Kiss in the Rain

Elida was in panic mode the day before her wedding, rain was forecast. Even though we knew rain was considered very lucky, she desperately wanted me to create images outside the historic chapel in Lewisville (Special Moments). I suggested that we can get a great shot in 60 seconds under an umbrella. "I'm headed to Target right now!" she answered. After the wedding we stepped outside and I quickly shot off several shots. The resulting images were of course flat because of the rainy day light. But a few minutes at the computer help make stunning images.

This was shot under an umbrella (me) at ISO 800, 28mm at f3.2 at 1/100th of a second.
In LightRoom I boosted my fill light to 60, recovered highlights at +66, and increased my blacks to 12.
Brightness was adjusted to my liking...about +17 with contrast at +48.
Then with my adjustment brush, I increased the intensity of the clouds, her gown, and his pinstripe suit. (Up close and personal -you can really see streaks of rain across his suit...cool looking! It's going to look great as a 20x30 in the den!) I went to hue and greens to make the grass more lush. A different brush setting made the wet gravel look cool.

One great aspect I didn't expect, was that in changing the look of the image, the doors of the chapel suddenly had new life. Compare how they look before and after. It's subtle, but it tells the story. It really looks like they just left the chapel! In the first image... It's just not there. In the second...wow!

Coppell Wedding Photography

Dana and Stephen were married just 20 minutes ago. The sun was down, but there was still a touch of light, and the courtyard had a few lamps. Dinner with family and friends were next. But wouldn't it be fun to stop for a few pics in the courtyard? It had been a wet day, and moisture still soaked the sandstone walls. A gorgeous opportunity to bring out the textures in the stone. And one last chance to get images while hearts still glowed from the vows. This is the toughest time to urge "Hurry! We're loosing light!" without sounding like you've gone from a quiet photographer to someone gone bananas.  

Recipe:

Shot at ISO 8000, 60mm, f7.1 at 1/60second, fill flash. After capture, I ran the image file through a noise reducer and boosted the exposure about 1/2 stop, and raised the fill light. I find the exposure is destructive, and prefer to add fill light in LightRoom when possible. I employed a small lens vertical correction to correct lens distortion on the church lines. Using the adjustment brush I added clarity and contrast while darkening the area everywhere but where the couple stood. I erased a cigarette butt from the cobblestones, and darkened the grounds to erase the evidence of the flash. I darkened - for clarity- her dress to bring out detail, while lightening his vest which had a design built in...plus darkened his hat, which has lightened up with a slightly grey tone. Added clarity and "black control" brought out the texture of the wet stone walls.