Down On The Farm Wedding

In April, I got a message from a longtime, online friend, Kellie Penn from Across the Miles Photography. I’ve known Kellie for several years through the scrapbook world and then some connections with photography. We had a chance to meet a few years back at CHA in Chicago, but scheduling conflicts kept us from saying our in-person hellos.

If I could describe Kellie it would be that she is a sweet, honest, enduring and talented lady. She kindly asked me of my availability for second shooting a wedding for her since her regulars were booked for this day. I had to check a few things, but eventually said, SURE! So, I had plans to haul myself and my gear over the Mississippi River to Illinois and shoot this big wedding with Kellie.

This couple really knows how to have fun, as do their wedding party. I laughed a lot with them, and with Kellie. It’s like Kellie and I have always known each other. Well, it seems like we have. I really do prefer second shooting to first shooting because, well, there is a little less pressure, but not a lot less. I still strive to make sure I’m doing exactly what is expected of me by the primary. I also make sure that I’m not getting in their way.

While, as a second shooter, you don’t always come away with the most creative shots, I’m okay with that. For me, it’s making sure that the wedding day was documented properly. Kellie, I’d be honored to help again some day!

While Kellie was busy setting up this shot, I put my camera down to the ground (I had my 17-40mm on) and shot slightly up. We were so lucky to have access to the groom’s farm (tractor and all!) And, their colors made for an amazing accent to the surroundings.

At first glance, you’d probably think we had some off camera lighting going. Let me show you the before and the after side-by-side.

There’s nothing wrong with the image on the left. I didn’t do much but rotated it slightly (I was to the left of Kellie’s center which didn’t get me direct in the middle), maybe punch a tad bit of light in some of the faces where it felt dark using Photoshop. However, the sky. It just feels boring to me. It was rainy off an on. Not hard rain, mostly sprinkles (we won’t talk about the crazy rain that happened later that night as I was going home). The overcast day meant we could shoot anywhere we wanted. If we had used off-camera flash I imagine some of the clouds would have been more defined. So, I opted to find a stock image of clouds and overlay it on the image. I set the blend overlay to Multiply but reduced the opacity down to about 40%. It was a really bright sunset photo. I think it looks kind of fun now, and more artistic to my taste.

I enjoy showing before and afters with people. After I did all of that, I ran Michelle Kane’s Bland to Brilliant action. It clarifies and adds a tad of pop and midtone lightening. It’s such a simple and subtle action I’m finding I use more and more to save some time (tell Michelle that I sent you!)  I have never added clouds to photos before…this is a first. I don’t know that I’d do it very often, but seriously, I love how it turned out in the end!

Again, thanks so much, Kellie. I can’t wait to see you feature this wedding!!!