A Dance on a Cliff

Today I am posting a picture taken yesterday at a wedding shoot in North Jutland with a beautiful couple daring to dance on a cliff near the Mårup Church. In the background you can see the edge of the cliff falling into the ocean and forming a pleasing diagonal, ending with the Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse. The picture was taken at the end of the shoot when I asked the couple just to relax and dance little bit, signaling that the shoot is over. Then they suddenly kissed and I clicked at the right moment, capturing great emotions. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 135mm, F4.5 @ 1/500, ISO 200.

Gentle Touch

Today's image is one of my favorite ones. I think the composition is interesting but what sells the image for me is the nice gentle pose of the bride and the connection between the couple. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 145mm, F5 @ 1/250, ISO 160.

A Kiss of Love

Here comes a photo from one of my favorite weddings where I was lucky to photography this beautiful couple. This image was taken in the natural light only and it is a simple, moment capturing photograph with a nice contrast between the green and blue with the kissing couple positioned in the golden cut. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 200mm, F4.5 @ 1/500, ISO 100. 

Under the Blue Sky

Here is another wedding couple kissing under the blue sky. I like the image because of the little bit provoking composition where the couple and the bridge are placed far beyond the lower third of the frame with lots of negative blue space at the top. The eye is quickly attracted to the bridge and the couple due to the light contrast of the white wood and thanks to the multiple leading lines pointing towards the bridge. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L IS at 24mm, F11 @ 1/250, ISO 100.

Colored Harmony

Let me now return to some of the weddings I photographed recently.  Today's image is one of my favorites portraits of this young couple. The posing is easy and relaxed, photographed in natural light only with nice background full of beautiful colors and the colored leaves nicely framing the couple. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 150mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 320. 

Empty Corridor

Today I am posting another photo from my recent trip to Tallinn. It is from the university building. I liked the large and spacious corridor with no people and took some photos on my iPhone. Then I though that having a single person would add to the emptiness of the space. I composed the frame so that the converging lines meet in the upper right part of the frame and waited for some to pass in spot where the lines meet. Luckily, after a few minutes the lady on the photo was walking exactly where I wished her to and her framing in the inner frame of the light door opening is another bonus to the photo. After that I used some effects available in Snapseed and the whole image was edited solely on the iPhone. Camera spec: iPhone 4S at 4.28mm (corresponds to 35mm on full frame), F2.4 @ 1/20, ISO 100.

Happy Sunset

Today I am posting some of my recent photos of this happy girl. I chose to expose for the sun, turning the rest of the background into silhouettes. The off-camera light on my subject is coming from left and it is a remotely fired Canon Speedlite 580EX with Lumiquest Softbox III. I like the colors, composition and in particular the expression of the girl. Enjoy! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 120mm, F4 @ 1/200, ISO 160.

Hold me Tight

This is one of the engagement shots I did this autumn. The photo was taken with natural light only and the backlight separated the couple nicely from the green background. Compositionally, I placed the couple off center to create a dynamic portrait showing the nice background too. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L at 105mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 400.

Galaxy Casino

I am sitting right now at Hong Kong airport, getting ready for my flight to Amsterdam, and browsing through the photos I took at Macao. Couple of days ago I visited the newest Galaxy Casino in Macao (or rather Taipa) opened just a couple of months ago. The entrance is impressive and I especially like the background of the entrance to the casino. I was lucky enough and in just a few minutes four girls arrived to pose for me, and I didn't hesitate I took this photo. The colors are great but it is interesting also compositionally as it is symmetric both vertically and horizonally with nice reflections of the background on the floor (being polished every 30 minutes). I just wished I had a wedding couple at this great location ... Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 17-40 4L at 19mm, F5.0 @ 1/50, ISO 2500.

Bride in Red

I am travelling these days, visiting the city of Macau. Couple of days ago I was at a famous place of St. Paul's Ruins where a wedding photography is taking a place almost constantly. I saw this beautiful bride and while the photographer was getting ready for the next shot, I smiled at her and she kindly allowed me (with her eyes) to take a photo. I really like the colors of the background and her dress, the negative space in the image and her soft expression. What I pity I didn't get her email to send her this photograph ... Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 4L at 200mm, F4 @ 1/320, ISO 2500.

Framed in Colors

On every wedding I photograph I always try to pull out a great "official" portrait. This happens typically in the church where I can use my off-camera speedlite 580EX II on a stand with shoot-through umbrella, irrelevant of the weather conditions outside (very important when living in Denmark). Today's post is an example of such a couple portrait where I used the off-camera flash just to the right of the frame and on-camera flash as a fill. I really like the nice colored background with the flowers in a matching color. In order to emphasize the symmetry, I was very careful the place the couple exactly in the center. I think it worked very well this time. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L at 47mm, F5.6 @ 1/125, ISO 500.

