Emi and Mike's Wedding: An Old College Friend and a Day in Direct Sun
Photographing Emi's wedding after years apart, and the Lightroom adjustments I used to soften the bright highlights in her and Mike's photographs.
Emi and I became friends during our undergraduate Critical Reading and Writing class. We got along very quickly. By the time her wedding came around, we hadn't seen each other in years, so being asked to photograph her and Mike felt especially personal.
There is something very moving about seeing an old friend again on her wedding day. I was catching up with someone I remembered from college while also being trusted to make the photographs she and Mike would keep. I was genuinely touched that she chose me.
Working with direct sunlight
A lot of this wedding took place in direct sun. That light creates a noticeable difference between the brightest parts of a photograph and the areas in shadow. It was something I paid close attention to when I brought the images into Lightroom.
I turned down the Highlights and Whites sliders to make the contrast between those areas less dramatic. Highlights let me work on the brighter tones, while Whites helped me control the brightest end of the image. I adjusted them by looking at each photograph, with particular attention to how the light looked on the couple.
The aim was to keep the sunny feeling of the day while making the brighter areas easier to look at. Pulling those controls down helped soften the difference between light and shadow. It also gave me a more comfortable starting point for judging the rest of the edit.
Looking through the gallery
The garden photographs give the day so much color. Emi and Mike are surrounded by flowers in the bench portrait, and the fountain photographs bring the frame in closer around the two of them. I like having both in the gallery because each gives them a different view of where they spent their wedding day.
Editing these photographs gave me more time with a day that already meant a great deal to me. I could work through the practical questions of light and contrast while seeing a friend I had known years ago looking so happy with her husband.
I'm grateful to Emi and Mike for asking me to be there. Getting to see Emi again was special in itself. Being chosen to photograph their wedding made that reunion even more meaningful.
More wedding photographs are in my wedding portfolio.