Photographers Nathan and Thanh of Lightyear Studio captured couple Meagan and Ryan’s beautiful wedding story at the Fairmount Water Works, one of Philadelphia’s architectural icons situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill River between historic Boat House Row and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

All Photos © Lightyear Studio

“Our main challenge was to deal with the intense August heat and humidity, various lighting situations at the venue and light changes over the course of time between portraits, ceremony and sunset cocktail hour overlooking Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River,” Thanh explains. “Our day began at 1 p.m. with bride and groom getting ready at the Logan Square Hotel in the heart of the Center City district surrounded by many of Philadelphia’s finest historic sights.”

Meagan and Ryan had their private first look reveal in the grand courtyard of the Logan at 3 p.m. before proceeding by trolley to the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Water Works at Fairmount Park, Thanh continues: “The sun was especially brutal at this time for the portraits but we worked with a combination of natural lighting and off-camera strobes.” After portraits and family photos, the ceremony began at 6:30 p.m. in bright sunlight and ended around 7 p.m. during golden hour, “beautifully enveloping their ceremony area with gorgeous warmth and the glow of magic hour lighting. We were fortunate to have just enough time after the ceremony to capture a few gorgeous sunset pics of the newlyweds before they were whisked away to enjoy their cocktail hour.”

“This gorgeous, fun-loving and carefree couple loved editorial approach and our ability to capture their wedding day story using natural available lighting and some off camera lighting for enhanced looks,” say Nathan and Thanh. “The whole day was unforgettable.”

Gear of the Day:

Cameras: Sony A9 and Sony A7 II cameras with multiple lens usage throughout

Lenses: Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art, Zeiss 35mm f/1.4, Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8. Sony 85mm f/.14, Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM, Sony 50mm f/2.8 macro, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

Lighting:  A mixture of natural lighting shots with some off-camera lighting using 2 Flashpoint eVOLV 200 TTL Modular Strobe with Built-in R2 2.4GHz Radio Remote System and

Flashpoint R2 Pro 2.4GHz Transmitter for Sony (XPro-S)

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