RF Wedding of the Week: Into the Woods with Lucas Mobley

A nature-filled, wooded wedding almost always provides interesting, beautiful shots, but there are also plenty of challenges to shooting such an event: dark, shaded areas hidden by over-arching trees; inclement weather; uneven terrain. Photographer Lucas Mobley overcame such challenges while shooting a gorgeous ceremony in a family property near Bremerton, Washington overlooking the Hood Canal.

“The ceremony was under the tall pines where [bride] Rachel had played as a kid,” Mobley says. “It was a quintessential Pacific Northwest setting, but it was so dark!” However, he overcame it by shooting at 1/200 f2 at 3200 ISO. “Even a couple years ago, it would have been really hard to get clean images in a situation that dark,” Mobley says. “With good prime lenses and improved high ISO performance, so much more is now possible!”

And of the couple, Rachel and Jimmy, Mobley says, “Their first look was one of the most emotional I have ever witnessed. Think cable car to the beach and tears of joy. The ceremony was in the woods behind Rachel’s childhood home under a chandler hung from a tall tree. The view was beautiful, dancing was epic, food was great and the camping was necessary after so much fun.”

Specific gear included: a Canon 5D Mark III, a Canon D5 Mark II, and lenses 35mm F1.4, 85mm f1.2, 100mm Macro and a 16-35mm f2.8.

As for lighting the reception, Mobley relays: “The dance floor was in a carport, but luckily the DJ had brought some rad lasers and glow sticks. It was a great chance to play with fun ways of lighting dancing.”

To see more of Lucas Mobley’s “candid Seattle wedding photography,” visit his blog. To submit a Wedding of the Week,  email Jessica Gordon.