There's something beautiful about shooting portrait sessions in the winter. The crisp air keeps everyone playful and it adds a little rosiness to the cheeks of the sitter. So, when Brianna's wintertime shoot's location was set outside, Terri was excited to plan the session.
Terri started Brianna's shoot at the Tiffany Creek Preserve, Oyster Bay. This location is home to large estates and a large oak forest. If you look closely at Brianna's background, you can see the oak trees. To make sure that Terri captured Brianna's warmth through the session by shooting during Golden Hour. By using the natural light around her, Terri was able to organically introduce a glow and warm light into the session. Just a little photo lingo: Golden hour is the hour or so right before the sun sets and the light wonderfully duffused, warm and golden. (hence its name!)
From there, Terri caught the end of the sunset over the sound of Long Island. Terri was able to better capture Brianna was by keeping a nice tight focus on just her face and shoulders and using the natural light as her guide. Shooting portraits with a tight crop, creates a more intimate iamges and a better feel for the subject.
At the end of the shoot Terri got creative and used headlights for interesting lighting on the steps of Christ Church in Oyster Bay, NY. By using the headlights as the only light source it gives the photos a darker feel. A nice contrast to the bright and golden photos in the beginning of the shoot.