Wedding Bouquet

As promised, let me post more engagement and wedding photos I took recently. Today, I begin with a photo of a wedding bouquet I photographed several days ago at a wedding here in Aalborg. I always try to photograph the bouquet in a different way so that all of my couples get something special and original. This time I noticed a wall with autumn-colored leaves and I quickly found a nice spot for the bouquet. I shot at 200mm in order to get the leaves out of focus completely blurred and placed the bouquet according to the rules of third. I was quite happy about the result. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 L IS II at 200mm, F 5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 500.

Lost in a Cornfield

Today I am presenting another photo from the wedding I shot last weekend. It was really hard to choose one as there were many worth sharing but at the end I chose this image in the cornfield. Even though the couple is small, they are the first thing an eye gets attracted to. The couple is positioned according to the rule of thirds with many lines pointing to them (some of the lines are only suggested in the cord field and in the clouds) and I thing it works quite well. I used my on-camera flash for a fill. First of all, I could shoot at 1/250 even though my camera can synchronize only up to 1/200 but using the Pocket wizard MiniTT1 allowed be shoot little bit faster. I also zoomed in the flash little bit and pointed it to the couple in order to avoid blasting off the corn close to the camera and adding more strength to the flash. The rest was fixed in Lightroom. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L IS at 24mm, F8 @ 1/250, ISO 50.

Just Married

A few days after returning from my holidays I was very glad to photograph the couple from the engagement photo I posted last time. Both the bride and the groom were gorgeous, the weather was perfect and we got taken many nice photos. The one I am posting today simply popped out when I was browsing through the portrait images. I like its simplicity and the relaxed expression of the couple. Lighting was achieved by an off-camera flash 580EX through a translucent umbrella held by an assistant and fire using the new pocket wizards with the zone controller that is great to manually set the flash power remotely. Compositionally, I placed the couple to the right upper corner in order allow for the empty space to the left adding to the mood of the photo. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 155mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 100.

Pull her Down

The wedding season is starting here in Denmark and a few days ago I shot my first engagement session this year. I had a beautiful couple to work with and we were even lucky to get a sunny and a relatively warm day. When scouting the locations, I found this older building with nice yellow walls with a dominant corner. I though it could be fun to separate the couple by this corner. To increase the dynamics, I placed the corner edge to about 1/3 from the left. Then I asked the couple to connect their hands and look at each other. The final point was to get the right expression, so a simple request "pull her down" took care of the rest. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 155mm, F5.0 @ 1/160, ISO 320.

Playing on the Beach

Today I continue with another photo from the engagement shoot. This time I simply asked the couple to walk on the beach and make some fun with each other. It is often quite relaxing for the couple as they can have some time together without thinking too much about me and my camera. This image is also a good exercise on the basic composition rules of thirds. The horizon line is precisely in the upper one third of the image and the couple is positioned in the intersection of the right vertical and horizontal third. It is also important that the couple is moving into the image and not out of it. All together, I like the photo a lot. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 25-105 4L at 24mm, F13 @ 1/160, ISO 100.

A Kiss in the Sand

The winter has been lasting little bit too long here in Denmark, so I think it is the right time to remind some of the summer days that are hopefully coming again very soon. Today I have chosen one of my favorite photos from last year. It was an engagement shoot on a hot sunny day at a nice beach at Blokhus and I like how the couple relaxed and forgot completely about me being at the place too. I composed the photo in the way that the foreground shows pieces of grass which adds to the depth of the photo and provides a natural framing of the image. I also preferred the final photo in sepia with an extra vignette. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L at 45mm, F9 @ 1/400, ISO 100.

Color Depth

Another image from the yesterday's wedding fashion show. This time it is not a bride but a "guest" with a very nice social dress. I chose this photo because I like the colors in the scene. The blue background and the warm tones on the model and her dress really add to the depth of field as human eye expects to see warmer colors closer and colder colors further away. I tilted the photo slightly so that the lines at the background are not vertical and the photo has more dynamics. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II at 115mm, F3.2 @ 1/250, ISO 1600.

Winter Lines

Today we were downtown in Aalborg and I took this portrait. Not that many days ago I was walking through this place and saw the lines of trees without any leafs. I immediately knew what kind of image I want to take here, so today I made it. I love the leading lines, all pointing towards my subject and the shallow depth of field. Also the colors, though not that typical for winter, are very harmonic. Even though I had my off-camera flash equipment with me, I didn't need it. This is a pure natural light portrait. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 200mm, F2.8 @ 1/200, ISO 100.

Quick Family Portrait

We were having a family celebration this Monday where I took a portrait of the young family featured in today's post. I like to be challenged by the environment that I don't know beforehand. It is a good practice in finding good backgrounds and angles. Normally, I would not place the family at the exact center but thanks to the simplicity of the scene and a dominant decoration at the top of the frame, I think it works very well in this particular image. The almost shadowless lighting was achieved by bouncing the on-camera flash backwards against the ceiling. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L USM at 32mm, F4 @ 1/125, ISO 800.