Wedding photos

[DesertBell]

I don't know that I am so brave; mpre that I wanted them to at least have some pictures. They had asked my mom to do it about two weeks before the weddings, and she had agreed. They were both outdoor weddings in the evening. I knew her p & s wasn't going to be able to handle it, and I offered to let her use my dslr, but she didn't know how to use it and so she asked me to come along. Her camera stopped working as soon as it got dark, so I ended up doing 95% of the shots at the first wedding and all of them at the second. (The first 4 pics are from the second wedding.)

I shot in RAW, and the brides were thrilled with them. So that's something, I guess.

Off to play in Photoshop.

 

[MICKEY88]

I don't know that I am so brave; mpre that I wanted them to at least have some pictures. They had asked my mom to do it about two weeks before the weddings, and she had agreed. They were both outdoor weddings in the evening. I knew her p & s wasn't going to be able to handle it, and I offered to let her use my dslr, but she didn't know how to use it and so she asked me to come along. Her camera stopped working as soon as it got dark, so I ended up doing 95% of the shots at the first wedding and all of them at the second. (The first 4 pics are from the second wedding.)

I shot in RAW, and the brides were thrilled with them. So that's something, I guess.

Off to play in Photoshop.

you did a really nice job.. hopefully you made some money for the stress you put yourself thru

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That the brides were happy is really the important thing. I say brave because they can (probably understandably) be notoriously difficult to please, even it it's a freebie. It was nice of you to do it for them.

As for CC, for one thing, you have a good eye.

In addition to Mickey's suggestions, I think I'd do some cropping (but I really like tight shots, so take it for what it's worth):

#1 - all of the right side after the bride.

#2 - the telephone and lamp, maybe some of the picture (even better if you could get picture out of there).

#3 - extraneous stuff on right side and try to get wrought iron lamp above girl on left's head (I don't know how good you are at Photoshop. I'm not myself but I believe it can be done). I kind of like the column on the left, but see how balanced it looks if you leave it in.

#5 - if you've already cropped, can you get back some of the flowers on the left? I like this photo a lot, she looks very happy. Background/bokeh is nice.

#6 - crop tighter on both sides to eliminate man (leaving veil) and dead space on top and right. I know this will also eliminate some of the lights which are nice, but would like to see how it looks.

#8 - is this cropped already? Might leave a little more space on the left and also fix overexposure, background.

Do you have pictures of the brides' hands? Like the background of hand shot.

PS it might be helpful to others to number the pictures.

 

[MICKEY88]

That the brides were happy is really the important thing. I say brave because they can (probably understandably) be notoriously difficult to please, even it it's a freebie. It was nice of you to do it for them.

As for CC, for one thing, you have a good eye.

In addition to Mickey's suggestions, I think I'd do some cropping (but I really like tight shots, so take it for what it's worth):

#1 - all of the right side after the bride.

#2 - the telephone and lamp, maybe some of the picture (even better if you could get picture out of there).

#3 - extraneous stuff on right side and try to get wrought iron lamp above girl on left's head (I don't know how good you are at Photoshop. I'm not myself but I believe it can be done). I kind of like the column on the left, but see how balanced it looks if you leave it in.

#5 - if you've already cropped, can you get back some of the flowers on the left? I like this photo a lot, she looks very happy. Background/bokeh is nice.

#6 - crop tighter on both sides to eliminate man (leaving veil) and dead space on top and right. I know this will also eliminate some of the lights which are nice, but would like to see how it looks.

#8 - is this cropped already? Might leave a little more space on the left and also fix overexposure, background.

Do you have pictures of the brides' hands? Like the background of hand shot.

PS it might be helpful to others to number the pictures.

I respectfully disagree with your cropping ideas, if scrapbooking they might work ,if doing a wedding album or printing to standard sizes most of them will not because they change the aspect ratio of the picture..

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I respectfully disagree with your cropping ideas, if scrapbooking they might work ,if doing a wedding album or printing to standard sizes most of them will not because they change the aspect ratio of the picture..

Disagreement noted.

Is it not possible to crop, but keep the same aspect ratio? (My editing program does this I believe.)

Or maybe a "wedding scrapbook" would be a possibility. (Trying to think out of the box here.)

How do actual wedding photographers handle editing?

 

[Minnie-n-Mickey4ever]

As long as the brides are happy that is what counts. Definitely play with the photos (lighten some - #6, maybe darken too - #8).

