Original subtitles

Fantastic.

Today's lesson we are going to be focusing

on how to shoot a tall and short

couple.

I actually have spoken, I actually kind of

made a reference to this on social media

and a girl corrected me and she had

said that they're not a tall short couple,

they're a high low couple.

And I was like, I agree.

So this lesson is changed from how to

shoot a short tall to how to shoot

a high low.

However you call it, this can sometimes be

a disconcerting aspect to what we do as

photographers.

Generally speaking, I don't really know if it's

a science, but people seem to be attracted

to people who maybe might be the same

height or there was a scientific study that

couples are naturally, people are more naturally attracted

to another person if they share the same

letter of the start of their first name.

Yeah, Jasmine J.D., boom, science.

No, but legitimately that was a study.

So I've been asked quite often, the blog

has become a mix.

My blog has become a mix of photography

resources, personal lifestyle posts, and sharing my photos.

And photographers will sometimes ask questions and I

can write about them.

Now people have asked, well, how do you

shoot a tall or short couple?

And I've kind of for over 9, 10

years have stayed away from that topic because

the last thing that I want any of

my prospective clients to think is that I

shoot a couple different based on their physical

appearance.

My brand has become I, what you come

to me is what you get.

And I hope that it stands the test

of time as what you come to me

is what you get.

If you're tall, short, black, brown, Haitian, Croatian,

Asian, if you have a checkbook and will

pay me, I will shoot you and you

will come out looking like a division of

my brand.

But recently I wanted to get into this

topic because I do know that it's a

pressure point for a lot of people.

So let's talk about what that looks like.

But before I get to that, this shoot

I want to just kind of lay the

groundwork.

We shot in Laguna Beach which is about

10 minutes from my home.

Brittany was 5 feet 2 inches.

Tony was 6 feet.

And it was an overcast day.

And the thing that I really want to

really focus on is that my goal is

not to make my clients the same height.

That is not the goal when I go

into a shoot of shooting clients of different

heights.

The focus is always to be on love.

It is not on physical appearance.

It is not on differences.

It is not on color.

It is on love.

So know that once I have those things,

the thing that I want is I don't,

what I'm showing today is not what a

traditional portfolio would exclusively look like.

I will have my portfolio reflect height differences

to dramatic degrees.

And then throughout the shoot I will also

mix so that what the client gets as

an end result reflects truly a mix of

how they are hopefully naturally.

Because the last thing I want to do

is to have a couple come to me

and then what they walk away with are

photos just of all the same height and

doesn't really reflect the type of photos that

they take naturally.

So I want to walk through what we're

going to be focusing on in this particular

session.

Now if you, by this point in a

previous lesson, you have seen me shoot the

Not Dream engagement session.

Taylor, I have it written down, Taylor was

6'4", 6'5", and Samantha is 5

'1".

So what you saw me do in that

shoot, which I was not articulating, was going

to be the same thing that I'm doing

in this shoot, but in this shoot I

will be articulating.

So you will be able to see the

pattern of what I do and then ultimately

you can see the galleries and compare.

You will see similarities and you will see

differences based on that height difference.

So the height difference between Tony and Brittany

was about 10 inches.

The height difference between Samantha and Taylor was

14 inches.

So we're going to see how I did

that.

Now especially considering that I am short.

I was going to try to think of

a clever name of saying it.

I'm fun-sized.

But when somebody is 6'4", 6'5",

it is a little intimidating to me because

I don't ever want to be shooting up

at him in such a distinct and strategic

way.

But what we're going to see that is

you're going to see how I've created patterns.

The patterns are going to unfold themselves as

we go through this video footage and then

hopefully at the end I'm going to give

you a cheat sheet of what I did

along the way.

So we're going to show the video right

about now.

Hello and welcome to Laguna Beach.

Today I'm very excited because we are going

to be having a photo shoot.

And it makes me a little bit nervous

too because the groom is almost 6 feet

tall and the bride is a little bit

on the petite side and she's standing at

5'2".

So I'm going to be talking about the

techniques that I would use an employee to

kind of minimize the 10-inch difference between

the couple.

So I'm going to be showing a few

of my favorite things to do, poses.

Now the thing to remember is that I'm

not going to shoot my couple too differently

than how I shoot any other couple because

they've seen my portfolio in the past and

they know what they want.

So I want to keep it as close

to the portfolio as possible but at the

same time kind of giving them a variety

of images.

I'm not going to shoot it in such

a way that I highlight the difference between

the height.

The couple knows how tall and short they

are.

If my goal was only ever to put

them on the same plane of focus on

the same height that they would think that's

not really us.

So my goal in this shoot would be

to shoot them just the way they are

but also at the same time add a

few twists and turns to kind of level

out their height in case they want that

option at a later point in time.

This is what I've done so far as

I arrived.

I'm waiting for the couple and I've arrived

to Laguna Beach and it's a little bit

overcast.

This is very normal for Orange County.

So the day started off really bright and

sunny and it kind of hit around 4

or 5 o'clock and the coastal fog

is kind of setting in.

So I know that my shoot time has

been minimized.

So I'm going to have to work faster

and more efficaciously and I'm going to talk

to you a little bit how I do

that.

I'm going to go in with a strategy.

I know where I'm going to start the

shoot.

I know where I'm going to end the

shoot.

I know I want to hit the shoot

right in the middle and then I'm just

going to have to fill in the gaps

from there.

So join me as I go along this

ride and thanks for being here.

So our amazing couple Tony and Brittany are

here.

It's a little bit cold so I'm going

to actually expedite the shoot to ensure that

they stay enjoying the shoot from beginning to

end.

Where I'm at right now is against this

rock like edifice.

If the sun was shining bright and totally

completely in the sky I would still start

them here.

I'm going to start the shoot the way

that I start every single shoot.

This is for me the best way.

I found the way that two bodies work

together just by starting the shoot and getting

them comfortable.

After that my plan is to have them

walk towards me to kind of create a

relaxed cadence and then what I'm going to

do is I'm going to lean Tony against

a rock so that I can use this

particular position to lower his body naturally and

then I'm going to bring Brittany in nice

and close and then we'll talk about shooting

wide open that.

So that's the first three things I'm going

to focus on and if this was an

actual shoot on a wedding day that's exactly

what I would do as well.

So here we go.

So I'm going to bring your bodies in

close to each other.

Now every single time for the rest of

the shoot.

Tony you're going to stick your feet in

underneath this dress.

Cool.

Now you're going to put your arms around

Brittany's waist.

Beautiful.

Because she's having, that's nice.

Beautiful.

Brittany I will take your bouquet.

I'm going to rest your bouquet right about

here.

You're going to want to get your left

arm and drape it over his shoulder.

How's that?

So this bouquet is a little bit heavy.

So right here it's competing with his head.

So what I want you to do is

you can still keep it there but we're

just going to tilt it down a tiny

bit.

That's gorgeous.

You're going to relax his arm.

You're going to put your hand here and

beautiful.

Great.

So I'm going to back up a tiny

bit.

Brittany can I have you get on your

tippy toes?

Attagirl.

