"Hooked On You"

"Hooked On You"
© David A. Ziser

Rich colors, deep textures – that’s mostly what I see in this image.  Lighting is natural light coming in from camera right.  The couple was sitting in a small covered porch area of the home in which we were working.  The lighting was beautifully directional as would be the case in this situation.  I asked Hope to come in from behind and slightly over Ben’s shoulder.  I also wanted their heads slightly overlapping.  Once I had the pose all I needed to do then was turn my subjects’ heads to the light slightly to get the flattering lighting on their faces.

I didn’t care that Ben is split lit – I think it works well with his direct expression  back into the camera.  For Hope though, I wanted her face turned even more to the light.  I wanted to open up the shadows on the right side of her face.  Turning her face a bit more to the light did just that.

The non-smiling expressions, their position in the frame, and the direct look back into the camera makes for a strong portrait.  Add to that the strong primary colors of their clothes against the rich desert colored textured stone wall and we’ve got an exciting visual experience captured in this portrait image.

Camera specs:  Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 50mm, F5.6 @ 1/160 second, ISO 800.  Enjoy!  -David