Editorial California Engagement Session . Sacramento, California .
Editorial engagements can be extremely challenging to pull off. They always look amazing when done well, but you have to have some insight into what you’re doing to achieve the look and feel of an editorial first. This can be somewhat challenging as most wedding photographers don’t shoot a ton of editorial work, and this brings a lack of experience with it. But not to fear! I’m here to lend some insight into how you can easily capture an editorial feel while staying true to your body of work.
To master the below editorial look I stuck to three main thoughts while shooting:
Schedule the session for mid-day (or peak sun hours). Direct, overhead light makes for the best outdoor editorial lighting!
Keep the couple front lit. I know, that is totally counter intuitive for most photographers. But the bright light against skin tones is what helps achieve that magazine worthy look!
Keep posing simple, but add a little flair. ex: Have the couple wrap up in a hug, but move the model’s hair in front of their face; stand next to each other but don’t touch; etc.
Now, it’s super important to still make any editorial work you compose look like it still belongs to you. You always want people to be able to identify your work, even if the lighting or atmosphere is slightly different than your normal. So, in order to keep my photos still looking like my photos, I did these three things:
Keep all my colors vivid and lively
Add grain
Drop shadows down low
I do those three things above every single time I edit a photo! That helps keep my work consistent across the board and helps others recognize my work when they see it. Everybody’s ‘3 things’ are different and they will depend on your editing style. Take some time to study your work and think about the things you do to consistently edit your work. Once you know your ‘3 things’ you will easily achieve a cohesive body of work, even when it’s editorial!