Good.

Now you guys are going to be looking

at each other.

Gorgeous.

And this is how I start every single

shot.

I'm going to be shooting this at a

2.8, 200 ISO for a hundredth of

a second.

Once I get my settings right, this is

exactly where I want to be.

Can you guys bring your foreheads in nice

and close?

Gorgeous.

Beautiful.

A little bit closer.

Touch your foreheads.

That's gorgeous.

Beautiful.

Hang out there one second.

Beautiful.

Now Brittany, can you look?

Can you peel your heads away?

Brittany, look at me.

Relax that shoulder.

Turn your face a little bit towards me.

Chin towards me.

Attagirl.

Slight smile.

Take a deep breath.

Relax that right shoulder.

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Tony, can you lightly kiss your Brittany?

There we go.

Thanks for reading my mind.

That's gorgeous.

Beautiful.

Peel away from each other.

Take a deep breath.

Now Brittany, when he does that again, I

want you looking at the ground right in

front of you.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

I'm going to come in a little bit

closer.

I'm going to stand on a rock.

And by me just standing on a natural

edifice, I'm going to actually be at Tony's

height.

And by me getting at Tony's height, I

can shoot a little bit in an equal

-to-equal masculine perspective.

And Brittany will still be minimized.

You can come down on your feet.

Poor thing.

You're going to have the world's thickest calves.

That's amazing.

It's a workout.

Good.

Take a deep breath.

Same thing.

You guys are going to be looking at

each other.

And then Brittany, I'm going to be coaching

you into something.

But as I stepped in, let me check

my settings just once more.

Yeah, my light's great.

Or exactly where I want it.

Beautiful.

Now, tippy toes again, Britt.

There you go.

Beautiful.

Now, with your right hand, can you guide

Tony's face into yours under his chin?

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Good.

My fault.

My fault.

Oh, no, no.

None of the cute stuff yet.

Okay.

Sorry.

Relax the hand.

What you're going to do is you're going

to bring it up to his chin.

And then you're going to guide him in.

Beautiful.

But not yet.

So put your hand down in the crest

of his elbow.

Beautiful.

Take a deep breath.

I'll count you down.

I'm ready for you.

Hand to chin.

Gorgeous.

To forehead.

To forehead.

Oh, thank you.

Beautiful.

Awesome.

Great.

So now what I'm going to do is

I'm going to minimize the amount of time

that my bride actually has to walk.

Tony, I'm going to put your back here.

Great.

Now, Tony kind of came into like a

crest of the rock.

I actually want him at a peak of

the rock.

So I'm going to move him because if

he's at a crest, his body is going

to be sunken in, and I don't want

that.

Now, what I'm going to do is have

you widen your feet a tiny bit.

I'm having Tony widen his feet because from

my angle, I'm going to be cropping out

his feet.

And by a man widening his feet, it's

going to bring his height down.

By him widening his feet, he's going to

shorten himself.

I'm going to put Brittany into his waist,

and I'm going to shoot nice and tight.

And I'm just talking down to a rock

right now.

I don't know who I'm talking to.

So Brittany, come in this way.

I'm going to take your bouquet.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Come in nice and close.

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

I'm not going to be so concerned about

always highlighting the height difference.

What I really mostly just want to do

is to, yes, get their heights at their

natural levels, but at the same time, I

really just want to highlight both a natural

height, and then I'll have her stand on

her tippy toes as well for one.

My settings, because nothing is changing, my lighting

situation or scenario will still be the same.

I'm at a 2.84 hundredths of a

second, 200 ISO.

That is so stunning, darling.

Hang on.

I'm going to get on a rock to

give me a little bit more height.

Now what I'm going to do is I'm

going to have both of them looking at

each other.

Beautiful.

Now, Tony, can you look here?

Nice.

Good.

And Brittany, can you get on your tippy

toes?

Nice.

Now bring your torso into Tony's.

There you go.

Tony, can you look towards the beach houses?

Oh, that's it right there.

Oh, my.

Okay, Brittany, can you get up on your

toes and then lean up for a light

kiss on his cheek?

That a girl.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Good.

Let's see.

I don't want your face in competition with

the boutonniere, so see if you can get

in, come to his side a tiny bit.

No, no, no.

This way.

Yeah.

And then just, you don't have to get

on your toes.

Just bring your body in nice and close.

There you go.

That's beautiful.

Thanks.

Good.

Beautiful.

Can you guys both look at beach houses?

But I'm going to give you a specific

beach house.

The second gray one, I want you guys

just the same point, or you guys decide

between yourselves which house you're looking at.

Good.

Good.

Okay, beautiful.

Now what I'm going to have you guys

do is I'm going to pin you.

I'm going to bring your dress, and I'm

going to have you just back up towards

me.

Gorgeous.

Gorgeous.

You're going to turn out this way.

I'm sorry, towards beautiful.

I'm going to give this to you.

I'm going to pin you back again.

Tony, I'm going to get you to this

side of her.

You're going to be facing that direction.

Oh, no, that's good.

That was good, but no.

I love it.

Turn towards me.

You're going to put the bouquet in that

hand.

You guys are going to hold your hands

here.

Gorgeous.

Now I'm going to have you.

Can I have you unbutton your jacket?

And then you're going to put your ring

hand in your pocket, but just your four

fingers.

Yes, and so see how all the time

when I want your hand in your pocket,

see if you can have your coat just

like that.

Okay.

Awesome.

Beautiful.

Holding hands.

Beautiful.

Great.

And then, yeah.

And then, excuse me while I adjust this.

It's great.

Cool.

I'm going to be shooting this out of

F4.0 because of the height difference, and

they're going to be walking towards me.

I no longer afforded that latitude of shooting

it slightly wider open in an F2.0.

I have to compensate, and I will most

likely do that by way of my shutter

speed.

So my first guest is going to be,

yeah, 250th of a second, 200 ISO, F4

.0. So now what I want you to

do is actually, Tony, can you slip your

hands a little bit deeper in your pocket?

Yeah, good.

Now, Tony, can you bring your ankles a

tiny bit closer?

Good.

Now I want you to rest your weight

in one hip or the other one near

the hip.

There we go.

There we go.

Nice.

And I want you to do the same,

Brittany, just you relax into one hip.

Exactly.

That kind of like falling into it is

exactly what I want.

Beautiful.

So your eyes are going to be here,

no looking at each other.

Beautiful.

Now can you guys, you guys are hand

to hand.

Now I kind of want you just leaning

in lightly for a kiss.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

Now what I want you to do is,

Brittany, can you just bring your body in

closer and then just rest your head?

See, that's what short girls can do.

Good.

Now I don't want you to just be

like this.

So, Tony, can I have you widen your

legs a tiny bit?

Nice.

Distribute the weight a little bit more into

one hip.

There we go.

Now instead of this too much, come bring

it here.

Chin to me.

Atta girl.

Good.

Beautiful.

Tony, can I have you look out that

way towards the ocean?

Give me more of your profile.

There you go.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

And then, Brittany, look up at Tony.

Ah, beautiful.

Now what I want you guys to do

is walk towards me.

I understand there are rocks in front of

you.

You're going to take your time.

You're going to start with your left foot

at a cadence of one, two, three.

You're just looking at each other.

You're not worried about me.

I might call for you, Brittany.

I might call for you, Tony.

If in the case I call for Tony,

Brittany, I want you looking at Tony.

If I call for Brittany, Tony, I want

you looking at Brittany.

Cool.

I threw a lot at you.

Let's see.

Let's see how this goes.

Okay.

I'm going to change my f-stop to

a 2.8, because I'm not going to

have both of them looking at my camera.

So the idea of them, of both of

their eyes being in focus, is not as

important as, say, a classical portrait.

So I'm going to compensate again.

I dropped my f-stop to an f2

.8. My shutter speed is going to be

at 400.

I'm at 200 ISO.

And when I count you down in 3,

2, 1, I want you starting with your

left foot.

And hang on one sec.

You guys are doing amazing.

Thank you.

I was back there, and I was like,

I threw a lot at you.

And Tony just winked.

Like, I got this.

I was like, you do.

I trust you.

You do.

Okay.

Cool.

Okay.

Awesome.

I'm going to count you down in 3,

2, 1.

Left foot.

Eyes at each other.

Oh, Tony, I said you, I thought you

had it, homie.

I thought you had it.

Good.

At it, girl.

Good.

Good, good, good.

Eyes here, Brittany.

Ah, I threw Tony for a loop.

Okay.

Eyes here, Tony.

Dude, you talk a big game.

I'm sorry.

You talk a big game.

That was so freaking amazing, though.

That's exactly, exactly, exactly.

No, that's exactly what I want.

Okay.

I'm going to turn to the camera, and

I'm going to chat a little bit about

what just happened.

I probably would have my couples do that

one more time to ensure that I had

the photos that I wanted.

But in this case, because of my mad

trash-talking skills, Tony laughed in a way

that I really liked.

Like, he was laughing in, like, a real

Tony way, and I just met him.

And Brittany was laughing at Tony, which gave

her a big, big smile.

I'll take it, and we're going to be

moving on.

Now, yeah.

That's how it is all the time.

The girls are supposed to laugh at the

guy.

What I'm going to do now is traditionally,

this is like a hot spot for photographers

in Orange County.

But luckily, just due to the weather, which

is a win for us, we don't have

too many people out here on the rocks.

I'm going to take our bride and groom

out on the rocks.

I'm going to be shooting kind of like

a wide pano shot to give diversity to

the portfolio, as well as setting the scene.

So my bride is barefoot, so I'm not

going to have her go too far out.

I'm going to be conscious of what she

is wearing and how she's feeling.

But until then, we're going to walk out

here.

So what actually happened was we just moved

a few feet from where we were standing,

but I'm going to crop the photo in

such a way that it doesn't reveal that

we didn't walk too far away from the

original source of our shoot, but actually just

a few feet, which makes the clients comfortable,

but gives them diversity to their portfolio.

Where we are standing is on a rocky

area.

But what I think to my mind is

that rocks are a natural elevation source.

So I'm going to choose a rock that's

going to give my bride at minimum three

inches.

So I'm going to put my bride on

an area that I think might be a

tiny bit higher, because any height elevation will

definitely be beneficial.

But one thing that I notice is that

there's a little tiny crest along the rocks.

So I'm going to put the bride along

the crest.

So Brittany, I'm going to have you stand

here.

I'm going to bring...

You're going to face that way.

I'm going to have her dress float this

way because if wind picks it up, that

would be fantastic.

And yes, for photographers who are wondering if

my brides will stand in the water at

the ocean, the answer is yes.

And the answer is yes because I have

a portfolio that actually showcases this type of

thing.

Oh, you look so good.

Now what I'm going to do is I'm

going to put Tony a few steps behind

the bride at this given point in time.

So we're going to have you take a

few steps back because the farther Tony stands...

Right there, perfect.

The farther Tony stands, they're going to eventually

get the same height.

So Tony, I'm going to have you button

your top button.

This is a mix between a bridal portrait

in a way because the focus will definitely

be on the bride.

Now I'm a huge fan of shooting wide

open.

So in this particular situation, Tony being in

focus is important, but it's not imperative.

So I'm going to shoot very close to

my style, which is an f2.

I'm still going to be at ISO 200.

I always want to keep my ISO as

low as possible.

I'm moving a little bit slow because these

rocks are a little gnarly.

Okay.

I'm going to compensate my shutter speed.

I'm going to try it first.

That's brilliant, Brittany.

Good.

Tony, left hand in your pocket.

Yeah, nice.

Now, Britt, turn your left shoulder towards me.

Not that much.

Yes.

That's ultimately where I want the body, but

just relax it out now.

Good, good, good.

Bring the core in.

Beautiful.

Just give me a deep breath, and then

just relax it all.

Just shake it.

Just let it out.

Shake it off.

Good.

Already your body changed.

Beautiful.

I'm going to remind you to bring your

core in again, but I don't want you

overthinking it because it just doesn't look natural.

Ah, this right here.

Good.

My settings are at f2.0, a thousandth

of a second, 200 ISO.

My focal point is on the bride.

Beautiful.

Take a deep breath.

Pull back the shoulders.

Relax.

With your left hand, place it just slightly

against your thigh.

There we go.

Beautiful.

But give me a little slack in your

wrist.

A little slack.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful.

I want that wrist, but lower.

Ah, beautiful.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Let's see.

Tony, can I have you looking towards the

ocean?

Beautiful.

And Brittany, I want you turning back to

the ocean, but with your left shoulder.

I'm sorry.

This way, boo.

This way.

Sorry.

Good.

Look back at the ocean.

Atta girl.

Good.

I want you looking back, there we go,

at me.

Beautiful.

Now what's happening is that the elbow is

a little locked, so give me a kink

in the elbow.

Now what I want you to do is

start with your bouquet here, and you're going

to be facing this way.

You're going to be facing that rock, so

you're going to take a deep breath, and

you're going to, watch me for a sec,

take a deep breath, and you're just going

to lower that way.

So I'm going to give you one motion.

You're going to be, you're going to end

here.

You're starting here, you're ending here, and in

the process of you moving, the bouquet comes

to your side just so that it's not

locked.

I'm giving you a lot.

You just roll with it, and then we'll

fix it.

Good.

You are starting there, ending here.

I got it, boo.

You got this.

We're doing this.

We are doing this.

Beautiful.

And we're starting in three.

Left hand on your, there you go, boo.

Thank you.

One, two, and three.

Atta girl.

This time, I want you doing the same

thing, but this time, I got too much

of your profile and too much of your

white eye.

Bring your chin slightly here, and bring the

core in.

Right?

Here we go.

Three, two, and one.

Atta girl.

Atta girl.

Thank you.

Kink in the elbow, kink in the elbow.

Yeah.

There you go.

Heck yes.

Toni, can you come up from behind Brittany

so that your chest is in her back?

And you're going to get your feet underneath

her dress.

Okay.

Right now, I'm going to be shooting this

at an f3.2. I'm going to compensate

by way of my shutter speed.

