Back in May, we introduced you to The Art of the Second Shot with Easton Reynolds. The art of finding a second shot or angle/composition on the same subject challenges wedding photographers to see “beyond what is right in front of them.” Many of you submitted your best Second Shots on The Art of the Second Shot Facebook group, which consists of over 1700 photographers. Here are our favorites from the first round selection. Congratulations to the winners!
The winner was Damon Pijlman – Receptions are sometimes a little boring. What I do is keep shooting and try to find something creative. With some help with my second shooter, I went outside and was shooting through the glass with raindrops on the window glass. I tested out the new settings and when I was happy with my picture look, we asked the couple if they would stand more closely.
Nikon d750 35 F1.4 with a F 5.6 1/160s 800 iso flash behind 1/32th with Magmod orange filter (needed 90 shots).
Crystal Stokes – The image was all ambient light and backlit with a curtain made of twinkle lights.
Shot with my 85, D4, 2.0, 1/250, ISO 800
http://crystalstokesphotography.com
Adrienne Longo – Manny & Vanessa’s wedding was on a cold, rainy Friday in January 2016. Another event was happening at the venue, and the spaces to work with were extremely limited. I probably wasn’t supposed to, but I snuck upstairs (just outside the other event) and placed my couple leaning over the circular staircase so I could shoot up at them from below while catching the pattern against the dome ceiling. I got the shot. Eh, it was ok. It was un-natural and I could only see their heads. As I examined my surroundings, I found a couch behind me, which would allow them to get a little cozy together. We switched spots. I went upstairs and they went down to the floor level and snuggled up! Well, once I got up there, I was totally stoked! Looking down toward them, the stairs and wall structure made a shape that resembled a heart! At the very least, it was way more interesting and lead my eyes into the couple, which my previous image didn’t. I incorporated a speedlight and a Westcott Ice Light to make the staircase and couple pop! I’m really glad I went for something else in those few minutes, it’s the couple’s favorite picture!
Nikon D750, ISO 6400 f5, 1/60th with a nikon 16mm fish eye, Westcott Ice Light on the couple.
Joseph Gidjunis –From this angle, the Philadelphia Skyline is an iconic spot in the City of Brotherly Love because of it’s prominence in the Rocky films. On a typical Saturday in May, any couple is competing for space with other wedding couples, runners, tourists, Rocky enthusiasts, Art Museum visitors, and of course, athletes. I’ve shot this location before too many times to count, but it was too packed to get a clean shot this particular afternoon. So I embraced the crowd for the second shot, and there happened to be two young men practicing their boxing skills. When I asked them to move closer, at first, they figured I was pushing them away. But I insisted they come closer to Lova and Mike. Together, we created what I like to refer to as “Love and War.” I used one off camera flash with a MadMod sphere for fill light just outside frame left. I’m fortunate to have great couples who embrace my wacky ideas.
Canon 1DX, Canon 85mm at f2.5 1/1250 ISO 50
http://www.jpgphotography.com/
Brian Mark Bolante Love from Above. I always scout the room for cool places to mount a few OCFs. I noticed a white/sheer curtain was set up behind the officiant, so before the ceremony started I put OCF w/Magsphere behind it, just in case. With the ‘safe’ shot angles for the couple’s first kiss covered below by the primary shooter, I ran up a flight of stairs and found a spot where I could lean WAY over a railing to get this ‘Second Shot’ angle for this frame.
ISO 1600, f/6.3, 1/250s, 35mm
Nikon D4s, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art
email: info@bolantephotography.com
Matt Gruber – “I’ve had mixed success in the past with sparkler exits. This time I knew I had to do things differently if I wanted the best shot possible. I had an assistant hold my flash with a MagSphere attached, and he followed the couple the entire way, making sure they would be lit properly.”
Nikon D750, Sigma 35 1.4 Art @f3.2, iso 1600, 1/125 exposure. Nikon SB910 with Magmod Magsphere
Website: www.MattGruberPhoto.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattGruberPhotography/
Instagram: @MattGruberPhoto
Dave Shay -I imagined this image at the start of the session, but the light wasn’t right, so we rearranged the portraits a bit, shot elsewhere until the sun was in the right spot and then came back. This image was actually where the reception would later be, I killed the lights, quietly moved a few chairs and shot as many frames as I could. I switched lenses, moved vantage points, and tried adding lights, but this is the one that stuck with me despite being one of the earlier shots in the series.
D750 | Nikkor 24 1.4G – 1/160 F/5 ISO 800
Raleigh Wedding and Portrait Photographer www.daveshay.com (or www.myphotographerlovestacos.com) Instagram
Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter are @DaveShay
Josh Lynn – When I went outside to set this up I did a test image with a random couple.. (see attached) It was ok../but nothing crazy. The pillars, ceiling and flower pots were all distracting. By walking 90 degrees to my right, the new background was now the woods past the valet area. Essentially dark so the focus would all be on the couple now. Popular question is, “Why use a tripod for such a fast shutter speed?” It allows me to use a video light to illuminate them to focus. THEN remove the video light from the frame while not moving the camera and my focus is locked.
ISO: 800
Aperture: 5
Shutter: 1/200
OCF is set to 1/2 power
Equipment used:
Nikon D750
Nikon 24-70 2.8 Version 2
Flash – Shanny SN910EX on a Redwing lightstand
Modifiers – Magmod + blue Gel
Manfrotto Tripod
Black and white umbrella from Home Depot to keep me slightly dry…
Easton + Laura Reynolds – LuRey Photography Image with couple in the purple flowers (by Easton) I used the flowers to isolate the couple kissing. The surrounding area was tough to work with so I found this plant and adjusted my crop so you could only see the flowers and the couple. I also shot this at f8 so the flowers would be semi recognizable.
ISO100 f8 1/320th 24mm Sigma Art 1.4 Nikon d750.
Image of the couple running (by Laura) I wanted to capture the couple in a fun way that also captured their love for the beach in order to tell more of their story. Having them hold hands and run gave me the perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
ISO 100 f 3.5 1/800th 24mm Sigma Art 24mm f1.4 Nikon D750
www.facebook.com/LuReyPhotography
Instagram @lureyweddings
