THE STORY: You get strange looks when you leave a party and then end up coming back. That's what happened at this wedding that I recently photographed on Cape Cod. I said my goodbyes to the Bride and Groom, packed up my gear, and headed out to my car. It was a warm and perfect summer night in June. As I was walking, I saw what was originally a pretty little tree in a courtyard for our earlier photographs had now transformed into a tree aglow with a million tiny sparkles. It was romantic, gorgeous and screaming to be photographed. I only hesitated for a second before I turned back to propose my idea to my couple. When I arrived back at the tail end of the wedding, the couple seemed confused. "Did you forget something?" they questioned. All I could say was "There's an amazing shot outside with a beautifully lit tree, can I kidnap you? Ten minutes, tops! Are you game?" I gotta tell you, I absolutely love this couple! They are super cool, and up for almost anything. Without missing a beat, the Bride smacked her hands together, shot me an adventurous look, and said "OK! Let's do it!" Well, the image speaks for itself. It didn't take much direction to have this beautiful couple look like they were having a very romantic moment under a beautifully lit tree under the stars on the Cape in June.
THE IMAGE: The title of this award winning image image is "More Romantic than Candlelight". This image received the Award of Excellence at the Connecticut Professional Photographers Annual Print Competition.
TECH TALK: I used the tree as the main light source, making sure to not have the groom block the bride with his body to put her into shadow. The shutter was left open for a little longer than usual (a technique known as dragging the shutter) to allow for the light from the rest of the scene to bleed through. Created with a Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens.
