A Smith Rock Groom Portrait

APortrait photography at Smith Rock State Park

Francesca and Dustin were married at Smith Rock State Park on a very windy summer afternoon. It was a great wedding to practice doing challenging portraits in the dihedrals at the north end of the plateau of the park. I was climbing all over the rocks trying to get some fun pictures of them and their crew. I used only one Profoto for the day and have an idea of how to get the group shots done better in the future. The idea of setting the camera on a tripod and lighting each person individually then meshing the pictures together could make for a super awesome group shot even in the wind. However, the time involved getting it done could have the potential of trying peoples patience.

Francesca is a super outgoing lovely person who I loved working with. Dustin is a chef and made the food for the reception with a group of other chefs. The food preparation made some fun pictures. I loved working with them because of the positive and enthusiastic energy they brought to their wedding.

Climbing around on the rocks trying to make nice pictures is a big reason why I switched from nice dress shoes at weddings to Cheaney boots with the commando rubber soles. I’m a huge fan of Lee Child’s writing style and he talks about fictional character Jack Reacher loving Cheaney shoes because of their tough and useful build. After reading about these shoes I went online and almost walked away because of the incredible cost of the shoes. However, once a person wears them in the wild, a person is a believer in Cheaney.

I’m generally happy to get one or two nice pictures of just the groom at a wedding. My idea is perhaps his parents or wife might want a print at home or work. Mostly what we get of people end up being selfies shot someplace. A beautiful portrait shot with a useful light in an amazing setting can’t be beat with any selfie. So it’s totally worthwhile to grab the groom and get a couple nice shots into the mix.

Because of time and patience limitations I usually just fall back on the Photojournalism I basics of picking the background then throwing the subject into the scene for a couple quick pictures. Once a person gets used to using a light like the Profoto these pictures can get done in a matter of a couple minutes. Which is about as much time as I had to work with Dustin. He was standing in the shade and the Profoto became the perfectly placed sun on his face.

Shoot this. Then a vertical.

And BOOM! Done!

Let’s move onto the next item on the list.

We had fun at their wedding. The wind was getting a little outrageous during the wedding party pictures, but a person can only do as well as the weather allows.

Overall, I’m hoping they loved their pictures and are having the best possible life together.