Somewhere Between Light and a Glance _ monomad daily chalenge

This recent shoot was a refreshing exercise in simplicity. A young couple, dressed in black, standing in the middle of a forest path—it was a minimal setup, but the environment and their energy gave the session all it needed.

My goal was to keep the shoot natural and honest, using only available light. While I usually work with a reflector or beauty dish in outdoor sessions, this time I wanted to challenge myself and rely entirely on the ambient light filtered through the trees. Shooting in black and white meant paying extra attention to contrast, highlights, and shadow fall—there’s no color to distract or compensate.

In the first image, I positioned the couple directly facing each other. I asked them to hold hands lightly, not for the pose itself, but to create a starting point—something comfortable. This helps most people relax in front of the lens, especially in outdoor, public settings. Her dress had a wide train, and I made sure to compose in a way that allowed it to flow into the frame naturally.

The second shot was taken from behind. I wanted to capture the gesture of walking away, together. There’s always a compositional risk here—overexposure in the background, or visual clutter from tree trunks—but shooting with a slightly narrow aperture helped maintain sharpness while still giving depth to the scene.

The third and fourth photos focused on the woman. Her outfit, hair, and minimal accessories worked well with the monochrome palette. One of the main challenges here was managing dynamic range, as the forest light can be inconsistent—bright patches next to heavy shadows. I exposed for her skin tone and let the background fall where it may. It required some attention in post-processing, but the results felt balanced.

The biggest lesson in this shoot: in black and white, the emotion isn’t enhanced by color—it is the content. Everything else—composition, pose, lighting—serves that. I’ll continue exploring this theme in future sessions and would love to hear your feedback as always.

Thank you for viewing.