Misty Port Hills Engagement Photography

Have you ever wished for something so bad that it was granted? I have wanted to do a portrait shoot in misty or foggy conditions, and the dream came to pass.

This happened when we had teed up an engagement session with Nydia and Nick with the shoot happening at the Sign of the Bell Bird up on the Port Hills.

On the day of the shoot, everywhere else the weather was cloudy with clear visibility as normal except up at the top of the Hills. Driving up the hills, I was excited as I had been longing for this type of weather condition to do a shoot in for ages. I had done landscape photography in misty conditions but never a portrait shoot.

By the time we got to the parking area, Nydia and Nick were already there and ready and after a quick scouting of the location were ready to go.

I was gutted that the hut at the Sign of the Bell Bird was fenced off as it is getting a new roof. That had been one of the spots I had intended on utilising.

However, there were some stone structures behind the hut, and we made use of those instead.

Nydia and Nick are an excellent couple with great personalities. They were easy going throughout the shoot, and despite the cold and misty weather they seemed to have enjoyed the shoot.

Alternating between off camera flash and natural light provided an interesting lesson and insight into photographing people in foggy conditions. It’s a whole different ballgame, and I must say I enjoyed it and am looking forward to a similar situation presents itself in future. I already have some tweaks in place for next time.

When out on a location shoot and are using equipment for lighting up your subjects. Have an assistant who knows about the lighting system or equipment you will be using. That way if something goes wrong or the gear stops working, they can trouble shoot while you continue to photograph your subjects using other available means.