Photographer Jana Šnuderl of Slovenia-based JS-Design had an instant connection with this couple the first time she met them at a shoot. That was several years ago, well before this portrait was captured, and even though distance has kept the photographer apart from these lovebirds, they still make an effort to meet twice a year for a fun and creative photo session.

This time, Šnuderl surprised the couple by renting this cozy van. Together, she and the couple drove through the Italian Dolomites (a mountain range in Northern Italy) and parked in a spot that offered amazing views of the incoming sunset. “We prepared everything for the photo,” she says, like the hanging lights, “and I gave them instructions to just relax and cuddle a little. And after a while, they just forget that I was there. At that moment, the emotions between them started to show in a way I had never before seen.”

The relatively low light would have been a problem, Šnuderl says, had they not had the hanging lights and dusky glow to compensate—”then it was just about capturing the right moment.”

(Captured using a Canon 5D Mark IV and a Canon 35mm f/1.4 L lens.)

© Jana Šnuderl

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com for submissions.