Farmers Image of the Week #302

by | Jul 19, 2019 | Farmers Photo of the Week, The Blog

Sony A7III | Sigma Art 35mm 1.4

ISO 1000 | f2.5 | 1/800

Own Preset

I’ve met a lot of photographers now who say they want to shoot Destination Weddings but I haven’t met many who put as much energy and investment into it as Rebecca Carpenter. She’s not just hashtagging herself as a #destinationweddingphotographer and hoping for the best. She’s putting her money where her mouth is and setting up her own shoots in some of the most gorgeous settings, including Venice, Santorini and Paris where this incredible image was shoot. This was taken at dawn so that they could have the place all to themselves. I mean, that is dedication, hard work, going way above and beyond but it was totally worth it. The shot is stunning and Rebecca is seeing results and booking weddings and elopements in glamorous destinations. I greatly admire her tenacity and her work ethic. So I’ve asked Rebecca to take little time out to teach for us at October’s Farmers Market. She’s going to be sharing her secrets for styled shoots and destination weddings as well as putting on a live shoot with a couple styled in beautiful wedding attire. Tickets are going fast as I’m sure you can imagine.

What Rebecca says ...

“Shooting an elopement styled shoot in Paris has been on my bucket list forever- what wedding photographer doesn’t want to shoot in Paris, right?

So in my trilogy of destination styled shoots this year, Paris was the final one. At the beginning of 2019 I made a list of dream shoot destinations and got the plans in motion to make them happen. 
 
The Eiffel Tower view from the Trocadero was the money shot we all wanted. When you shoot in major cities there’s always ‘that shot’ you want and I’ve learnt from shooting in tourist-heavy cities you’ve got to get there stupid early (sunrise ideally) if you want a clear shot with no one else in it. 
 
With a hair and makeup call time of 4am at our hotel, we were aiming to get to the Trocadero just before sunrise. When we got there we had the place virtually to ourselves (there was another engagement shoot when we got there at 5:45am!). There were a few pigeons dotted about and I actually made the dress supplier’s husband, Ini, run around to get them moving and flying (even this didn’t work! Parisian  pigeons are particularly stubborn it would seem). Then when we weren’t paying attention, the pigeons just did their own thing and flew. 
 
As soon as the sun had risen and I was happy we’d got the shot it was time to leave for next location- The Louvre. By the time we left I counted 7 other photoshoots happening at the same time. It was totally surreal and really funny seeing multiple brides and grooms in their full gear from all angles posing against the backdrop of Paris also trying to get that iconic shot.”