Behind-the-Scenes » In-Camera and Post-Processing

The two biggest things that influenced my interest in photography over ten years ago are 1) lighting, and 2) the challenge of creating art in-camera, as opposed to using Photoshop. However, because of my graphic design background, I realize that it’s also important to be able to use these kinds of post-processing skills when necessary, in order to be able to deliver a stronger finished image to my clients. Here’s a little look behind the scenes of Mel + Sofia’s wedding portraits in the Metairie Cemetery. You’ll see what was accomplished in-camera, and what was changed afterwords!

This first image is an example of a finished image that is almost completely straight out-of-camera. Sofia suggested we do something on the stairs, because she was really drawn to the stained glass windows. I started by under-exposing my camera settings to bring out the color of the stained glass. Then I lit the couple by asking my lighting assistant (my sweet husband) to hold my speedlight at the top of the stairwell, pointing down directly at out couple. It was gelled at 25% orange, to warm them up a little bit. I also used a grid to really focus the beam of light directly on their faces, without spilling all over the stairs. The amazing reflection is bouncing off a large glass picture frame hanging on the wall. Perfection!

The final image (on the right) only has a few minor adjustments from the RAW file straight out-of-camera (on the left). Besides a little fine-tuning to color, contrast, depth of blacks, and vignetting, I also decided to clone out a distracting night-light on the baseboard.

This image is an example of fixing a major distracting element in the background. I lit the inside of the large white tomb with one speedlight. It’s out-of-frame, on a light stand, behind me. I used a white MagMog dome diffuser to soften the light. The light became even more diffuse by bouncing off the white walls and ceiling inside the tomb, which is what helped to create the soft, flattering light on their faces.

I was so engrossed in the moment while taking these photos that I didn’t even notice that big grey plastic panel. Once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop looking at it. It’s really distracting! Not to worry. It was actually an easy fix. I made a copy of one of the marble slabs on the right-hand side of the image, reflected it, and distorted its shape until it fit perfectly into the space needed. Then, using a layer mask, I blended the two layers together pretty seamlessly. I repeated this for each photo taken inside this tomb, and it only took a total of about four minutes per photo. I think the end result is so much better!

Lastly, this image inside a different tomb is an example of creating a fun warm/cool lighting scenario, but also creating more work for myself, because I accidentally left my speedlight visible in the background. Oops! I started by under-exposing my camera settings to make the tomb darker and spookier than it was in bright afternoon sunlight. Once it was dark, I lit the inside of the tomb with two speedlights. Again, I asked my lighting assistant (my hubs) to hold my speedlight. He’s holding the main light, out-of-frame, camera-left, high in the air. It’s gelled 75% orange to make them really warm. I also used a grid to keep the orange light just on them. The second speedlight is obviously in the frame, on the right-hand side, sitting on a ledge. It’s gelled blue, and also has a grid. You can see the grid contains the light it’s giving off into a fairly tight beam, but that colored light bounces around inside the tomb behind our subjects, and is responsible for giving the whole tomb that eerie cool blue color.

I tried to keep the flash hidden behind Sofia’s witch hat, but as I was moving quickly to capture their great facial expressions, I let it slip into the shot for a few frames. But no worries, this was also a simple fix. I just used the clone stamp tool to clone some marble over the speedlight. You can see that I left the beam of light on the marble to echo the naturally occurring beams of light on the opposite side, coming in from the window.

There you have three behind-the-scenes examples of combining in-camera lighting techniques with some simple post-processing touch-ups. I hope you enjoyed taking a look! If you’d like to see more of this, please let me know.

Behind-the-Scenes » In-Camera and Post-Processing

© copyright 2009-2023 Dani Benton Photography | Japan | All Rights Reserved | Previously Dani Mouser | Previously Located in Oregon, Louisiana, Mexico