To make the most of the beautiful weather and sunlight, photographer Maria Shiriaeva suggested couple Anton and Alexandra begin their wedding photo shoot bright and early. The pair had flown to the Indonesian island of Bali for a destination wedding, and Shiriaeva wanted to capture some of the traditional Balinese architecture in her frame. “Light during the morning time is magic there,” Shiriaeva says, “but you need to be lucky to catch it! Sometimes it’s cloudy, and if you do have a beautiful sunrise, you only have one-and-a-half absolutely gorgeous hours to work with.”

Shiriaeva took her clients to an area she describes as having “kind of a fairytale-jungle style.” She posed Anton and Alexandra in front of a temple, but also in a position that had a nice backlight. Instead of shooting straight at them, she found a couple of flowers still wet with morning dew and shot through them, not realizing what a beautiful glistening result it would produce. “Getting this image felt like a gift. It really captures the mood of a Bali morning.”

(Captured using a Nikon D700 and a NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.)

Photo © Maria Shiriaeva

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