At a post-wedding portrait shoot on Rehoboth beach in Delaware, David Jon and this couple encountered weather that they weren’t exactly hoping for: stormy waves and big, dark clouds. But, as Jon says, “as creatives, we make the best out of whatever environment we are in.”

With some of the “safe portraits” out of the way, Jon wanted the couple to interact with their surroundings. “I directed the groom to pick up the fishing pole that he brought as prop and cast a line,” the photographer says. “Likewise, I suggested the bride to use binoculars, looking out toward the surf.”

He also positioned his flash at camera left and directed it at them, knowing that by adding that pop of highlight would mean he could underexpose the shot by a stop. “I immediately knew the drama of the scene,” Jon says, “and the juxtaposition of the various elements would make for a compelling black-and-white edit with strong tone curve adjustments.” Using Two Mann’s Jagerbomb preset through DVLOP, he then performed his own tweaks to the photo’s exposure. “I prefer my images to have drama and move people to feel something about my images.”

(Shot on a Canon 5D Mark IV and 35mm f/1.4L lens at f/8 and 1/400 of a second, with a Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite at 1/4 power coming from the left side.)

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