"Maybe, Maybe Not"

"Maybe, Maybe Not"
© David A. Ziser

This photograph has fascinated me since I first captured it earlier this year.  This image was created during a fantastic half day shoot during my David Cross workshop.  Our bride was an outstanding subject and the camera does seem to love her.

What I loved most about that day’s shoot, was the wide variety of backgrounds that we had to work with.  I’ve blogged many images from that session but this one, I believe, is still one of the most intriguing.

It's not your typical wedding portrait – it seems a bit darker and foreboding.  Granted, I did a little tone control with Lightroom 3 but, still I love how the dark tones make the subject project even more from the scene.

I think the bride’s a atypical pose, her downward expression, the dark, heavy stones all combined add a heavy feeling to this image.

Let's explore the image just for a minute.  Compositionally I have a nice C-line running through the brides pose.  I also like her dead centered positioning between the stone walkway.

Lighting was simple – just my strobe through my Zumbrella coming in from camera left. The light sculpted the bride beautifully and captured the detail of the bridal gown as well.  Since she's looking down, I thought it would be interesting to add a brighter highlight to the sidewalk  below her to which she seems to be looking.

All-in-all I love this image as a portrait study rather than a simple bridal image.  As I continue to explore this image and as I continue to enjoy it -  I’m really enjoying the mystery of this photograph.

Camera specs:Canon 7D fitted with 18–200mm IS lens at 100mm, F5 .6 at 1/200th of a second, ISO 200. Enjoy!– David