Okay, so I’ve been wanting to recreate that iconic beach scene from “No Hard Feelings”. You know, the one where Maddie and Percy, um, interact on the beach at night. It’s such a memorable moment, and I figured, why not try to capture it with some photography?
First, I needed to find a suitable beach. It couldn’t just be any beach; it needed that secluded, somewhat desolate vibe. After scouting a few locations, I finally settled on one a little outside of town. It was perfect – mostly empty, especially at night, and had that nice, wide stretch of sand I was looking for.
Then came the tricky part: finding models. Luckily, I had two friends, Sarah and Tom, who were totally game. I explained the concept, showed them some stills from the movie, and they were totally on board. We planned the shoot for a clear night, hoping for some decent moonlight.
Next up, equipment. I’m not a pro photographer, but I do like taking some great photos. I used my trusty DSLR camera, a decent tripod, and a couple of portable LED lights. I didn’t want to overpower the natural light, but I needed something to illuminate the scene a bit, since it’s, you know, at night.
- Camera: My old but reliable DSLR.
- Tripod: Essential for long exposures.
- Lights: Two small, battery-powered LED panels.
- Props: We brought a blanket, just like in the movie.
We got to the beach around 10 PM. The moon was out, but it was still pretty dark, so I set up the tripod and camera first. I played around with the settings for a while – ISO, aperture, shutter speed – trying to find that sweet spot where I could capture the scene without everything being too grainy or blurry. It was a lot of trial and error, I’m not gonna lie.
Once I had the camera settings মোটামুটি dialed in, I positioned the LED lights. One I placed behind Sarah and Tom, to give them a bit of a silhouette, and the other I held myself, to add a little fill light on their faces. We tried a few different poses, mimicking the ones from the movie, but also just letting them be natural and comfortable.
The biggest challenge, honestly, was the cold! It was a lot chillier than we expected, especially for Sarah, who was, shall we say, less dressed than Tom. We took frequent breaks to warm up, and I made sure to have plenty of blankets on hand.
We shot for about two hours, and I took hundreds of photos. It was a lot of fun, even though it was also kind of exhausting. And let me tell you, directing your friends in a scene like that is…an experience. We were all laughing pretty much the whole time.
I reviewed all the photos, and selected a few.I imported to lightroom for some minor processing.I increased the constract and brightness a little bit.
In the end, I was really happy with how the photos turned out. They weren’t perfect, of course, but they captured the mood and the essence of the scene. And more importantly, we had a blast doing it. It was a fun, silly, and slightly awkward adventure, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
