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Behind the scenes at a wedding photo workshop on Iceland – part two

Continuing on part one, Behind the scenes at a wedding workshop on Iceland – part one.

Day 3

Hella, Geysir and Gullfoss

Waking up me and my roomie Lisa head to breakfast and from the dinner you can spot some Icelandic horses eating grass peacefully. Some other girls shot some shots of them before we left in the morning.

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We then head out and meet up the bride and groom at Geysir, an area with an Icelandic Geisir that actually sprays water on a regular basis. This might have been the most difficult photos for me. Here there where so many tourists that is  was too difficult to shoot and I didn´t get much more than some over exposed shots with some smoke from the hot ground around the geiser. Going from Geisir to Gullfoss, a grand waterfall on Iceland, it was easier to shoot but still a lot of tourists. It wasn´t until we just stop next to the road that we got our first great photos with a mountain in the background in some and some photos of them standing in the middle of the road. When we were standing in the road tourist stopped and came and shot photo of the couple, which was a bit chocking. At the moment it felt rude.

The most beautiful views I have ever seen I found on Iceland.

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Photo of me jumping is shot by Annelie Johnsson and edited by me.

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Later during the everning the weather shifted and turned into this great blue and golden sky where we shot the bride and groom in the grass when the sun was setting. In a way this was the most varied day where the bride and groom where with us on five different locations.

Tips:

  • Remember to bring your lens hood. It is good to have both when shooting in sunnier circumstances but also when shooting in rain since it protects the glass from rain.

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When the day was over we continued towards Vik where we stayed the night at Iceland Airs hotel in Vik. Some had dinner but I was to tired so I only had a beer and then went right to sleep.

Day 4

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Vik and Jökulsárlón

Vik is the little village on Iceland that also holds a very beautiful beach, and in Emelies group famous as ”the pink beach” . It is shown in the pictures in this link (the second photo to the right). We didn´t strike any luck with the weather though and to get the most dramatic effect on this beach it needs to be sunrise or sunset.

Tips:

  • Light is important. Sunrise or sunset is prefered.
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Wedding preparations

In Vik we started early but in a slower tempo by shooting wedding preparations in group. Somewhat difficult to shoot small details in a large group but I shot some photos that I am really proud of here, among those a good portrait of the bride.

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Jökulsárlón

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Afterwards we headed to a great glaciar lake called Jökulsárlón where we shot the main portraits. Oh my god! I have never seen anything like it. The bluest of water and ice floating by leaving the most magnificent background to shoot against that I have ever experinced.

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There where of course some difficulties, even though the background being so perfect. For one, this bright background caused some trouble and when this extremely bright it is hard to focus and actually see what you are taking photos of. This in combination with cold weather and rain it was a great undertaking by all photographers there.

Tips:

  • Try to have the sun behind you or from the side but be careful with shadows so the person you are taking portraits off don´t end up with half his/her face light and the other side dark.

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Our last stop was on some green lava hills that we passed on the way from Vik to Jökulsárlón. Here Anneli and Malin did as good of a job as the couple, right?

Being back home I long to go back. Such a magnificent place. I must say that I loved it so much. After this trip Iceland will have a special place in my heart.

Katarina

all photos shot with Canon 5D Mark iii and edited in lightroom. Used lenses: Sigma 50mm Art and Canon 24-105 mm. The Sigma lens is used in most cases even for the landscape shots

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Some recommendations if undertaking a phototrip to Iceland:

Bring:

  • a warm sweather
  • rain clothes including boots. I used Gortex shoes – worked fine
  • raincover for you camera. I used a plastic bag, the ones used for food. Made a whole in it, used the sun lens hood and a rubber band to keep it in place
  • camera backpack, preferable with some raincover. I had my lowepro without raincover but kept it in the car and used a travelbag that I had around my hips. In this I packed a towel, an extra battery and plastic bags
  • towel for the camera
  • extra batteries for the camera
  • soft bag to keep clothes in and not a big travel bag if renting a car as we did. they barely fit in the trunk. The cars are expensive to rent.

Remember:

  • Try to have the sun behind you or from the side but be careful with shadows so the person you are taking portraits off don´t end up with half his/her face light and the other side dark. Backlight is nice as well if you like the style but a bit trickier to get right.
  • Light is important. Sunrise or sunset is preferred.
  • It is possible to shoot in rain if you have plenty of patience
  • Good planing, include extra spots if something goes wrong

Katarina

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