How to fake summer:
Step 1: get the perfect couple
Tristan and Elizabeth volunteered to be my model couple in the middle of our spring break. March is notoriously a lack lustre month but with these two, we managed to make it feel like summer. The love between them radiates pure joy but also deep tender moments. They have that summer love excitement to them.
Step 2: schedule the photoshoot for the worst time of day.
This step is somewhat sarcastic... normally noon is the worst time to shoot because the sun is directly overhead and creates harsh shadows and contrast. When we scheduled the shoot, the forecast was calling for rain. I was all ready for that moody rainy photoshoot but am so glad that's not what we got!
Overhead sun means you have to be really strategic with poses and location... it can be challenging but it also gives that beautiful glow.
Step 3: Add Kodak Gold
Because I also use analog film cameras for my photography, I edit my digitals in styles that emulate different film stocks. That way, if I do a shoot with both a digital and a film camera, the transition between images is seamless.
For this shoot, I went with the class look of Kodak Gold.
Before we dive into why that's so cool... let me ask you this, if you grew up in the South Okanagan and you are millenial or older, do those mountains give you a wave of nostalgia? For me they totally do! Here's why: Kodak Gold was a widely popular and affordable film stock in the 80s and 90s and is what most of our parents used when they took our photos. That's why when we see digital photos edited with Kodak Gold, it just feels so familia. It's a favourite look for family photos for that reason!
Kodak Gold is also, as the name suggests, a warm look. It gives lively skin tones and saturated hues. It makes the complete package for a fake summer day.
Millenials - here's your homework: ask your parents what film stock they used while you were growing up!
