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 4000 photographers. Here are our favorites from the latest selection. Congratulations to the winners! (See Round 2 results here.)
1. Colin Coleman (Winner)
“The shot of Kendall and Jake was shot at the Gables of Chadds Ford. Shot with a d750 and 35 1.4 @ f/3.2, iso 100 and 1/4000 sec. I’m basically behind a super shitty fence when a lot of light was hitting the other side. It’s funny because this part of the venue is basically the place where they don’t want you to see what’s back there – the couple is standing in front of an air conditioning unit and some other random junk. I’m including a BTS shot in case that helps.”
2. Curtis Moore
“As soon as I saw this stairwell, I visualized a line leading from left to right and the couple inside. We tried a few other variations with the couple in natural light but I wanted something more dramatic and unique so I went for a hotspot. I put a flash behind the couple and viola! ”
3. Sean LeBlanc
“How I shot it: Susanne (the bride) had booked us an hour for wedding portraits at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. The Gallery offered incredible architecture coupled with striking light coming in through the glass ceiling. As we were climbing the stairs to the second floor, I noticed an interesting aluminum wall along with some light and shadows that created an interesting pattern. I asked Susanne to lean against the wall and angle her shoulders to offer a flattering pose. Then I brought her hand up towards her shoulder to complete the portrait. I had Susanne move around to perfect the shadow fall off on her body and create natural beautiful light on her face. Also, I was careful to make sure the pattern line of the aluminum wall didn’t fall behind her head. Finally, I used a smaller aperture to keep the unique detail of the aluminum wall in focus.”
EXIF: Nikon D750 with a 35mm F1.4 lens shot at ISO 200, F5.6 and 1/1000 sec
Links:
Website: http://www.seanleblancphotography.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanleblancphotography/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seanleblancphotography/
4. Arno de Bruijn
“This photo was taken in a car park and the ceiling is highlighted with a MagBeam Wide + Gobo & Blue color gel. The couple silhouette rim was created with an extra Speedlite (Full Power – wide).”
EXIF Date: Canon 1dX II + 24-70 F2.8 II | Settings; F13.0 – 1/250 sec. – 250 ISO
5. Jurgis Rikveilis
“This is shot on Sony A7 with a soviet lens, “MIR 1B” 37mm f2.8 + tilt adapter. Shot wide open tilted to max, ISO100, shutter 1/2500.
After getting ready in their own apartment we had a small shoot indoors. They told me they wanted a shot from the outside standing on their balcony. As this building is on a pretty busy street with trolley buses, traffic lights, road signs etc.I thought this will be a perfect moment to try the crazy vintage lens with tilt adapter just to mask out all the electric wires and give accent to the second floor. Instead of waiting for people to pass, I waited for them to enter the frame. When the girl on bike approached I knew I had to get the shot with her. Thanks to A7’s flip screen, this is super enjoyable!”
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/ieskaties/
https://www.facebook.com/ieskaties/
6. Nelson Santos
“I shoot so many times at this church that sometimes I struggle to deliver something different. This time I decided to get inside the small confession room and try something I never tried before. I used a constant light behind the couple just to add a kiss of light. Shot with Sony A7r sony 28mm 2.0 1/80sec F2.2 ISO400.”
7. Nathan Desch
“I had taken the couple our for some sunset shots, and when we were just about finished, I noticed a giant oak tree that was wide enough to create a silhouette. I set up a mini light stand behind the couple with a gridded speedlight. I shot with front curtain sync and twisted the camera as I pressed the shutter.”
EXIF data for the shot- Nikon D750 + 24-70 2.8. @24mm Iso 1250 f/5 1/8th.
8. Matthew Rycraft
“The flash is on a stand behind the couple hidden about 1.5 meters away at 1/64 power with a wide spread to try and light the balcony grills, they carried it up after telling them where to position it. I’m stood on the stage miles away! The flash is on manual, which I’m on mostly, especially when the bride has a veil as its easy to blow the veil highlights, I’ve got totally control this way, and I need to be quick. I’ve centered the B&G as much as possible between the architecture behind then and the chandelier above. With a room like this, it was an obvious choice to me to go as wide as I needed to capture the ambiance and architectural glory of this room. I’ve underexposed the image by half a stop, exposed for the chandelier to start as this was the brightest part of the room, then added the flash on a relatively lower power. The remaining highlight were always going to be needed dodging in photoshop later.”
Exif: D4, ISO 2000 / 24mm / 24-70mm Nikon Lens, F4, 1/200 Sec.
9. Colin Coleman
The shot of Emily and Derek was shot with a d750 and 58 1.4 @ f/2.5, iso 100, 1/200 sec. I was inside of a fountain in October for this shot. The big bokeh is water hitting my lens and the little bokeh is water going away. There is a key light to their left in a soft box, a rim behind the couple to the right with a magmod grid and yellow gel hitting them and the water. There was a 3rd light with blue but that actually didn’t fire for this shot. Happy accidents.
10. LuRey Photography
“This image was shot through a hanging light bulb in a storefront on the Boston Sea Port. This is a reflection of the couple in the bulb. The couple was lit with one gridded speedlight. F4 ISO100 1/200th.”
What’s your favorite second shot? Share it in the comments below!
