what is a great couple's photoshoot for you... of you?
I guess it kind of depends what we consider the best picture of us is... sure it can make you look slim, it can be great lighting... but I feel most photographers miss one really important thing... we miss the person in front of us...
Standard "Good Picture of you"
I've come to realize, I can study different "catalog" poses, make you look perfect for the JC Penny picture of your family... but is that really the best picture of you? I mean do you look like yourself? Or do you look like you're posing in a 1980s Mervyn's catalog? I prefer something more for a great couple's photoshoot...
Candid Great Picture of you as a couple
Over the years learning about people has led me to my best images... Learning what really makes that person gleam their most authentic and true selves. There is a gleam each of us has in us. We shine that when our passions come out and my goal as a photographer is to capture that you.
Artistic Moment Created and Captured -A great couples photo
When we can capture that gleam of compassion, of light from you and light you properly... Than we have a pure piece of you and we caught you being yourself and having fun... creating a piece of art where we might capture your love in some unique way. Where art might meet that moment of compassion... and we can freeze it... Create an artistic capture of your love... Every once in a while we find that special shot that says so much during a great couple's photoshoot.
When I do a portrait shoot I try and give you those shots of you for your "dresser Mervyns' catalog" but also those shots for your wall. A shot that makes you want to show it off... A moment where we show your love in an artistic piece.
A great Couple's Photoshot of your love
I want you to have shots of your artistic love, I want you to have the "perfect light and pose smile", and I want you to have that shot of you being you and showing your authentic self. Great shots of a couple, mean finding that moment where they describe their love of each other and capturing that look.
A good portrait shoot should have a little of everything. We should see that special smile you have for only one another. It should have that purest you... it should have that "perfect pose and lighting..." It should also have those few epic artistic shots that you can hang on the wall. When I do a photo shoot, I want you to get a bit of everything... and more importantly I want you to be captured as you... That's how I see a great couple's photoshoot.
I think every photographer has their own lighting, their own style, but I do think a lot of us photographers forget, the photo isn't about us.. it's about you guys... and unless we are willing to spend some time building a relationship and getting to know you... we can't really be taking photos of you... can we?
Detail's about the Shoot
This was a couple's shoot I did in Felicita Park in Escondido, CA. This was a 2 outfit shoot where I took some pictures of this beautiful couple. As per my calling card I got some artistic silhouette shots. Candid fun shots, and after finding that moment capturing a little bit of that gleam as they looked into each other's eyes.
I used flash(Flashpoint Evolv/Godox AD200) with a 9 by 36 strip light box for some shots and didn't for others. I shot all my shots with the Tamron 28-75mm F 2.8 on a Sony A7iii.
They were a ton of fun the shoot was about 2 hrs and produced about 137 images... some very similar but I often might include 5 or 6 because to me that is a collection I think the couple will find their favorite with minor differences.
Shooting at Felicita Park
Felicita Park is a beautiful Park. It's 53 acres with all sorts of different things you can use to shoot. They have a small creek, a bridge, nice landscape with rocks, trees fallen over, trails, which gives you tons of variety to help you capture a nice outdoor area.
Costs $3.00 for parking. Kind of annoying but it's not like that's a whole lot and it gives you a clean beautiful park.
If you are looking for a wide variety of outdoors and nature shots in a park, I highly recommend Felicita Park for your photoshoot.