Photographing a couple is a love story photoshoot that a photographer can show to the whole world. But how to make it non-standard, stylish, and engaging? I have collected some recommendations and cool ideas for shooting a couple in this guide.
Important Tips for Photographing a Couple
- Stylize Photography. A man and a woman should be from the “same story” – the clothing and hairstyles should be the same. In the plot, if she is in a dress, and he is in a tracksuit, which usually looks bad.
- Think Over the Route in Advance. It can be a promenade through historical places (warm, charming classics), a walk along a street with modern buildings (hard and cold urban), etc. The image and location of the shooting should not contradict each other.
- Multifaceted Composition and Accessories. Photos must be different. Hundreds of pictures where people stand in the same line and the same poses are boring. You can put one of them in the foreground, ask people to fool around, laugh, scream, or fight with pillows. It is worth using various items as accessories (umbrella, bouquet, etc.) so that the models have their hands full.
- Light. Outdoors, a reflector is usually enough to catch and direct the sun’s rays. I already wrote a post on working with a reflector and choosing one for the shooting.
- If you have to shoot people who have no experience in filming, you need to liberate them. I wrote an unique article in which I described many life hacks for liberation.
And now, I will show examples of stylish and cute photos of couples at various locations.
Beautiful Photos of Couples in The City
During the photo walk, the task is to go through the designated points of the previously compiled route + take a photo in motion, in dynamics.
Option 1. Put the man in the foreground, the girl 1 meter further than him, with her back to you. On the count of three, she should turn over whichever shoulder is closer to the man. The rotation can be made incomplete by 90-100 degrees. As a result, we get a multi-layered frame and beautifully flying hair.
Option 2. Let the models move, communicate, and interact with each other. When they walk, laugh, and talk, they show real emotions. And the photographer can, by watching them, evaluate which angle is the most advantageous and how to correct the frame so that it becomes better. For example, ask the model to look into the frame. And the man, on the contrary, turns away and shows indifference to what is happening.
Option 3. Rain is romantic. But if there is no rain, it can be done in improvised ways. It would be best to have a deep transparent umbrella and a spray bottle with water to do this.
The girl should be standing at 3 to 4 meters in relation to the photographer, and the man should stand behind her. And after that takes half a step toward the photographer. So he will not hide behind his partner. The man takes an umbrella closer to the camera and leans forward a little. The photographer needs to sprinkle water on the umbrella and make a beautiful shot.
Option 4. You can play with light and background. Rough, imperfect textures look very atmospheric. There would not be so many loft and grunge fans if this were not so.
How to make a photo against the wall more interesting?
Simple, play with the sun and sunlight. You can:
- close your eyes and put your head on your partner’s shoulder;
- try to catch a sunbeam;
- put a lattice, grid, or honeycomb between the models and the sun – so that the light falls with an interesting shadow;
- or you can simply close yourself to it with your hand, as the model from the example did.
Ideas for A Love Story in Nature
You can take many beautiful pictures outdoors. The choice of locations is huge: reservoirs, parks, fields, forests, mountains, and beaches.
How to Choose the Right Story?
Understand the wishes of the couple. Just ask – what do you want? They should show examples and photos that they like.
Select “what you like” from the category of “what is real.” These are available places, images available, and accessories.
The last filter is about understanding how realistic it is to implement the plan with specific models. For example, a cute, modest guy and a girl may not quite fit into the images of an uninhibited couple of extreme rock climbers. It is better in this case to offer them an alternative. For example, shooting in the same mountains, but with horses.
I will show some examples of fantastic love story photos of couples in love below.
Option 1. A photo of couples hugging is a classic. But if you want something unusual, this option is suitable. You can choose any location. In the nearby canal for example, there are mountains and a water body. At a distance of several meters from the background, a low rack is placed. You need to stretch paper or background (which is not a pity).
In the center, you need to make a hole and open the paper petals outward. The size of the hole depends on the idea of the final frame. It remains for the models to stand between the paper rack and the natural background to fit in the picture completely. Models can be photographed in motion or any position.
Option 2. The task is to take two photos at the same location in motion. First, the guy needs to stand half a turn to the camera, raise his head, and imagine the girl somewhere high up. He needs to get to her. Next, you need to make the same frame as the girl. You don’t have to jump high. The main thing is to reach out to your partner. The final touch is to combine two photos in any editor.
Photo of Couples On The Beach
A beach is a popular place for family, singles, romantic photoshoots, love story shooting for a wedding, etc. Beach is an universal location for photoshoots. You can take a good picture at any time of the day: at dawn, at sunset, during the day, and even at night. There is no need to even come up with additional accessories, there is sand, water, and sun to interact with. I have collected several examples of lively and warm photos.
Option 1. An example of a static photo. The man lies on his back. The woman lies on his chest and he hugs her. They both have their eyes closed. Dozing, warmed by the rays of the afternoon sun.
Option 2. An example of a photo in motion. Ask the models to just walk along the beach. They can talk, play with sand, and splash water – anything you want. From accessories, you can add a tippet or a blanket.
The woman comes to the fore. The man stands behind her and turns 3/4 to the camera. He is covered with a stole initially and covers her – a perfect space for touching and tender photos. You can remove the kiss, stroke the face, hugging.
Option 3. Add more dynamics. A couple can be asked to fool around. For example, a girl can jump on a guy’s back. Even if the couple were tight initially, it would help stir it up. People fall into the sand, fool around, and laugh. And they do it naturally.
The reservoir is a location for active movement. Here you can run, splash, and circle each other in the water.
Ideas Couple Photoshoot in Studio
How to shoot indoors? The main thing when working in a studio is light. It can ruin everything or, on the contrary, fix it. Each photographer has his own favorite set of flashes and light modifiers.
The set of lighting depends on the characteristics of the studio (there are windows or not, its size), the intensity of natural light, and the time of day. They can be talked in detail about constant lighting in the studio and made an overview of the minimum set for studio shooting.
Let’s move on to examples of beautiful love stories in the studio.
Option 1. An example where a girl jumps on a guy’s back is also relevant in a studio setting. This posture is very dynamic. A couple can communicate, a girl dangles her legs and arms, a guy can spin her – you get a beautiful effect of flying hair. The example below shows the difference between window and flash lighting.
Option 2. In this example, there is natural light from a window (on the left) and a flash on the photographer’s right side. An accessory that does not let models get bored and involves them in movement is pillows. Let the lovers fool around a little. They don’t have to look at the camera, and they can only look at each other.
Option 3. Static photo on the bed. From this position, you can take a picture of a kissing couple (entirely, only faces and hands). Models can interact: look at each other, hug, stroke the face, and hold hands.
Many more creative ideas for shooting a couple and one model have been collected in my blog. I hope that these examples will help you take beautiful and unusual photos of couples.
