Gear
Using a Sony A7IV, I did a full nighttime engagement shoot on the streets of Atlanta. This was different from photographing wedding receptions and indoor shooting with dim lights. That meant working with a speedlight, sometimes paparazzi style, and a higher ISO than usual. That may sound daunting, but guess what? A powerful camera such as an A7IV makes everything a breeze. The highest ISO I used was 1000, and that too on a very dark bridge.
Techniques
Environmental Lighting
Use car headlights as a source of backlight! It can be extremely satisfying to capture silhouette shots while the couple poses on the pavement. The streets of a cosmopolitan city can be very colorfully lit so use that to your advantage as well.
Movement
The tricky part was keeping shutter speed high to freeze human action while keeping ISO as low as possible. I ended up dialing ISO up to just 1000 at most because of the assistance of environmental lighting.
Poses
Using the environment
We lingered mostly on the streets and then relocated to Westside Provisions District where shops lent good lighting and posing opportunities by a set of steps. Hanging lights brought a romantic mood to the atmosphere.
Couple poses
Standing and looking at each other walking close together holding hands, sitting on steps, talking to each other and laughing were all great for a street engagement shoot! See more photos for poses.
More Photos
