Why London Might Not Be the Best Photography Spot: A Candid Exploration

So, I absolutely freaking hate London. Gray, wet, relentless. Add in the rain, take out the sun, and you are in a damp Victorian mood board. It’s a hard pass. Hardest of passes. Now, imagine shooting a couple there. Except, these aren’t a couple. They’re models. You have to manufacture chemistry. Make the camera think it’s real love and not just a networking event. I don’t want to do that. So, I sent Tommy Reynolds in instead. He’s the best guy for the job. Whereas, I am the best guy for staying 100 miles away from London. This is the right click. Let’s see if London breaks him.

Capturing Real Moments

Hey everyone, my name is Tommy Reynolds. I’m a portrait wedding photographer and photographic educator. And today, we’re going to be doing a couple’s portrait session with an elegant editorial twist. And off you go. So, to start with, I always like to get the couples to walk towards me. Rudy, your job is to make Elena laugh.

That’s great, guys. I think when you prompt people instead of pose people, it’s a much better way of capturing a candid moment. You’re going to walk, spin, and then pull each other nice and tight, and then just have a little moment there. So cute. So cute. I don’t know why my voice went really high then. Just enjoy this moment, guys. Embrace.

The Balancing Act of Authenticity

Authenticity, the one thing we can’t fake. But, Tommy did what all photographers do. He faked it. Isn’t it funny how authenticity shows up when you have a photographer who knows how to lead it?

I’m going to do this next setup using on-camera flash. 2024 called and wants its stupid bow trend back. Before I actually use the flash, I’m going to take an image without the flash. So, I want you to spin, pull each other in, and then we just nestle here for a moment, okay? Love that. And both of you just look towards me. That’s great. Nestled nice and tight in. That’s great. Now, nothing wrong with the images, but I am noticing that there’s a lot of shadow here.

Now, when I add the flash in, that’s going to really help elevate and pop. Exactly the same as you did before. We’re just going to use flash now. So, I’m using flash as a fill flash to create that magazine feel.

Navigating Trends and Creating Your Style

That’s great guys. Put your hands nice and tight in. Beautiful. When you use flash we’ve really got that nice added pop. We can see the foliage, we’ve got details and as I say has that editorial magazine feel to it.

This hurts to admit because it’s a full-on trend and trends give me creative hives, but Tommy he nailed it. See, Tommy isn’t copying what’s hot. He’s actually creating his own kind of monster.

And that’s how you survive these stupid trends without ending up looking like a walking Pinterest board. Don’t copy. Take the vibe, light it up, and build something brand new from the smoke.

The Art of Motion in Photography

I want to show you a very cool trick using slow shutter to add motion to the shots. So, come follow me guys. Now you’re talking. But there is a risk here and we’ve seen this a thousand times because we are deep into bad trend territory. Shutter drag, movement, and slow shutter. This is the holy trinity of please don’t ruin this and they usually do. And it just looks like a bad creative pretending to be an artist.

This one’s all about looking towards each other, creating as much movement as you can, and I’m just going to do my best to follow along behind you. Shooting with an intentionally slow shutter really creates that movement rather than just being a static shot. And pause there. That is good. With that intentional blur we create lots of great movement there.

Strategic Storytelling in Photography

But Tommy nails it. This isn’t sloppy or accidental, it’s weaponized. Every blur, every streak, every motion has intention. Try another one. Actually, can you do that static? Elena, you’re able to do like two spins in a row. When you’re ready. All right, really good. Let’s try something next to pastries here.

If you stand nice and still I can use slow shutter for the blur in the foreground. Okay, that’s great guys. Thank you for that. Thank you. So, what I intentionally did there, I did a close-up of just them in the window when I pulled back wider to see the guy prepping the pastries. It then added to the story element to it.