I'm going to be shooting at 640th of

a second.

Actually, I'm going to make that 500th of

a second.

Cool.

So my settings right now are, I'm shooting

with the 35 millimeter.

I changed from the 50 millimeter to the

35 millimeter to get a wider shot and

set the environment.

I'm shooting it at f3.2, 500th of

a second, 200 ISO.

I will probably be shooting at 200 ISO

for as long as possible, probably for the

next 25 minutes, which then I'll bump it

up to 400.

This is just based on experience and the

style of which I like to shoot.

So right now, what I want you to

do is, we're not going to be really

looking at my camera because it's a really

wide shot.

So I just for now want to keep

your face nice and light.

Slight smile.

Beautiful.

Tony, you're going to calm down.

You're just going to kind of give her

a nice big bear hug in three, two,

and one.

Beautiful.

Eyes down at the bouquet.

Nice.

Good.

Tony, can you look out towards the ocean?

Nevermind.

Bring it back to me.

And then what I want you to do

is just to kind of squeeze in, like,

like you're kind of looking down a little

bit at her, but you're not, yes, that,

but not yet.

So we're going to peel away from that.

So this is what's happening.

I want to actually bring my clients to

the ending point.

I peel them back and then I work

them back way into it.

So the idea is show them what you

want, where you want them to end, peel

them away, then work them into it because

that's what's going to yield a really natural

pose and him coming from such a height

down to her height.

So here we go.

In three, two, and one.

Bear hug in.

Nice.

Nice.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

Hang out.

And because I shoot a lot with primes,

if I was using, like, a zoom, I

could just zoom out, but what I'm going

to do is I'm going to zoom out

with my feet.

I'm still going to keep the same lens.

I'm going to change my aperture to an

f4.

I'm going to back up a tiny bit.

I'm going to get up on a rock

so that I could be at slightly more

of the same height as they are.

Cool.

Now I'm just going to set more of

the scene.

So Ryan, forgive me, can I have you

back up?

Thanks, homie.

Good.

So because I changed my aperture, I'm going

to have to compensate by way of my

shutter speed.

Because I'm at more of a distance and

this is beautiful.

Great.

So I'm going to be shooting at an

f4.0, 250th of a second, 200 ISO.

We're going to do the same thing, guys.

So on the count of three, just kind

of come in for a nice bear hug.

In three, two, and one.

Beautiful.

Good.

Now what I want to do is I

want to create a little bit of movement,

but I know it's a tiny bit difficult

because of the rocks.

The good thing is is that my bride

is wearing shoes and she's comfortable walking across

the rocks, or that's what she told me.

So what I'm going to have you guys

do is simply just make a line from

here to here.

And what I want Tony to do, we're

going to try, just even kind of lead

you as if he's leading you away along

these rocks.

Now I want to be careful that the

dress doesn't snag.

So I'm going to take one step out

so I can lift your dress up instead

of dragging it across.

So hang out one second.

Okay.

I'm going to need a pedicure after this

shoot.

Can you take a couple steps out?

Oh, that's beautiful.

That is, okay.

We'll pause there.

Tony, can you take one step out that

way?

Boom.

Great.

So what we're about to do is we're

going to have the bride and groom walking

along the rocks, and that's going to be

great.

But I'm purposely having Tony to be a

few steps in front of his bride, and

it will accentuate the height difference, and I'm

okay with that height difference.

It is exactly what it is.

What I want to do is I'm going

to coach him to have him look back

to his bride as if he is genuinely

helping her out of the rocks.

All I'm doing is creating motion within the

portfolio so that it looks real and it

feels natural to the day.

So let's see.

Tony.

Exactly.

Just like that.

And as you walk through the rocks, it's

going to be natural to kind of feel

off-kilter.

That's fine.

Just go with it.

Just occasionally make sure that you're looking back

at Brittany and making sure she's okay, which

is, I'm sure, something you would just do

naturally.

Brittany, I want you bringing the shoulders back,

the core in, relaxing that bouquet.

You can't do anything wrong because you just

look so gorgeous.

I'm going to back up a tiny bit.

Now, one thing I want to point out

is just behind the bride and groom, there

are a bunch of people, some people wearing

bright tie-dye colors.

I'm going to crop in camera.

Instead of me shooting them directly into this

direction, just to save me time later, I'm

going to scoot over a tiny bit and

crop them out of the frame entirely.

I just would think of it as trying

to think of my post-processing far in

advance because I don't want to have to

deal with cropping people out of my frame

in Photoshop at a later point in time.

My focal point is on the bride, and

I will be rotating it to the groom

if necessary, but for right now, we're good.

I'm going to count you down in three,

two, one.

Take your time.

Casually walk.

Not a big deal.

In three, two, and one, we're walking.

Looking back at Brittany.

Good.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Now, Britt, walk to me.

Walk to me.

You're going to be leading him.

You take your time.

Take your time.

Relax your hands between you.

Nice.

Beautiful.

Eyes at each other.

You can't do this wrong.

Gorgeous.

Hand in your pocket, Tony.

Nice.

Beautiful.

Cool.

Before we leave this area, one thing I'm

going to point out is I want to

make sure and find something that's going to

give me more height than Tony, which is

difficult because on a good day, I stand

at 5'4".

He's close to 6'0", if not 6

'0", exactly.

So I'm going to try to find a

rock that gives me at minimum 6 to

8 inches, and that's what I found.

I'm going to find my rock or my

point of elevation, and then I'm going to

position Tony within that so that I can

shoot down on the couple.

I will have the bride get up on

her tippy-toes to level out what that

looks like, and we're just going to take

things from there.

This is my rock.

Okay.

So I'm going to stand on the rock

first.

I'm going to figure out my frame.

Cool.

Actually, let's just enjoy this moment real quick.

Distribute the weight unevenly, heavily.

There you go.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Give me the key.

You know what?

My arms are hyperextended.

I was going to notice.

No, it's fine.

It was fine.

I was like, I want to be that.

I'm just going to be more conscious of

it, but it's fine, and own it.

Own it, own it, own it.

It is not gross whatsoever.

I just get to see more of your

beautiful arm.

There you go.

Okay, good.

Good.

Nice.

Beautiful.

Nice.

That actually worked out really great.

Thankfully, you guys think I'm funny.

This is great.

Tony, I'm going to have you come in.

Brittany, you can pause for a second.

Tony, I'm going to have you come in.

Yes, please.

Come in.

Come in.

Come in.

Right about there.

Perfect.

Now that I've positioned Tony, the best part

of this situation, the amazing part, and again,

I just happen to be lucky, and this

is what I look for in a lot

of situations, is on the ground, there is

sand, but there's also a rock.

This is going to be great, because not

only did I get elevation, my bride will

get elevation, and these types of natural elevations

exist everywhere in nature at all times.

So, Brittany, I'm going to get your dress,

and what I'm going to do is I'm

going to have you stand as much as

possible on this one, and then I will

bring Tony into you.

Beautiful.

I know it's a little hard.

You're going to get a workout.

We're getting a workout.

