PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is often discussed in terms of technique and art. For most of us, however, it is simply used to capture the special moments of our lives. Especially in the world of social networking sites like Flickr and Facebook, romantic photography ends up being a major element for most people and the primary purpose that they get nice digital cameras. The most important things about this type of photography is to capture the moment as it is happening so that it can be tied to the memory, and through this situation you will have a document that will take the memory and become an object that can be shared with others. The principles of this type of photography do not change, but the way that you achieve them can since they are spontaneous, in uncontrolled locations, and include the both of you. Here are a few tips for this type of couples photography, meant to capture those types special moments between partners.

The main thing to consider when you are taking this type of couples photography is that you are going to have to figure out a way for both of you to be in it, while one of you is taking the photo. You can always try to simply position your camera away from you with an extended arm, but you end up with the squished face images that are so common on personal social networking websites. You can instead simply grab a passerby, but this gives you almost no control over your image composition and is really only relevant when you are in a public area.
Instead, it is best to use a timer system on your DSLR camera. This allows for you to do a basic image composition ahead of time on your other partner before meeting them for the pose. This will at least give you a sense of depth of field, how close the final image will be, and the positioning within the frame. This is important if you are going to have a professional representation, and with a single model you can set the appropriate depth, shutter speed, aperture, and other image elements that will allow it to meet your needs. Make sure to set the timer for ten to fifteen seconds so you can match the position of your partner and position the two of you in accordance with the image you just set up.

Part of the difficulty with using a timer system, though it can be an issue even when there is a manned camera, is the poses for couples photography. The primary thing that should be considered is getting both bodies into the frame in accordance with the expectations; such as how wide the shot you want it to be. For most people the two shot should be a standard medium shot, coming from about the waste up and including both people’s faces and upper torsos.
When you are considering your poses for couple photography you have to keep in mind both that an overly close positioning can create an unpleasant image and positioning too far apart will make the image either unbalanced or have some of the subjects cut off in the frame. If you smash the people together it will often have a bad reaction to the light, creating shadows on each other. This is also to ignore the fact that when people are positioned too closely to each other it tends to be unflattering to the models, which makes the picture an unfair representation of the moment. To support this, a loose embrace is often the best choice. It allows both people the freedom to position their bodies so that they catch the available light in the area.
Things are going to be working differently if the photos are taken by a third party, such as a professional photographer. In general, these poses for couples photography are really going to be based on the physical relationship between the two individuals. This means that there has to be a sense of story between them, which is why an embrace or playful interaction is going to be key. These are non-spontaneous and orchestrated, so the positioning is supposed to indicate a relationship that is real.
There are a few different types of positions that would be great for these types of photos, including:

• A semi-close stance between the couple where they are looking into each other's eye, with the hand of one placed on the back of another.
• The two in a loose embrace where one is positioned slightly behind the other. What is a nice addition to this is to have the person positioned behind looking at the other while the one up front is looking away. Traditionally, the person in the front may be the more feminine positioning, though there is nothing about this that is binding traditional or non-traditional couples.
• A nice option for a wider shot is to have them positioned further away from each other, as long as there is something that binds them. This could be something explicit like an outstretched arm that connects them, or simply a strong gaze may work.
• The most traditional romantic portrait is to place one party sitting down and the other partner above them, standing up behind them or with a hand on their shoulder. This can be too cliché for many people and can often indicate a type of "department store photography" that may be uninteresting for younger couples.

The primary area of importance for selecting a pose is that it actually reflects the relationship and personality of the couple. A very solemn and intense pose may not really emanate the playfulness that they share, and will then feel artificial when looked at later on.

Romantic photography is usually done in light sensitive locations, either in a bright location such as a beach, or at night with either little or no available light. To deal with this you have to consider the situations for extreme photography in every location.
When you are in extreme light you have a few options, but you do not want to close up the aperture too much if you do not want to affect the depth of field. You can bring up the shutter speed above 1/200, which will only decrease the option to have motion blur in the image.
At night you should work the exact opposite. Instead, open up the aperture as much as you can and still retain the fine focus on your image. Then, bring down the shutter speed below 1/60. This will open you up to the possibility of motion blur, but since you will have still poses as your focus you will not have to worry about this interfering with your couples photography too dramatically.