I was fortunate to shoot a wedding at the Hudson Mercantile in Manhattan. It’s a very industrial space, and there’s even a psych wall on the lower level that can provide some pretty cool photo opportunities.
This wedding was a mix of Jewish and Korean cultures and included various bits of symbolic elements from each throughout the day. A tea ceremony, as well as a Jewish ceremony under a chuppah, were lovely touches to honor the backgrounds of the bride and groom.
One of the most unique elements of the Hudson Mercantile is the rooftop deck that allows for a phenomenal, panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline. They generally do ceremonies, cocktail hours, and even receptions on this rooftop, and it’s truly a treat for a photographer. We had a wonderful opportunity to go onto the rooftop later during the reception, and we spent a few moments taking a few nighttime photos with the Empire State Building and New Yorker Hotel in the background.
The gesture and chemistry of this couple was fantastic, and they truly loved one another. The challenge, photographically speaking, was to balance the nighttime sky with the light I placed on my couple. By controlling the shutter speed, I was able to allow the ambient light from the skyline and the dusk sky to maintain detail while also lighting the subject with an off-camera Nikon SB-5000 Speedlite triggered remotely from my camera.
I love doing these night shots because they allow the couple to get an eclectic mix of photographs that give them wonderful, diverse choices when choosing album images. This image was taken with a Nikon D5, Nikkor 24-120mm F4 lens, and it was shot at 1/25th F4 @ ISO 800.
Location: 500 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018.
1/25; f/4.0; ISO 800; 66.0 mm.