Okay.

So, Tony, come on in.

Great.

So, the tide's coming up, so I need

to work fast, as fast as possible.

Now, Tony, I want you on the sand

as much as possible.

That's great.

Now, look at this.

I gave my beautiful bride some inches.

Some inches.

So, I'm going to shoot this at a

1.4. I'm going to focus on a

rotation of eyes.

This is lovely.

This is lovely.

Great.

So, I'm going, because I'm shooting at a

1.4, I want to get really close.

I want to make this a really intimate

photo, but I'm going to have to compensate

by way of my shutter speed.

I'm going to test it out right now.

This is pretty close to what I want.

I'm at 1,000th of a second, but

I'm going to change it to 800th, because

that's just the style I like to shoot,

just rather, rather bright.

Beautiful.

So, now what I want you to do

is to bring your hand on the inside

of his elbow.

It's like, yeah, that's great.

And then, Tony, can you have your hand

on her elbow?

But instead of cupping it to the side.

There we go.

Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice.

So, I'm going to adjust your dress.

Great.

So, I make adjustments all the time, just

like I cropped people out of the frame

last time.

I'm going to make adjustments so that I

don't have to do them later in post.

Can you bring your hand up to his,

yeah, right there.

Just relax your fingers.

Gorgeous.

Now, what I want you to do is

to bring your, bring your foreheads in, foreheads

in.

Brittany, can you drop your chin a tiny

bit?

There you go.

And actually, Brittany, I changed my mind.

Can you put your hand right down here?

Good.

I'm going to actually shoot this at 500th

of a second because I feel like I'm

losing light and then the minute they got

closer, okay, I'm going to go, here we

go.

My settings.

F1.4. 640th of a second.

200 ISO.

Take a deep breath for it.

Relax that right shoulder.

I just abbreviated your name.

It's all good.

It is all good.

Can you bring your foreheads nice and close?

Beautiful.

Good.

Beautiful.

Now, what I want you to do is

peel away from each other.

Or actually, Tony, were you about to kiss

her forehead?

I mean, because.

Good.

Beautiful.

Now, what I want you to do is

peel away from each other.

Brittany, can you look down here at my...

Are you okay?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I meant...

Excuse me.

My fault.

My fault.

Yes, your faces.

Totally my fault.

Totally my fault.

Okay, good, good, good.

Now, Brittany, can you look here down at

my hand?

Beautiful.

Now, I'm having too much of a neck

twist.

Just...

Atta girl.

Atta girl.

And Tony, you come in and you kiss

her wherever your lips land.

Beautiful.

And then Brittany, eyes here.

Heck yes.

Thank you.

Okay, we're moving.

We're in the second half of our shoot

and I've moved them away from the tide

pools and back onto the sandy area.

Now, my goal for this particular part of

the session is to have strategy.

Strategy would be three main points, what I

want them to do.

I'm going to have them walking towards me,

just enjoying it against the sandy area.

Then I'm going to have them simply just

get nice and close out looking at the

ocean.

It'll be a little bit more portrait-y

in nature and that's fine because mom and

grandma always want something.

The tide is coming up so I need

to work rather quickly but we're going to

adjust to it as we go and we're

going to end the shoot with a couple

sitting down.

A couple sitting down is kind of like

a little bit more intimate.

It will also be a great opportunity to

put them a little bit closer to equal

levels.

Now, starting this part of the session, I

positioned my couple standing next to each other

which would be fine and wonderful and great

except for the fact that these are certain

things to take into consideration.

I don't want to magnify Tony's height difference.

So here at the beach, there's a slight

incline and whenever I see a slight incline,

I see it as an opportunity to bring

the bride, elevate the bride up naturally.

So seeing where Tony and Brittany are right

now, he's on the upside of the incline

which is making him even taller.

He's probably about 6'2", 6'3", right

now.

I'm going to have Tony sit on the

opposite side of Brittany.

Brittany will now be standing taller and it's

going to lower Tony just naturally.

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Let's see.

JV, I'm sorry.

Can I get the 50?

Great.

So I'm going to have you guys just...

Tony, I actually want you holding the bouquet.

I know, I know.

There's a vision so we just go with

it.

Okay.

I got it.

Thanks.

Okay, cool.

So you guys are going to hold hands

and I understand that there are people in

the background for this frame and people in

the background that I cannot possibly crop out

in advance but it's all good.

I'll worry about that at a later point

in time.

I'm going to have the couple not be

looking at me.

I'm going to have them be looking at

each other.

So again, another opportunity for me to shoot

at a 2.8. It's a little bit

wider than like that traditional 4.0, 4

.5 aperture but I can still get away

with it because they're not going to be

looking at me.

As long as they're somewhat in focus and

on the same focal plane.

Right now, the height difference between them is

looking about 6 inches.

I'm going to push Tony a little bit

closer to the water shore which will shorten

him and elevate Brittany.

So Tony, step a little bit this way.

Great.

And beautiful.

Now, are you barefoot Brittany?

Good.

Can you pick up the side of your

dress?

Atta girl.

Beautiful.

And you guys are just going to be

looking at me.

I'm sorry, excuse me, at each other.

My settings right now are at F2.8,

2.5 of a second at 250 ISO.

I'm going to have you guys look at

me to begin.

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Now, you're going to start with your left

foot on the count of three walking nice

and slow, just looking at each other, enjoying.

When I call for you, you look at

me.

We know the drill, right?

Tony, wake at me Tony.

Wake up.

So in three, in two, in one, left.

Nice.

Slow.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Now, what I want you to do is

Brittany, pause Tony.

Brittany, Brittany, come out towards me.

Come out towards me.

Come out towards me.

Come out.

Attagirl.

Hold on.

Hold on tight.

Tony, don't let her go.

Try to get away from Tony.

In three, two, good.

Attagirl.

Oh, shoot.

Eyes back at Tony.

Eyes back at Tony.

Good.

Eyes back at me.

Eyes back at me.

Eyes down.

Eyes down.

Attagirl.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Beautiful.

So by me actually having Brittany drag Tony

from behind, again, we're elevating their height without

making too much of a drastic change.

So we have walking.

Oh, we're gonna have you guys just enjoy

this beautiful beach.

Okay, cool.

I'm gonna shoot this.

Can you guys bring your shoulders a little

closer?

Yeah, I'm too.

So I could shoot this with a 35,

but I actually don't like that distortion.

It doesn't distort too much on the 5D

Mark III, but instead of me changing my

lens, I'm simply gonna hop up on this

ledge, which will give me a height and

distance.

I'm gonna do two angles, one directly behind

them.

And I can already tell right now that

I'm at too much of a height distance,

so I'll squat, but I'm gonna just get

my settings adjusted to where I want them.

My focal point will be on the back

of the bride's head, but for a specific

reason.

Brad, Brittany, can you rest your head on,

beautiful.

JD, can I have the 35 on deck?

JD, can I have the 35 on deck?

I'm gonna shoot this at a 1.4,

a 1.2, because I can.

I'm gonna adjust by way of my shutter

speed.

Britt, can I turn back and get a

test shot real quick?

