As usual during my pre wedding photoshoot I will took a bridal portraits session following an outdoor shoots. I love this scene so much cause having a personal portraits for my bride is really essentials for her and another thing that we can get is my groom is able to take a rest for little while. On this day I’m right in the middle of the ocean and the sun shining so hard so sometimes I need to close my eyes cause it really painful for me and even my wife get her skin burn just within an hour.
I’m staying in a 5 star luxury resort called Lux* South Ari Atoll, it stands in a 2 km long island with great hospitality and facilities than surely you are able to see the baby shark feeding at 5pm, don’t miss it!
My couple today is coming from downtown Hong Kong and we just met each other on this blog and asking me to shoot on their pre wedding just within 2 months before the day. I already told her on the skype meeting for except having a couple shots as a usual pre wedding or engagement I also gonna have a groom and bridal portraits session, it can be outdoors or even indoors so we gonna see directly on the site.
So after this I’m gonna describe what kind of gears that I use and how to make this portraits session happen and blown my couple mind away.
Gears That I Use
I found a spot to make this bridal portraits session by accident, before taking a photoshoot and while my wife having her hair do job I always sightseeing around the location, hotels, or resorts but before asking my groom to take a rest and bring the bride for portraits session I entering their bathroom for washing my face and see beautiful bath tub with wooden frame window at the background.
Than finally I decide to make a bridal portraits session for my beautiful bride on the bathroom, so simple!
Today I shoot with Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm f2.8 L series lens, and holding an LED continues lighting on the left hand, by the way I shoot on RAW mode cause I’m in a low light area which surely need a photo retouching and increasing the level or brightness.
Off course you can use any kind of DSLR camera or mirrorless like what other photographer use right now but the point is you have to know and set where the lights will coming from and surely pose your bride beautifully.
How to Execute This Simple Bridal Portraits Session
Having a bridal portraits session inside the bathroom means I don’t have any much space for sure, when you stay in Lux* than we got plenty or nice bathroom with a front foyer usually for sink, towel, holder, and a big mirror but when you walk in than you gonna see big bathtub and some other part there is a closet standing by.
What I did on this session is asking my bride to sit on the bathtub and posing as natural as I said and to help you know in more detail about this portraits session than I’m gonna guide you with step by step work. Before it I will let you know to see the diagram of shooting that I use on this session:
POSING DIRECTION
- At the first time I asking my bride to come into the bathroom and sit on the white giant bathtub right in front of the wooden frame background
- I asking her to put her right hand on the left tight and put the left hand on the edge of the bathtub
- Next step is asking her to turn her head on the left side, a bit of chin low, and bring a little beautiful smile while closing her eyes
SHOOTING GUIDANCE
I’m in super narrow space so there is only 1,2 meter away between me and my bride and this is what I did:
- I sit on the bottom of the bathtub and checking the perspective, angle, and focus on my DSLR
- Once I get nice exposure and angle than I put my Canon 5D Mark III right in the edge of the bathtub
- Within a few seconds I took up to 4 images on this scene just to make sure that I got the best one for my bride
Now see the before image below,
Here you can see how narrow the space cause on this bridal portraits session I’m sitting in the same bathtub with my bride. There is two water pipe that showing on the pictures cause I put and hold my DSLR camera right on the edge of the bathtub…definitely must hold it cause can’t use any tripod there.
Now you can see the result below,
Voila….and this memorable image is coming! One great bridal portraits session taken in Lux* South Ari Atoll, a great resort that always make want to come back again and again, right inside the bathroom! simple space that you must find in every hotel that you stay.
How to Retouch Bridal Portraits Session Photo with Photoshop
I shoot in RAW mode and retouching my photographs by using Photoshop so often. Love this software so much cause I can select part that I want to enhance precisely and details. I try to retouch this bridal portraits with natural and elegant style so if you want to know how I retouch this photo than these few steps below will guide you as well:
- Open my RAW files using Canon Photo Software than put a little enhancement on it than convert it on Photoshop
- Set 5 essentials part such as the exposure, brightness, contrast, highlights, and saturation
- Do partial selection for face, hair, and skin colour
- Next partial selection for bridal, and
- Finishing all this photo retouching by enhancing and put some photo filter for background (wooden frame) and surrounding
I used to spend within 15 to 20 minutes to retouch a single photo like this and generally I serve 40 images for my regular photo collection. If you want to know how to retouch bridal portraits photo like me than you can learn more in my Photoshop Action. By Having that Photoshop Action than you will learn step by step of retouching photos and partial selection that will make your photo looks stunning and amazing.
I hope you got an inspiration for having a bridal portraits session for your own couple in the next future!
