This is one of my go-to prompts for weddings and engagement photoshoots. I am particularly fond of photos of the couple walking toward away from the camera. It reminds me of the quote:
“Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Wind, Sand and Stars
Lead me: intimate prompts for couples walking together
Connection, togetherness and intimacy: this prompt is versatile enough to use in any couple photoshoot. For weddings, it’s a great one to use to capture extra looks as you change locations within your shooting venue. It delivers results fast!
How to use this photo pose prompt
The only trick with this photo prompt is to snap your shot “on the step.” If you take a burst of photos while someone is walking, you’ll see some of the photos look odd, because legs are half lifted or the body is tilted forward seemingly about to fall. The key to pleasing photos of someone walking is to take the photo as their foot hits the ground.
Idea 1: Follow the leader
- Have one person walk slightly in front of the other and drag the other along.
- As they walk, have them alternate looking at each other, then at you.
- Capture them walking towards you, or across the scene, or away from you.
- Switch and have the other person in front instead.
Idea 2: Walk this way
- Walk and talk: Call out a question and ask them to answer to each other, so they chat and talk as they walk hand-in-hand. Questions: Tell (partner) what you love most about how he/she looks today. What’s the best moment you’ve shared (today, this year, in your lives together)? Tell (partner) about the last time you really appreciated their support.
- Walk and dance: Have them walk hand-in-hand, and at intervals, call out dance instructions: Groom, twirl your bride. Pull each other in for a kiss. Meet in the middle face-to-face without kissing.
- Walk and hug: Have them slip an arm around the other’s back, and walk (slowly) together. At intervals, ask them to do little intimate interactions: look at each other, kiss, lean their heads together, have one lean head on the shoulder of the other, have one kiss the forehead of the other. Again, capture from in front and from behind.
Creative extension
- Shoot from behind things, framing the couple and giving the sense of an intimate, secret moment. Use a long lens (like my Tamron 70-200mm f2.8) to give them space.
- Experiment with capturing tight shots when their heads are close together, and sweeping wide shots that incorporate the scenery.
- Find a silhouette angle, ideally getting down low with the couple on the crest of a hill and sky behind them. Expose for the sky while the couple becomes a black cut-out against the light behind.
For more fast ideas for wedding photography, Wedding Photography with Jasmine Star is on sale at the time of writing on CreativeLive. I did this course in 2017 when I was getting ready for my first wedding and it gave me the confidence I needed to feel like I’d have everything covered on the day.
Do you have any go-to strategies for boosting connection in walking photos? Tag me @promptographerguide and use the hashtag #promptographerguide to share with the tribe.
Want this prompt in your Field Cards set?
All the info in this prompt post is summarized onto a single card in the Promptographer Guide Field Cards, with the details given in the accompanying Guidebook. All the ideas are given on the one card so you have a rich, comprehensive tool for sparking ideas. I’ve designed it this way so you only need five to ten cards to build a whole photoshoot.
If you want this prompt in your set, make sure you include Set 3: Intimate Moments in your Field Cards.
