As a wedding photographer, it is often difficult to carry a lot of equipment so I need to be resourceful and use all available lighting sources at my disposal. In addition to my strobes, I often make use of lighting from windows and table lamps, using the softer light as a more flattering illumination for the skin of my subjects, while sometimes even replicating the magical “golden hour” light of 4pm.

~Michael Greenberg

The groom is lit with one camera mounted flash bouncing light off to the right. The exposure was taken from the top right wall and dialed down by 0.7 of a stop to pop the subject out from the background.

The flash illuminates the groom and his surroundings, creating a beautiful 3-dimensional feel. Look at the groom carefully and see how the light falls on his face. The image gives an effect of window light, however it’s my flash that produces this lighting of the groom.
The groom’s pose appears natural as though he is taking a moment to relax and has been photographed candidly. In actuality, I had directed him into this pose, knowing exactly what to say to get him relaxed in front of his camera and to ensure a natural expression. I do this by suggesting different things for my subjects to think about to take their mind off the shoot and to elicit various expressions and postures from them.

~Michael Greenberg

The shoot came about rather spontaneously as the bride casually took my direction to climb the ladder toward the chandelier. While it appears as though the bride is lit by the chandelier, in fact she is actually lit by a Phottix strobe set within the chandelier, and a second catch light fired simultaneously from behind.

Utilizing the chandelier in lieu of the pigeons in Picasso’s painting, I used two lights to create this image and the bride was wearing a gorgeous wedding dress from Dolce & Gabbana.

~Michael Greenberg

In this moment I had asked the bride to interact with her bridesmaids that were sitting next to me. At the same time, I asked the bridesmaids to find some way to make the bride smile or laugh by telling her something that was crazy funny. Well, I can’t recount exactly what they said here, but it made the bride’s daughter laugh hysterically and the bride smile too in this beautiful and emotional moment between them.

~Michael Greenberg

It’s also Palm Sunday, which means that Easter is just around the corner! Book your Easter holiday family photo sessions with Phototerra Studio:

408-348-0624
// Los Angeles

416-479-0724
// Toronto

514-939-1690
// Montreal

Photographers and clients mean completely different things when they say “Photoshopped”. Photographers want to know about the level of difficulty in retouching such an image, while everyone else wonders if the bride was superimposed to an ocean background in Photoshop to look like a mermaid.

I’m happy to explain.

The Mermaid in this image happens to be Nathalie, a beautiful French Canadian bride from Montreal. The shot and the settings are very spontaneous and natural. It all took place in a whimsical hair salon in Montreal that had a saltwater fish tank. The preparations for the wedding that included putting on the dress and doing hair and makeup lasted for a few hours. During that time, I was wondering how to incorporate the fish tank into the photos and I have to be honest, although I knew an image was there, I wasn’t sure what image it was. After trying various compositions, I almost gave up. The idea came suddenly when our bride was fully ready to go, at the moment when she started walking towards the exit. I happened to be on one side of the aquarium and the bride on the other. And that’s when it struck me – a mermaid!
This photo was taken through the double glass of the aquarium. Notice the uneven reflections of the dress. With the help of my assistant who simultaneously was holding the light and the veil, the mermaid was discovered. In terms of retouching, there was barely any, I blurred the hand of my assistant holding the veil, the rest is a natural setting at a very lucky moment. This photograph later went on to win multiple awards and accolades and became a staple image of Phototerra Studio. It also helped me a lot at establishing my brand.

~Michael Greenberg

This style is sometimes mistakenly labelled as candid. To understand how the candid wedding photography is perceived by our brides and grooms we always ask the couple to elaborate on how they see it. The answer we usually get is very close to so-called “happy” images.

It is safe to say that most people associate weddings with happy events and therefore expect happy photographs. Since candid photography style is in essence a moment photography then most people expect exactly that, an abundant amount of happy moments.

The reality of such a powerful and emotionally charged day as a wedding day is quite different. Every portion of the day is filled with numerous thoughts and feelings. When subtle emotions are also captured, it becomes a completely different photographic coverage; more real, more human, and more storytelling. In this photograph, wedding photographer Michael Greenberg, candidly expresses a moment of bliss:

Vermont is beautiful in any season, but the early fall in Vermont has especially charming scenery for wedding photography. The mist in the air is coloring the hills and it is almost possible to feel the temperature just by looking at this photograph. This wedding took place in Stowe Mountain Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. The bride Maris is wearing a splendid wedding gown.

“What is so special about the background?”, one may ask. Absolutely nothing! It is not the background that makes this photo, it is the couple. If the newlyweds are comfortable with their wedding photographer and trust his or her expertise knowing that their expectations were properly communicated in advance, they feel more at ease. Then the images will portray the true nature and beauty of the couple regardless of the background.