Starting on the swing
We met Vanessa and Michael in the garden at Immerse and started them somewhere easy: a wooden swing hanging from a timber pergola on the deck. Sitting side by side gives nervous hands something to do, and within a minute they were laughing at each other instead of at us. We stepped back behind a bush of pink roses and shot through the petals, so the flowers blurred softly across the front of the frame. Then we came in close for her ring, her hand laid over his on the denim, and a quiet moment of the two of them leaning in on a slatted bench.
Under the big tree by the lake
Next we crossed to the lawn by the lake, where a big tree drops its branches low over the grass. A high, bright sun can be hard on faces, so we kept them in the open shade under the canopy and let the water and trees behind them glow. Michael kissed Vanessa’s cheek, she leant into his shoulder, and we tried a few frames in black and white, where the dappled light and dark branches turned into a graphic pattern. A timber fence running along the water gave us a line that leads the eye straight to them.
A green tunnel
Just along the path, an arch of climbing green makes a tunnel you can walk right into. Inside, the light drops to a soft green glow, which is about the most flattering light you can find on a bright day. We stood at the mouth of the tunnel and let the leaves frame the edges of the picture. Vanessa wrapped her arms around Michael’s waist, and he pulled her in close for a kiss while a sunny patch of path glowed behind them. On a hot afternoon a spot like this earns five minutes of any session, for the shade alone.
Across the timber bridge
From the shade we headed out onto a timber footbridge, and the view opened right up: green vines, a wine barrel at the far end and the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley stretching away behind. We framed them from a few steps ahead as they strolled hand in hand, using the rails to pull the eye into the picture. Halfway across, Michael spun Vanessa under his arm and both of them burst out laughing. Bridges are great for movement, because a walk with a clear start and finish means the posing takes care of itself.
Inside the Vineyard Chapel
The Vineyard Chapel was next, a white weatherboard building with one huge window running up its gable. We stood them on the lawn in front first, small against all that white, with a blue sky and a few clouds overhead. Inside, the same window frames a view straight out over the vines, with wine barrels and pink and white flowers on either side. Vanessa and Michael held hands at the front, shared a kiss and then stepped forward together with their arms in the air, as if someone had just announced them. It was a happy little preview.
A doorway onto the vines
One of our favourite tricks at Immerse is an open doorway. Under a big iron clock, a pair of tall doors looks straight down a row of vines, and we stood inside in the shadow so the doorway became a dark frame around a bright scene. Vanessa and Michael waited just outside on the path, held hands and kissed with the vines running off behind them. We made one version in colour and one in black and white, where their silhouettes read even more strongly. Any doorway with bright light beyond it works the same way, so look for one on your own day.
Vine rows and a tree grove
We finished out in the vines, thick and green, the canopy almost meeting over the grassy rows. Walking straight towards us gave a long, simple line, and side on, hand in hand, they chatted and forgot we were there. The very last stop was a grove of young trees, where the sun broke through the leaves in soft spots across the grass. Michael and Vanessa held both hands, turned to us with big smiles and finished with a kiss among the trunks. Some of our favourite Immerse Winery pre-wedding photos came from that grove, where the trees give shade and depth even at midday.
