One couple making an impact on the industry from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico is Alex + Dali of alexdaliweddings.com. After learning about MagMod through a video featuring Christian Cardona using MagMod the two invested and immediately were hooked. Their style of photographs using lighting and bold vibrant colors was a perfect match when coupled with the MagMod ecosystem. This last week I had the chance to chat with Alex and Dali on a How I Shot It episode. Since our episode was primarily in Spanish I wanted to share here in the blog the techniques they used to create some of these incredibly beautiful images.
The first image here was shot while Alex and Dali were walking down to the island shoreline with their couple. As they saw this plant they thought they could do something creative with it. So they placed the plant in the foreground and lit it with a red colored gel which was placed inside the integrated gel slot of the MagSphere. They then used a soft box to put light on the couple. By putting light on the couple they were able to underexpose the scene so that the ocean in the distant is not overexposed and so the colored gel makes an impact on the color of the plant.
For this second image, they were out shooting the session on a day full of rain. As a result they had to shoot indoors quite a bit. For this shot they had the female in one room and the male in the room closer to them. On the other side of the open door frame they were lighting the female with a soft box and using a blue gel behind her on the wall. The male was being lit with a MagSphere and the warm tones on him and the wall were simply the color of the room. When they started the shoot their clients were a little bummed that their was rain outside. But after creating a few awesome photos like this and sharing the result from the back of the camera with their clients they were extremely happy and confident that no matter where they were shooting Alex and Dali would create beautiful images.
Often times while shooting prep shots the makeup artist will be a little camera shy, as was the case here. In fact, she asked to not be in the photo. So Alex and Dali decided to pull out a sculpture of prisms they found at a local home good store. They placed the sculpture on a table and used it in the foreground of the frame. They shined light from a flash up through the prisms and another behind the bride. Lastly they positioned a third light to light up the bride with a soft box.
For this fourth image, before we get into lighting Alex and Dali shared an important tip to keep in mind while shooting groomsmen. You need to make sure they all understand the role or look you are trying to accomplish for the shot. If 4 of them are serious and one is smiling it doesn’t look right. They all need to be in character. Once they had all the guys on board, they set up two lights. One in front with a MagSphere nice and high up to get everyone illuminated equally. A second flash with a blue gel behind them.
For this beautiful shot Alex and Dali set the couple in front of a tool shed. Not the typical spot you’d often be shooting wedding photos right? But these two knew how to turn an ordinary location into something extraordinary using color. Behind the couple they placed a small light stand with a flash and orange gel inside of a MagSphere. Where the flash was illuminating the brightest the color looks more yellow but as the light dispersed up and out you can see the bold orange colors really shine. In front of the couple they had another flash lighting up the couple with a soft box positioned up high.
Speaking of crazy locations, for this 6th image Alex and Dali had the couple stand in the hallway to the bathrooms. They then underexposed the scene to really bring out the lights in the foreground. Without a flash on the couple they would of course look very dark. So they placed two lights on them. One behind with an orange gel and one in front with a MagGrid and MagSphere. The MagGrid helped focus the light on the couple keeping it from spilling on the walls. I imagine the couple must have been incredibly impressed with the talent and creativity of Alex and Dali when they saw this photo.
For this final image Alex and Dali began by explaining this tunnel is one that everyone passes through on their way to the beach. On the way back to the cars often times people pass through without thinking much about it. They decided to stop there and set up three lights on their couple. The first was a light with a blue gel on a lower power up high and directly behind the camera. They then had a red gel on a flash behind them pointed up to put red light inside the tunnel. And for the third place they had a flash with a MagGrid and MagSphere in close nearby the couple lighting them up, which they used Photoshop to remove later from the image.
If you have enjoyed Alex and Dali’s images be sure to follow them on Instagram at instagram.com/alexdaliweddings and check out their website alexdaliweddings.com. On their website you can even check out the section “Learn Photography” to sign up for lessons in English or Spanish with the two of them to learn more at a great value.
Finally if you would like to watch the whole interview with Alex and Dali in Spanish you can view it here.