Wedding Great Hall at Maines

Images can sometimes evolve of their own accord. To be honest, I find that they tend to do so when I’m pressured. And believe me, I was certainly under pressure here.

This was a wedding at the wonderful Great Hall at Mains. A wedding venue steeped in history with fabulous attentive staff. This image was basically a snatched opportunity when the bride was on her way to the ceremony, with a brief pause to speak to the registrars. As we passed through the room, the sun poured through the window and bathed the whole room in a warm glow. I asked Caroline to face the window and I pressed myself against the opposing wall to gain as much distance as possible. Even with a 24mm focal length, it was tight.

Of course, on my first test shot, Caroline mostly went to black, silhouetted by the incoming sunlight, and lost a little contrast too. I used an SB900 set to manual control, and set it to ¼ output, firing through a Fong dong.

That’s basically it.

Oh, and the pressure?

Caroline was late leaving her room, and just as I positioned her in the window, the registrars arrived, standing frame right. I had to get the image shot inside two minutes, as they were already talking to Caroline.

A bit of a sweaty moment.

Nikon D4 1/60th sec ISO400 24-70mm f2.8 @24mm

I provide training via Focal Point.