Meshea Shaffer + The Story Behind

With summer coming to a close, we have been drawn to beautiful family photos to remember it by like this cotton candy hued gem from Meshea Shaffer shared on today’s The Story Behind. And while some photographer’s “add” skies in post processing, Meshea was having none of that! She captured this beautiful sky the tried and true way, all while capturing a dynamic family shot we’re sure her clients were swooning over. Read on to hear how Meshea unfolded this shot…

IG Handle:.
@olivegrayphotography

Where was this photo taken?
Destin, Florida

DSLR, iphone, instant or film?
DSLR

What were your camera settings for this image?
1/640 sec, f2.8, ISO 100

Can you tell us “The Story Behind” this shot?
I was just photographing dad and his girls, and as soon as they climb onto the rocks, My initial vision was to do a silhouette shot, but when I noticed how the sky was photographing , I immediately had Mom join the family.

What speaks to you about this image? What specifically made you press the shutter?
GAH! The sky, the light, the moment. I remember pressing the shutter when the youngest girl went to brush her hair off her forehead.

What was your composition technique with this shot?
I wanted to keep the family towards the bottom of the frame to make the sky a focal point, and the give the feeling of negative space.

Was this photo happenstance or did you visualize it prior? If so, how did you envision the image and set up for it?
This image was initially a silhouette shot, but I wanted it to be a family image. So I pulled mom into the scene. The only prompt I gave the family was to hold hands and look at each other and smile. I love the added movement of Moms hair from the breeze, and the youngest girl brushing the hair from her forehead.

Did you have any lighting challenges/How did you light the image?
It’s a backlit so I underexposed to maintain the details and colors of the sky.

Did you use a preset to edit this image, your own selective edits or a combination of both?
I used Embrace Nation presets on this image.

Any tips on how you exposed your beautiful subject and retained that great sky?
I had a lot of questions wondering if I used a reflector or fill flash when shooting, I did not. I only use natural light. The sky is also not Photoshopped. I did underexpose to retain detail and colors of the sky.

Meshea Shaffer of Destin, Florida can be found at the following spots:
SITE // INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK