by Leigh
Night photography has always scared me….even more than standing this close to a flame and lighter fluid! So when someone contacted me about photographing his marriage proposal (starting to get nervous) and then tells me that it's at night (now REALLY nervous!) I had my reservations. I was about to turn it down when I decided I needed this push outside my comfort zone. He told me about his proposal and some of the ways he figured out to provide some light sources for me. My 50mm 1.4 would have been my fastest lens, but I really needed a lens that I could use wide and zoom in a bit closer as I needed to be in the background not up in their face. So I chose my 28-70mm. My plan was to set up with my tripod and stay in one place since I knew I would have to crank up my ISO. I wanted to avoid any extra variables that would cause more noise in the photos.
When I arrived he walked me through his plan. He has cleared a pathway through a wooded area. At the start there were logs that had been made into Swedish flames which he had learned about in his boy scout days. A pathway had been lit from above with warm white lights creating a welcoming, intimate space. The path opened to a larger clearing with two adirondak chairs, a fire pit, more lights strung from above and a bottle of champagne. He had thought of everything down to the last detail. And as prepared as I thought I was….I quickly realized that my plan to stay stationary and shoot from a tripod was not going to work. I was just going to have to wing it. I'm realizing that winging it usually serves me better than trying to carefully plan and account for everything.
The moment was so beautiful and I felt so honored to be a part of it. Once she arrived I didn't have time to be nervous. My instincts kicked in and I knew what to do. I just had to trust myself and my camera. All my well thought out plans were thrown out the window as I realized that spontaneity is my friend. My creativity comes through much brighter when I let myself be present in the moment and just go with my gut. And what do you know….I took some photos at night and I like them. And more importantly….she said yes!