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Westley Jerdon's picture

Staircase Bridal Portrait

So this bridal shoot was something that I randomly put together in about 5 days notice and felt it turned out pretty good. I partnered with several vendors and stylists within a very short amount of time. to make this happen.

I approached this shot with the idea that I wanted to take many of the different workshops I have attended for the various styles of photography and blend it into my own photo.

I attended a Clay Cook Masterclass Workshop a while back and a big thing he taught me was to slow down your shutter speed and mix the ambient with some off camera flash. The model was shot at around 1/10 shutter speed. Between the wide angle, model being VERY still and the flash, I wasn't worried about sharpness. I used an AlienBee800 camera right and about 8 feet up with a big Photek Softlighter II lighting her. I also had a speed light upstairs with a grid to help light her hair, shoulder and bouquet.

Using Mike Kelley's Architectural photography techniques to light the stairs, I took several shots at various shutter speeds to catch the ambient and some VERY gentle flashes on certain shadowed areas. All blended together with layer masks at various opacities to make it look more natural. Keeping my camera on my trusted Manfrotto tripod along with the ability to fully control my camera with the help of my CamRanger, really made this shot possible.

Hope you guys like it! :-)

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