This is fantastical.

I'm shooting at a 1.2800th of a

second, 250 ISO.

Lean on, lean on, Tony.

Beautiful.

Atta girl, good.

Now, come up, look out towards the ocean,

and on the count of three, you're gonna

look back at me.

In three, two, one.

Good, beautiful, good.

Atta girl, you look so stinking beautiful.

This time what I want you to do,

this time what I want, yes, that, what

you just did, you look back and you

look gorgeous and confident, but just relax the

eyebrows.

Okay, okay, okay, that's brilliant.

In three, in two, in one.

Good, now what I want you to do,

that exact thing, but bring your torso closer.

Yes, but only in movement, not yet.

Yes, you got it, you got it, you

got it.

In three, in two, in one.

Good, again, but looking a little tiny bit

happier.

Okay, in three, two, one.

Good, Tony, can I have your hand in

your pocket, your left hand in your pocket,

nice.

Core in, turning around, happy face in three,

two, one.

That's it, now good, atta girl.

Atta girl, 35.

After this, we're going to have the couple

sit and then we'll call it a day.

Good, can you guys turn towards each other?

Oh, that's cute, I mean, you guys cannot

do the cute stuff if I am not

shooting, I mean people.

No, that's brilliant, good, good, good, good, nice.

Now, just how we had started, can you,

the start of the shoot where you had

your hand around, keep it, okay, in that

hand, yeah.

Let's see, okay, nevermind, great.

Bring your torsos nice and tight, nice and

tight, nice and tight, atta girl.

Relax that left shoulder, in three, two, one,

gorgeous.

Eyes at each other, let's back it up.

Okay, okay, okay.

And then, let's see, nice, bring your foreheads

to touch.

Good, JD, 50, JD, JD, 85, 85, 85,

okay, gross.

Sorry, sorry, I love you, thanks, okay, great.

Beautiful, so I'm turning on the 85 because

this is a beautiful portrait lens.

It's a little slower to focus, but I'm

okay with that.

I'm gonna change my ISO to 320.

Just a test shot.

I'm probably going to have to zoom in

a little bit.

Bump my ISO to 400.

Yeah, I'm gonna bump my ISO.

It's time to get this party started.

Let's go to ISO 800.

Yep, I'm where I wanna be.

My settings now, I'm shooting a traditional portrait

at 4.5, 160 to the second, 800

ISO.

I'm not gonna actually tell them that I'm

gonna start shooting because they're just laughing and

hanging out and having a great time.

So in that case, I'm gonna shoot a

candid.

Good, you're looking just happy.

Can you guys look here at me?

Are you in your tippy toes, Libby?

Get a pot, oh, atta girl.

Bring your faces in a little bit closer.

There you go.

Eyes at each other.

Beautiful.

Can you look over, JD, can you wave?

Can you wave at them?

Can you guys look at JD?

Good, nice.

Good, JD, can you stand closer over here?

Nice, good, ah, very good.

All right, now, Tony at JD and Brittany

at Tony.

You're looking at Tony, you're looking at Tony.

There you go.

No, Brittany, you're looking at Tony, Tony's at

JD.

There you go.

We needed us to stop, we need to

stop depending on him.

You know, you're a lost cause.

Okay, I'm gonna hop down.

I know, that's true.

So we're going into our last shot of

the day.

We have lost a considerable amount of light,

but as long as I can end the

shoot on a high note for my clients,

then I know that I did everything that

I set out to do.

We had three main objectives in the first

part of the session.

Now we have three main objectives in the

second part of the session, but we've kind

of interspersed things as they happen naturally.

I'm gonna go into the last frame of

our shoot and we're gonna hope for the

best.

I'm gonna have them sitting down as this

will be a great way to even out

their height difference, kind of get in a

nice emotional close pose, and then we'll just

call it a day.

So here we go.

So, let's see.

I'm going to intentionally place the groom away

from this gate, but I'm not gonna place

him too close to where I've seen the

tide come in.

So, I'm going to have Tony, Tony, can

you just sit down here and kind of

face in that direction?

Now, I don't actually coach a guy too

heavily into where I want him to sit

because I wanna see what his body does

naturally.

Great.

So now what I'm gonna do is I'm

going to place the bride I'm going to

place the bride sitting right here and I'm

gonna adjust her body from there.

And I'm gonna shoot really quick.

JD, can I get the 50 on deck?

Can I get the 50, please?

Okay, here, hang on one second, hang on

one second.

You're gonna actually come to your knees.

Atta girl, boom.

Good, good, good, good.

And you're going to sit on the side

of your bum.

Atta girl.

There you go, that's great.

I wanna see a little bit of your

feet.

Now, I'm intentionally showing the bride's feet because

if I don't, she's gonna look like a

cupcake.

Bring it out a little bit more.

There you go, good.

Good.

You're gonna interlock your arm.

We'll see, we'll see what we're doing.

Right, right, right, right.

Okay, cool.

I actually noticed that the bouquet's in competition

with her feet.

So I'm gonna place it out a little

bit like that with the head kind of

facing out towards the camera.

So, Tony, as much as possible, fall into

the pose so you just kind of just

feel it a little bit.

There you go, that's great.

Already the body kind of changed a tiny

bit.

Beautiful.

I'm going to shoot at a 2.5.

I'm gonna drop my ISO to 640.

Can you guys look out that direction?

Now, one thing that I can tell right

now is the position that I have actually

placed the bride.

It's magnified a part of her body that

I actually wanna minimize.

As a result, I'm going to turn out

the side part of her arm.

I'm making it look too large.

So I'm gonna have her turn her body

out so that I can consider that later

in post.

So can you turn a little bit more

towards me, Brittany?

All right, you can keep your body in

that way and then shift your shoulders out

towards me.

Good.

Now, I'm gonna have you just place here

and then wrap your arms, excuse me, wrap

your arms.

There you go.

Now lean in.

Beautiful.

So I basically just shifted her position of

her body, kind of showcase what was going

on in the back of her arm.

Now I think it looks much stronger.

Relaxing the head.

Nice.

Looking at each other.

Looking at each other.

Great.

So there's somebody walking in the background and

I'm just gonna let him pass.

I'm sorry, guys.

We're gonna let somebody pass in the background.

So this is what I'm thinking so far.

What I'm thinking so far is this pose

isn't all that strong.

I mean, just to admit it.

But I'm gonna shoot through this pose and

then amend to see if I can create

something a little bit stronger.

Can you guys look here at me?

Beautiful.

Brittany, see if you can bring your head

in a tiny bit.

Okay, cool.

Yeah, I know.

It's my fault.

It's not you.

It's totally not you.

Let me have you, let's see.

I can move you easier than I can

move Brittany.

So, let's see.

Tony, can you scoot your bum out towards

the ocean?

Stay there, lovey.

You're gonna actually turn towards me.

Yeah, and then scoot back.

Yeah, and then Brittany, you're just gonna kind

of hold him.

Yeah, actually, go back to what you were.

I liked it, I liked it, I liked

it, I liked it, I liked it.

And then, Tony, can you hold the camera

real quick?

