The Calm Before the Drive - monomad daily chalenge

Hello to all my dear friends in the Black & White community,
This is Menti, back again with another blog and a new post.

This time, I focused on a unique set—a groom in a sharp suit, a decorated car, and a city street as the backdrop. This series is more than just a visual record. It’s an exercise in capturing subtle shifts in angles, lighting, and that calm masculine presence that carries through the frames.

In this shot, the subject is posed in a three-quarter angle, wearing a formal suit, loosened tie, and looking off into the distance. The main light comes from the left side of the frame, casting a soft shadow on the right side of his face. A reflector from the bottom-left helped balance the shadows and retain detail in his skin tone. His stance—with one hand in his pocket—communicates confidence and control. The floral decoration in the background adds context without pulling focus from the subject.

Now the subject is seated inside the car, facing the left edge of the frame, wearing sunglasses and smiling. Natural light filters through the car window, softened by the glass. One of the main technical challenges here was managing reflections on the window, which I resolved by adjusting the shooting angle. His direct gaze and genuine smile convey a sense of ease and comfort. In post-processing, I made sure to control highlights so that attention stayed on the face and sunglasses.

This one has a similar vibe but from a more side-on perspective. The groom is looking forward, with a more serious expression. The contrast in mood between this and the previous image adds emotional variety to the series. The ribbon on the car door and the lines of the vehicle are important compositional elements. I used a shallow depth of field to blur the background and keep the focus tightly on him.

This photo happened right when his phone rang. Most people would stop shooting when that happens—or wait until the call ends—but I kept going. No direction, no interruption. I wanted to capture the moment exactly as it was. There’s something authentic about the way he naturally smiled and lifted the phone—something I wouldn’t have gotten if I asked him to pose for it. That’s what made this one of the most genuine shots in the whole set.

Light was still coming from outside the car, and I used it as-is to light up part of his face. Reflections on the window were managed carefully to keep the focus on his expression, the sunglasses, and the phone. That unplanned moment ended up giving the series a warm, relatable touch without feeling staged or artificial.

The final image focuses on the decorated vehicle. The flower arrangement on the hood, the old brick building, and the street storefront all bring the urban environment into the story. The car is positioned diagonally in the frame, adding depth and leading the eye toward the driver’s side—where the groom is seated. This shot gives viewers a sense of the overall setting—somewhere in a local neighborhood, maybe just minutes before heading out to the ceremony.

Overall, this series was about more than just capturing a subject—it was about capturing the atmosphere. All images were shot using a Sony a7 III and a 24-70mm f/2.8 SIGMA ART DG DN lens. The final edit was done in black and white with a subtle warm tone, chosen to highlight form, mood, and presence.

Photography By @menati
Camera: Sony a7 III
Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8 SIGMA ART DG DN