Urban nature photo session

Hey everyone, I hope you're doing great! This is my first post in this community and I'd love to hear what you think!

A couple of days ago I was shooting a friend of mine. The main Idea was to do a couple of photographs using a bench, streetlamp and a small wall with some buildings in the background. I figured that a local park would be a good idea as it had all the objects I wanted. BUT it also had something else.... Whole photo session turned around when I saw all the colors that plants have gotten this spring.

Instantly I knew that I wanted to capture a few backlit portraits while I still had the chance. My goal was to frame her in front of a lush tree which perfectly enhanced the tranquil atmosphere of a shot. The only that ruins the photo a bit is that I could not stop the sky from highlights from getting overblown, but it didn't ruin the photos as much as it can sometimes.

In this simple portrait, I wanted to switch from backlit portraits to something simpler. It was the same tree, but totally different vibe since there was no more intensive warmth when I got the shot, but at least her face was not in the shadows no more!

In the above images I've got a little bit more creative with lightroom edits... I've enhanced the sky while giving her a cooler tone to balance out the sunset with shadows of the park we were in. This was the time I knew we wouldn't have much more light so I switched to night mode.

And here, sun has already set so we had to change location. Finally I've gotten to the shots similar to those I planned to do in the beginning, but it was night instead of the day... Nevertheless photos turned out pretty good. In fact I love how light and shadows overlap on the right one. The trick I used is that there were two streetlamps: one in the photo and other one behind next to me roughly in the same direction she was looking.

And then we come to my favorite. Maybe it is just me, but a strand of hair that went in the wrong direction actually gave a bit of magic to the shot. To this moment I couldn't decide which white balance to use so I put a little bit cooler tone to the right. Maybe it was the wrong idea but somehow the other one also feels a little bit off.. Still both images have their own little story which they tell to us.

And unfortunately, since we have exhausted all ideas for photos in our surroundings and since there was too little light I simply cranked up my ISO to the max so I try squeeze at least one or two photos in a little bit less lit area. Those photos were awfully dark, but luckily I managed to pull some magic off in lightroom. Manipulating exposure and lifting shadows was very hard since it could ruin everything with noise. Still there were a shot or two that could be looked at.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading and have a great day! I'm always open for critique so feel free to comment what you think! I'd love to hear from you!

Note: All photos are mine and are subject to copyright. If you intend to use them anywhere please ask for permission.