Sunrise on the Bluffs

Sunrise on the Bluffs - A Follow-Along

When I book a pre-wedding or post-wedding portrait session, my goal is to work with the client in establishing the expectations of the shoot. I want to know the type of environment they would like to have the shoot in. Do they want an in-studio session? Do they want mountain tops? Fields and valleys? Beaches? Cities and skyscrapers? Once we have narrowed down the locations, I will pre-scout several options and present them to the client. With each option, I will describe the pros and cons, the lighting situation, possible weather issues, and travel expenses. Then we will start to draw inspiration from my work or other photographers and begin to build a shot list of expected portraits.

Even with all of that pre-planning and forethought, rarely does an on-location shoot go according to plan. Especially when the location is in an outdoor location, random weather conditions can really make it difficult to fully meet expectations. Sometimes a client will show me inspiration of images only in full sun, or vice versa. The light in a scene can dramatically alter the entire vibe or feeling you get in the final images. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous on shoot days when finding out that the weather took a turn. But you do your best and plan down to the finest detail, being prepared for plan B, if plan A fails.

With this sunrise session on the bluffs of the Washington coastline, I had prepared for the best and worst case scenarios. I wanted sunlight and clear skies. The bluffs had some stunning views of the cliffs and the beaches far below. The angle of the sun was highly planned, to give us the best results for those sunrise shots. We showed up that morning and had thick fog everywhere. There was zero chance we would even see a peek of direct sunlight for the entire shoot. It was disappointing, but instead of letting the change of weather and visibility affect me and my shooting, I dove headlong into creating a story shift on the fly. I embraced the moody light and the moist air.

After all was said and done, this sunrise session ended up with some amazing portraits. Eventually a magazine publication would reach out to me and ask if they could publish it in print. If I had let the disappointment kill my motivation and creativity, or if I had not shifted my shoot from plan A to plan B, I’m sure this shoot would not have turned out nearly as good as it did.

With this session, follow along with me and learn:

• How I planned out my location and light scenarios.
• How I scouted the model, and worked with a stylist to pull together an outfit that would fit the theme.
• How I shifted my plans in the moment to play into the dense morning fog.
• How I metered my film in the flat and dull light.
• How I utilized my gear to get the various images, helping to build the story of this session.
• How I used a macro filter on both my film camera and digital camera to get those intriguing and romantic closeup crops.
• How I worked in motion into some of my shots, adding in a dynamic element.
• How I directed the subject to get the shots I envisioned.