We’ve all been caught stealing canapés at weddings before. Oh man, it’s carbs. You just got to remember to always style it out. I think we’re wrapped up here. We’ve got some really great shots, lots of variety. Now, we’re going to head over to the next location now. Behind me is the Royal Exchange, which is next to the Bank of England. And one thing I’m noticing straight away is the color palette.

Color Palette and Intentionality

With editorial, you can be intentional even down to their attire when you’re aware of the colors. It can really help and elevate that image further. I wish all my couples were this stylish. Honestly, I’m just happy when they turn up on time. Start walking down and I’m going to be following you. Sorry sir. Get that outtakes. And off you go. Beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Let’s have a little moment here. Love this, guys. Love this. Good, good. Nice and nice and tight again. That’s really cute, guys. And pause there. That’s great. So, I wanted to be very intentional with the stairs. I was coming at it purposely from an angle rather than shooting completely straight on just so it feels a little bit more off the cuff and real.

Adapting to the Weather

But I’m also noticing there’s a spot over there near the Bank of England. I think we could create a nice competition. So, come along with me real quick. So, this photoshoot is a lot like my lovemaking, to be honest. Nothing goes to plan and everything just gets a little bit messy.

It seems like the infamous British weather has finally caught up to our Tommy. But I always say, a photographer is only as good as their ability to solve problems. So, obviously the models are the most important thing, so they’re under shelter here. Luckily, this camera has some weather sealing. We’ll find out exactly today how good that is. But as long as I get the shot, I don’t mind if I get rained on. It’s all good.

Maximizing Opportunities with Location

Yes, Tommy. Make them feel really cozy and comfortable next to the second biggest gold collection on the planet. I intentionally went super wide and had them in the dead center of the frame to create a much more dynamic shot and really see the pillars giving it a much better sense of scale. Looks way better. What do you think?

Lean into what you have to work with, which is something that Tommy does so well. So, we’re just about done here. We’re going to head off to our last location now at St. Paul’s.

So, we’re on our way to our next location at St. Paul’s, but as you can see, the weather isn’t really great. How can we still incorporate St. Paul’s despite the weather and without getting our models wet? Well, we’re here in a shopping center right in front of St. Paul’s, and I’ve noticed this elevator right here has a great view of St. Paul’s as we go up to the rooftop.

Executing the Perfect Shot

I told you so. Problem-solving is the key skill here. It’s so hard being right all the time. Now, we’ve only got one shot of this because it’s quite a quick rise. We just do a quick little mock-up. If you guys can get together for me, and then we’re going to go from that position. You’re going to be looking towards me, nestling nice and close. Is that all good?

Yep. All right. Are we going? We’re going. We’re going. We’re going. That’s really good, guys. That’s it. Just keep it in. Keep it in. That’s great. Really, really nice. And then, just one towards me. Eyes towards me real quick. Great. Really, really nice, guys. Got my flash on because they’re really dark, so I’m balancing the foreground. Looking great guys. That looks so good.

Final Thoughts

Using this flash technique does give the images an edge, but every time I watch Tommy do it, I just think he’s stuck a hairdryer on the side of his camera. But, Tommy does have wonderful hair, doesn’t he?

That was a really fast-paced, but I think the results have turned out really, really well. Editorial comes back to that intention with the composition, with the lighting, with the attire of the models. So, when you’re prepping for your next shoot, be more intentional about it.

Using all of these things combined can really help elevate and add layers to your work. When we get to the editing side, that’s going to bring its whole set of new challenges with us. But, what I love about Imagine is it takes my AI profile, and it will be able to handle each of those locations into a cohesive look.

Bad news, great art doesn’t just happen. You don’t wait for the moment. You have to build it, push it, make it behave. And here’s the annoying bit. I hate London, but some of these frames, they absolutely feel alive. So, yeah, chase the right click. I’m off to go and strap a hairdryer to my camera. And of course, don’t forget to like and subscribe as there’s a lot more videos on the way. Oh, and by the way, this video was color graded using Imagine video.