Cool.

Can I see your left toes a little

bit more?

Good, and then wrap your arm around.

There you go.

Can you lean against, can you lean against

Tony's, there you go.

It's okay, it's okay.

Good.

Okay.

We're gonna do one last shot.

I'm gonna fight for it.

If this does not work, we're cropping it.

Scoot back, Tony.

So that, she's gonna come in the crest

of your body.

Oh, there we go.

Okay.

That would have been so much better, yeah.

Okay, one important learning lesson if your clients

aren't comfortable, chances are the photo doesn't look

good.

I'm trying to fight for the pose and

it wasn't working.

And I think it's so painfully evident that

it wasn't working, and here I was trying

to fight for it.

Third time's a charm.

She feels comfortable, Tony looks masculine, he looks

comfortable.

This is exactly where I wanna end it.

Cool, cool, cool, cool.

Beautiful.

Can you guys look maybe in that direction?

Nice.

Beautiful.

Can I get the 35?

And this is where we're gonna end it.

Oh yeah, great, thank you.

Beautiful.

Tony, eyes towards Brittany.

Eyes down, Britt.

Beautiful.

And then eyes at me.

Now we're not gonna be paying any attention

to me.

You're gonna be looking down here.

And then, Tony, can you give her a

kiss?

Good.

One, two, cue, cue, cue, eyes down, great.

And then Tony, eyes here.

Just Tony, eyes here, forgive me.

And then actually, Britt, can you look out

that way?

With your chin, not just your eyes.

Chin, there we go, beautiful.

Slight smile, Brittany.

There we go.

Eyes, hands here, eyes, there we go.

I said hands.

Oh, what the heck, man.

I'm all over the place.

That was so good, thank you.

Thank you, a thousand times over, thank you.

So this is the end of the shoot.

For those of you who were paying close

attention to what was happening at the end,

what was happening at the end was I

couldn't get the shots to work.

And as much as I was trying to

fight for it, I knew that I had

to make adjustments to tweak it so that

the couple, one, felt comfortable, and two, that

it felt natural.

I actually had to go through three variations

of it to actually find what it was.

And if I had an idea in mind,

this is kind of the progress, the evolution

of what happened with the pose.

I had to change three times, but at

the end, she looked at me and said,

yes, this is it, this is comfortable.

Once I actually got them into that pose,

which was simply just something that's trial and

error, every time I position a couple and

I know it's not working, I need to

make a few modifications and adjust from there.

So you saw it three different ways and

three different times.

Now, and I actually think that we're gonna

get a photo that I ended up liking

from it, whereas in the beginning, just the

photos weren't really landing.

So a quick thing just to kind of

recap what happened today.

Anytime that you can place the subject who's

taller in the tallest short relationship against a

natural edifice so that this person can rest

and come down a bit in their posture,

which would be phenomenal because we bring the

shorter person up close to them.

Secondly, anytime that you can place the shorter

subject in front of the taller subject, it'll

even out the playing field a tiny bit.

Lastly, if there are natural things around that

cause elevation to one person or the other,

make sure that the shorter person is on

the elevated slope, elevated rock, elevated anything to

make sure that the heights are equal and

that both the couples are enjoying themselves.

Like I started in the beginning, it just

was how I'll end.

Is I don't want to make my couples

look any different than how they look.

They know that one person's tall and one

person's short.

My goal as a photographer is to document

them exactly how they are, but at the

same time, diversify the portfolio in a way

that gives diversity so that they have the

option for those types of photos.

Thanks for joining me on the shoot.

I hope you have a great day.

♪ Don't try,

let's put the mark on the map ♪

♪ I'm gonna take you away, we're never

ever gonna look back ♪ ♪ And if

you want me to stay, all I need

you to say ♪ ♪ I want you,

I need you, I love you ♪ ♪

Wouldn't you like it, wouldn't you like it

♪ ♪ If we could just go away

♪ ♪ And wouldn't you like it, wouldn't

you like it ♪ ♪ If we could

just go away ♪ ♪ Wouldn't you like

it, wouldn't you like it ♪ ♪ If

we could just go away ♪ ♪ Wouldn't

you like it, wouldn't you like it ♪

♪ Desire of

all the normal days ♪ ♪ Let's make

it get away ♪ ♪ And if you

want me to stay, all I need you

to say ♪ Awesome.

So what we, it's like a default word.

Have you guys noticed?

Awesome, awesome.

There could be a clip at the end

of the show.

It's like, awesome, awesome, awesome.

Okay.

What you have seen was the approach that

I take for posing a tall and short

couple.

I will say it again and again.

What you come to me for is what

you get.

Yes, I might amend a few things, but

I would never openly admit that this is

what I do or I change my approach

for any shape, size, anything of that nature.

However, if you find yourself in a pinch

and you're just like, I'm stuck and I

feel frustrated, let's go through a little cheat

sheet.

First and foremost, what I want is the

groom sitting, maybe perhaps perched against a ledge,

or in this case, there was a rock,

and the bride standing.

It would lower his body naturally and bring

their faces roughly about the same height.

The bride standing on something to make her

taller.

This was shown again and again in this

video.

You would be at a beach and you

wouldn't think, oh, well, what could she possibly

stand on?

We found two or three different edifices to

give her at least four or five inches

in height.

In fact, I had posted a photo, like

a sneak peek from the shoot on Facebook,

and I was talking about how to shoot

a tall, short couple, and somebody had left

a comment.

They're like, well, they look to be about

the same height.

This is not tall, short.

And I'm like, hmm, you missed the point.

If they look like the same height, I

did my job.

Next thing, I want the bride leading the

groom while walking to me to minimize the

height difference.

The closer a subject comes to the camera,

the taller they appear.

So if he remains about two or three

feet behind her and she's two or three

feet in front of him and I'm about

a foot or two in front of her,

boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, their heights then

match up.

Now I want to move to the bride

and the groom sitting.

Most of height comes from the legs and

appendages.

So torsos, I can actually get them on

a closer planal view if they're both sitting.

Next, the groom opens his legs wider to

lower his height without having to bend.

I don't want to make the groom look

bad on account of making the bride look

taller.

So a lot of times, depending on the

height, to have somebody like lean, lean, lean,

guys aren't good leaners.

Girls are better leaners.

So if I'm going to do that, I

would ask him to open his legs.

And then what I would do is I

would crop the frame waist to waist.

And now what I did, at least even

if I shaved two or three inches off,

that's two or three inches better that I

think that I can work with them.

I want the groom standing at full height

and then leaning over to kiss the bride

on the head.

If there was going to be a lean,

it would be more of a cutesy lean.

Like he's going to magnify his height but

come down into that natural frame that I

like.

Now, what I think might be good would

be the bride dipping back and the groom

leaning into her because that's creating a natural

lean with purpose.

So we're going to shorten her body and

we're going to elongate hers.

That's something that I can go to as

a default.

Another tip could possibly be for the groom

to reach down and pick the bride up.

Now, it depends on what their comfortabilities are

between each other.

Sometimes I have had grooms with a lot

of upper arm strength to pick up their

bride and kind of like lift her up.

