Behind the Frame Monday: Simplicity

When photographing details of the wedding day there are so many different approaches one can take and so many fun ways to style them, but sometimes simplicity is simply the best.  I loved this beautiful bride’s Amsale gown inspired by a ballerina and my favorite detail was these gorgeous buttons and I knew I had to get a detail shot of them.  The venue had so many beautiful spots to pose her in front of, being an art museum, but I wanted a very simple frame that would let the buttons speak for themselves and be the center of attention in the image.  I wanted it to be a little darker and moodier and very shallow focus so it would feel painterly and reminiscent of a Degas, who famously painted ballerinas.  I placed the bride in front of a marble column with 3/4 of the frame having the white marble and the other 1/4 becoming dark where the light dropped off, creating a beautiful dark grey contrast in the image.  I had her turn her head just the slightest bit so I could see her pearl earring and focused at F2 on the top buttons, which made everything else in the image blur into delicious bokeh.  There was very low light so I told her to hold still and took a deep breath and shot handheld at either 1/30 or 1/15, which also gives it a softer quality.  It’s an extremely simple image, but one of my favorite ever wedding photos.