Today we have two lessons for you: one in photography and one in meteorology.
Lesson 1: One piece of advice that’s always given to amateur photographers is to have your back facing the sun when you take pictures. This is very sound advice: the sun is behind you so your subject will be well-lit with the sun’s radiant glow. But with a little practice and the right camera settings, you can get a really dramatic photograph by putting your subject’s back to the sun: you’ll get them rimmed with a beautiful warm light and just the right amount of flare in to the camera gives you a wonderful, slightly washed-out effect.
Lesson 2: There’s this phenomenon that happens in cities laid out in an East-West grid pattern where right around the summer solstice, the setting sun aligns with the street grid, bathing cross-town traffic in a beautiful orange glow and temporarily blinding anyone who tries to look west down one of the city’s steel and glass canyons. In New York, it’s called Manhattanhenge (no, seriously).
Combine Lesson 1 with Lesson 2 and you get Diana and Josh’s engagement shoot. They were fortunate enough to be available on one of the days when the sun’s rays reach deep in to the center of New York City, unimpeded by the famous skyline. These two were already glowing with love for each other; Mother Nature just added her special touch and what was going to be a green and luscious evening shoot in the park turned in to something so magical and warm, we just had to share it with you.
Photographed by Craig Paulson