But most of the time, she will put

her arms around his neck and he'll grab

her around the waist and he kind of

picks her up and it makes it kind

of like a cutesy photo.

But the thing with that is the not

so attractive photo is he's giving her a

bear hug and then they just stand like

they're sitting and she's just elevated.

It has to look like it was really

natural.

You have to move them into the pose.

So you say, okay, wonderful.

Put your arms around her.

You're talking to them from behind the camera.

Put your arms around her.

Squeeze her nice and tight.

Can you pick her up?

Can you pick her up?

And so all of a sudden, another thing

that just irks me is this.

And then they just stand there like a

pelican.

Or a flamingo.

Not a pelican.

Or a pelican and a flamingo.

I don't know.

I'm not...

Anyway, a one-legged bird.

We don't like that look, right?

So what I say, if that happens naturally

and they moved into that pose, then that's

when I think it's going to be the

more solid fit for bringing their sizes down.

In a worst-case scenario, if you see

me do this at the Not Dream wedding,

you will know that I'm in a pinch.

And what the pinch is is if I'm

really stuck and I don't know where to

go, I have the groom twirl the bride.

That is a time saver, y'all.

Like I'm just like, oh, code red.

Don't know what I'm doing.

Don't know what I'm doing.

Why don't I have you twirl?

Great.

So you just hold her.

Great, great, great.

In the back of my mind, I'm like,

what am I doing next?

But I'm giving something to do, and maybe

one of those photos might make the end

portfolio.

Lastly, the bride facing the camera, the groom

from behind with his legs separated leaning down

into her.

But because he has separated his legs, I

can crop from here.

And as he leans, he's not going to

be leaning forward.

He's going to be leaning down into the

side.

He will either just be looking or kissing

the top part of her head.

They're going to squeeze her in nice and

close and bring that back down.

You will also see this reflected quite often

in the Not Dream Wedding engagement gallery.

If you've downloaded the course, you will be

able to see what I mean in three

different variations of that pose.

So now what I want to do is

I want to head into homework.

What I want you to do when it

comes to posing a high, low, tall, short

couple is I want you to add three

to five poses that reflect your brand.

Now, if you need a refresher on how

to shoot for your brand, what I want

you to do is to revisit a previous

episode that we entitled How to Shoot with

Intention.

Once you know the trajectory of the words

that you're going to choose, you're going to

have your poses, but then I want you

to add three to five different ones for

couples of different heights so that the overall

portfolio stays the same, but you've added a

few modifications to kind of get them down

to the focal plane that you prefer.

Okay, my question is sort of related.

I am similarly not a vertically gifted individual,

and I've noticed recently that shooting up towards

a couple, especially a tall couple, can be

really unflattering.

Are there ways that you work to avoid

that, that you work to augment, or not

augment, but diminish that angle?

Absolutely, absolutely.

So when it comes to posing a couple

of the same height but that are taller,

I will use a lot of the same

poses or tips that I had thought here,

but I'll flip it.

So when I ask, for instance, as you've

seen in the video, I asked Brittany to

stand on a rock, and that made her

almost as tall as Tony, but that's six

foot, and I'm 5'3 on a good

day.

So what I need to do is what

I then found was a rock around them

so that I stood on the rock, and

then I shot down on them for that

particular angle.

Now the closer you stand to your subject,

the more you're going to have to angle

your camera up.

So when I shoot taller couples, which does

happen often, I will back it up a

little bit.

So now I'm just, I might not, when

I shoot a tall couple and I'm close

to them, I must find something around me

to stand on.

If I have nothing to stand on, I

simply walk back.

But I will tell you that the minute,

it's very similar to how to look for

natural reflectors, it's how to look for things

to stand on, and then you start saying,

okay, which is why I arrived to a

wedding venue early, I arrived to an engagement

session early.

It could be simple as a curb.

A curb gives me a good four to

five inches.

Now if I place my subjects in the

center of the street, now, caveat, I don't

want somebody on the internet being like, that's

so dangerous, let's pretend that this is a

street where both ends are closed.

The client's in the center of the street,

and I'm on the curb, I am now

of equal height, and now it looks like

exactly what I would pose a client of

a shorter height or maybe my same height.

Awesome.

Hi.

Hi.

Do you ever bring, when you're shooting a

tall, short couple, other than looking for natural

things, do you also bring a box or

bring a step stool ever, if it's a

really tall couple that you're gonna be chasing

around all day?

You know, I don't.

I do know that other photographers do that.

I don't think that it's part of my

brand.

I have been very fortunate to photograph athletes,

and we have shot a few NBA weddings,

and in addition to the groom being tall,

his workplace, his coworkers, are all seven foot

tall.

So even if I took a box to

stand on, I would still be short.

And in light of that, I don't, but

I don't have a problem or see an

issue for people that do just for me.

I work so fast on a wedding day

that I couldn't imagine being like, oh, hold

on, let me get my step ladder, and

then like move with it.

I'm like, okay, okay, now, family photos, and

then I'm gonna step up.

It's just not how I roll, but that's

a personal decision.

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

I was just gonna ask, do you use

the same techniques when the bride is taller

and the groom is shorter?

Largely, yes, but for instance, like one of

the poses where I had the bride lean

and then the groom lean into her, I

would not have him lean back and her

lean into him.

I absolutely not.

However, the pose that I would use and

use quite often is having him walk ahead

of her.

That one works very well for me, and

for a girl, it's okay.

I have to be very careful, these gender

conversations.

From my experience, it's easier to ask a

girl to step on something to elevate her

and not so kosher to ask a guy.

Now, the couple knows that she's taller than

him, right?

I mean, it's not like they're seeing this

for the first time, so me documenting them

exactly how they are is entirely okay.

Now, in another lesson, how to shoot a

curvy bride, I was working with a curvy

bride, and her fiance was a bit shorter

than her.

Now, when we were shooting in natural environments,

we were shooting almost in like a concave

area.

Now, it wasn't a curb, but it gave

the same effect, so without saying anything, instead

of placing the bride on the curve, I

placed her on this down slope and him

on the up slope.

Without saying, homie, you're short, let me even

this out, I'm like, hey, why don't you

stand here and I'll place her here?

So finding natural things in that capacity is

always a good thing, and in that same

situation, and again, I just work with what

I'm given, but in this situation, there was

a fence, and so I said, can you

lean against this fence?

I want you standing nice and straight, and

I want you just to kind of give

me an arm, kind of relax back into

that hip, and once he was relaxing here,

I said, Ashley, come into him, so she

got in nice and close, and I said,

I just kind of want you to open

up your legs, relax your weight back into

one hip, and I want you to fall

into him.

So those types of things happen naturally, and

you could do it without the guy being

really conscious of what's going on.

Yeah.

Are there any other questions?

Fantastic.

On that note, we are going to close

this section, and next time you approach a

shooting situation where you are photographing either a

high, low, tall, short couple, I know you

guys will do it with ease and with

grace, and if you're ever in a pinch,

you just pull up that cheat sheet, and

you guys are going to be fine.

Thank you.