What is important for me in a love story photoshoot?
I do love taking pictures of people. Special people with their unique emotions, mindset and outlook on life. I don’t see the point in staged photos, since these photos will not say anything special about the couple I am photographing. Thus, I am more interested in documenting real, not fictional emotions. In this way, the pictures will turn into a kind of memory diary, due to which, years later, the clients will be able to immerse themselves in the emotions and events of that captured day and re-live it once again.
Some key moments for photographers when shooting love story:
- There is an idea that the more optics you take with you, the better shots you will get. But this is only an illusion. Analyse your previous shots. You might notice that in addition to your favourite lens mounted on the camera, you only need one or two additional ones. Lighten your backpack as much as possible, remove all unnecessary gadgets from it. You will have to move a lot while shooting. And the light weight of the photographic equipment will allow you to shoot without worrying about your tired back.
- Try to build the filming process in such a way that the main interaction takes place within the couple. And not between you and the couple. Firstly, in this case the couple will not have to pose, and actually it scares many clients. Secondly, it will give you the freedom to find the best moment and capture it.
What’s the message?
Overall, I would say that the meaning and main value of love story photoshoot for me is to capture the real, candid emotions of a couple while they’re interacting with each other.
If you shoot mostly fictional staged stories, then the pictures partly lose their value for the photographed couple as well, since they capture the emotions imposed by the photographer. I believe that the photographer should step aside a little and let the story happen, by trying to remain discreet and unobtrusive for the couple. The most that I can do is turning the guys around towards the light. Or shifting their activity to some specific background. All other initiatives should mostly come from the couple itself. It should be their story, and their dynamics to capture it in a sincere way. The main thing is that the people radiate happiness, love, energy. This is what makes a photoshoot good in the first place.
