"Ready For The Party"

"Ready For The Party"
©David A. Ziser

I walked into this empty ballroom and was intrigued by the light patterns and shadows I saw being cast on the floor.  I thought there might be a photo-op with the lights, shadows, and architecture of the room. The challenge was to make my subject stand out from the busy background. By choosing to use a wide angle lens, and positioning the bride in the foreground, I knew I could make the bright windows appear smaller. I also wanted to use an exposure that would reveal the detail in the room - I really didn't care if I "blew out" the windows.  In fact, over-exposing the windows removed a lot of the exterior distractions that otherwise would have shown. I used my Quantum T5d through my Zumbrella at 1/4 power and approximately 10 feet away to illuminate my bride.  I positioned the bride between the two windows with her head positioned in front of the plain wall.  That eliminated distractions behind her head and let all the leading lines of the overall composition lead the viewers eye directly to her. Notice too the "bonus accent lighting" I pick up on the bride's right side.  The light from those windows in the room "rim" her out nicely.  Wait, there's more.  With her positioned in front of the windows, I even pick up a little back-lighting on her veil. The bottom line? Three light sources that result in a very beautiful portrait of my bride. Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 10-22mm wide angle lens at 13mm, F 6.3 @ 1/100 second, ISO 1600. Enjoy! David