Phewww! It feels good to have the new site up and running! Sure, there are still a few things to tidy up here and there, but I suppose there always will be. Speaking of, did you take the new site tour?

Now that most of that is taken care of, I can get back to my real passion – creating images!

I currently have a few batches in the cooker that are just waiting to be served up. So, here we go… back to work.

As I was skimming through my images from Rachel‘s wedding in Norcross, Georgia, I came across the photo below. It’s certainly worth highlighting.

I’d like to claim that all of my photographs are strokes of genius. However, the reality is that sometimes I get lucky. Such is the case in this portrait.

Let’s talk specifics about this image: Why I like it and how a bit of luck was involved.

As I said, the photo above was made at a recent wedding I photographed. It’s a shot of a groomsman getting ready in a small bathroom. When I say small, I mean that 2 guys struggle to dress at the same time. Add me, camera gear, and lighting and we were really getting cozy.

Small, dimly lit rooms are challenging even for pro photographers. There’s rarely adequate, and certainly not quality, lighting in these window-less caves.

When a room is too dark you are forced to use flash. We all know that. But in most cases, a flash pointed straight at someone looks 2-dimensional, dull, and unflattering. It often creates photos that draw attention to the light rather than the subject. Not good!

How luck became a factor in this capture:

Wedding photography is fast paced and you often only get one attempt at capturing a moment that occurs in a split second. There’s a lot of responsibility and pressure, which I hope the bride never sees on my face.

Side note: A good wedding photographer is expensive. I was shocked when I first saw the package prices. I even considered the less expensive, family-friend photographer option. Years later, I’m SO glad we went with a real, experienced professional. Because one day, my wife and I will share those photos with our grandkids!

Everything at a wedding seems to happen at once. As I’m scurrying around trying to capture Rachel (the bride) in one room and the groom in another, I see a groomsman camped out in front of the mirror. Sure. it’s not a must-have photo for the bride and groom, but I saw it as a moment.

In 60 seconds, I recreated the pose, setup an off-camera light (in a dark room), framed the shot, and fired!

I never even checked my camera’s display to see if I had the proper exposure. I didn’t have time! The bride was waiting!

The image turned out great!

• It’s lit well without feeling overly “flashed”.
• The eyes, lips, and then the hand, are great focal points.
• The suspenders even run parallel with the photo frames in the background.
• There’s accent lighting on the hair.

A 60 second portrait… and everything worked! Now you see how I got lucky!

Check out the rest of Rachel’s Bridal Portraits. Her Wedding Photography will be posted soon.