I met with Jon and Brooke in Carlsbad at Agua Hedionda. This cute couple wanted to do a shoot for their anniversary. We scoped out the lagoon and found lots of interesting landscape to create some beautiful backdrops. I brought the Canon 6D, Sigma 50mm f/2.8 (my favorite portrait lens in the arsenal), and a UV filter for this incredibly bright and sunny day.
This adorable couple were naturals in front of the camera, working well together and obliging to a few modeling cues from me. I snapped tons of natural candids of them.
For post-processing, I tend to work with a combination of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. I start with Lightroom, making color corrections. When the colors are where I want them, I move into Photoshop, where I do the majority of my small retouches.
With this shoot, I experimented with a variety of Lightroom Presets. On the series above, I used Jeff Smallwood's "Portraits Backlit by Sunlight" preset, which according to Jeff's website, "adds warmth and glow, softens the skin, slight noise reduction, and a medium vignette." In line with Jeff's note, I found that the temperature of the photos could be too warm with the preset's default settings, so I made some minor adjustments to cool down the overly warm photos. I fancy that the photos look a bit dreamy with this preset.
I am a complete sucker for high-definition macro photos. I relish the small details that the human eye normally overlooks. Hand-holding, a public display of affection that accepts love and receives it. A gesture that is reserved for people you love, care for, and look after. In this photo, I amped up the details with the "F-stop Spot's Grunge Preset for Urban Portraits". I love the high-contrast, HDR-look that this preset adds, focusing on the details of the skin, the nails, and fingertips.
Brooke and Jon climbed down onto the rocks near the water, providing an area where we could get a lot more portraits in filtered light. With the post-processing here, I was able to use a lot more flexibility, opting towards presets with lighter colors in some, brighter colors in others, and dark colors in the rest. You can see how a change in the colors completely changes the mood of the photo from creamy romantic, to colorful fun, then dark and moody, and black and white classic.
In the photo above, I used the "Matte Color Cream Wash", available here. This preset adds a creamy, warm, film-like texture to your photos.
This photo is utilizing the Digital Photo Buzz's Color Pop, which is part of Digital Photo Buzz's favorite Lightroom Presets. I like the skin tones, sky color, and water color here. It reminds me of a tropical vacation.
The photo above utilizes my first preset: Wanderlust Black & White Portrait. It can be downloaded for free. This works best on naturally well-lit portraits, where a high contrast is wanted, producing a "pop" effect for the subject faces. If you find it too dark, adjust the exposure or highlights a bit to your liking. If you try it, comment below and feel free to share your photos!
This might be one of my favorite photos from the session. First of all, there is so much attitude in Brooke's and Jon's faces. So much fierceness. I love it. To match the rawness of the photo, I used the Digital Photo Buzz preset, "Fashion Deep Blue", which ampd up the contrast, gave the water a beautiful stormy color, and those rocks some pretty texture.
When shooting, keep in mind what look you are going for. Then, in post, use your presets (or post-processing settings of your own) to amplify the look of your photos. Check out other photographer's work. You'll often find that many photographers have a favorite preset - this is a signature look that sets their photos apart from other photographers. Experiment and see what works for you!
Thanks Jon and Brooke for choosing Wanderlust to take your couples photos! xoxo