It is nerve wracking taking pictures for someone's special day. I know how you feel. I was asked to be the photographer at two friends' wedding. The first couple were (are) very photogenic and knew what they wanted so it was so easy (they gave me a list of who they wanted photos with, and what type of shots they wanted...etc.) They even had one of my photos placed in the "wedding" section of the local paper! The second couple was a big challenge! They didn't know what they wanted but wanted pictures. However, whenever I tried to get them to take portraits/pictures it was like pulling teeth! They just wanted to dance, drink and have fun. By the time they realized they need to take pictures it was getting dark (it was an outside wedding). And, well, after all the dancing & drinking...lets just say they were...uh...glowing. Didn't surprise me that their marriage didn't last long! (gee did I say that out loud?)

 

[MICKEY88]

Disagreement noted.

Is it not possible to crop, but keep the same aspect ratio? (My editing program does this I believe.)

Or maybe a "wedding scrapbook" would be a possibility. (Trying to think out of the box here.)

How do actual wedding photographers handle editing?

you can crop and keep the aspect ratio, but that is done by cropping from at least 2 adjacent sides.. not just one side..


generally wedding photographers provide albums not scrapbooks..

and as far as editing, experienced wedding photographers compose the shot the way they want it, knowing exactly how much room to leave for printing to proper size, editing is kept to a minimum, rarely photoshopping anything out, unless it'e really neccessary, such as the lantern that appears to be growing out of the bridesmaids dress, that would be done, other stuff such as the phone in the other pic, probably not shopped out..the reason being, when shooting 500 -1000 pictures it would be too time consuming to perfect each image

thinking outside of the box is generally good, but I personally would not hand a client a scrapbook unless that is what they specifically asked for

 

[Pea-n-Me]

experienced wedding photographers compose the shot the way they want it, knowing exactly how much room to leave for printing to proper size, editing is kept to a minimum,

Exactly why wedding photographers are paid for their expertise.

Desert Bell, you did a nice job with the photos. I think Mickey and I are agreeing (in a roundabout way ) on some compositional issues. Next time around you'll be more aware of how you compose your shots. We're all learning here.

 

[DesertBell]

Thank you

I know I had some trouble with composition, especially with the first wedding.I am working hard on really looking through that viewfinder before I press the button. I was more aware of it by the second wedding, but forgot to even think of it about 1/3 of the way through.

The background of that hand shot is actually the groom's tux. I do have hand shots of the brides, but I am not really happy with them.

I am not that good at photoshop, but I am pretty sure I can get the candelabra out of the bridesmaid's head .

#5 was taken that way, unfortunately- I can't get any of the flowers back. It's that bride's favorite, so I guess that's something She was great to photograph; very photogenic and a great poser. I actually asked her if she would model with me so I could practice studio shooting and she said she would, so that's cool.

I was nervous as heck about doing it, but I think that it turned out well for the most part. The best part for me was that I learned a ton, and it confirmed that, when I am better at this photography thing, I would like to make it a career.

Thanks for CC, and for all the nice comments!

 

[MICKEY88]

. I think Mickey and I are agreeing (in a roundabout way ) on some compositional issues..

not really..although I also like tight shots for some things, weddings isn't one of them..it's important to include guests in the background, as well as show the location that the bride so carefully chose, if you shoot or crop everything tight, it looks more like a photo shoot of 2 people, than a wedding with guests..

but it's all about what pleases the bride

 

[Pea-n-Me]

although I also like tight shots for some things, weddings isn't one of them..it's important to include guests in the background, as well as show the location that the bride so carefully chose, if you shoot or crop everything tight, it looks more like a photo shoot of 2 people, than a wedding with guests..

I never said that all wedding shots should have tight crops. It was a suggestion for helping to get some of the extraneous stuff out of some of these shots.

This was what I was referring to

unless it'e really neccessary, such as the lantern that appears to be growing out of the bridesmaids dress, that would be done, other stuff such as the phone in the other pic

but it's probably better to just drop it now. I think Desert Bell gets what I was trying to say.

 

[MICKEY88]

I never said that all wedding shots should have tight crops. It was a suggestion for helping to get some of the extraneous stuff out of some of these shots.

This was what I was referring to

but it's probably better to just drop it now. I think Desert Bell gets what I was trying to say.

sorry if I upset you,,

you voice your opinion, I voice mine, I never said you were wrong, nor that I was right, just that I see it differently..

in reality all of these were shot tight, that's why I said cropping can't really be done,

a good thing to remember is to NEVER shoot tight, just because the aspect ratio is 4x6, enlarged would be 8x12, so in order to get standard size photos such as 5x7 8x10 etc, cropping must be done when printing...

it took me years of reminding myself to do this rather than cropping with camera..


question for DesertBell.. did you crop these with your software, I just checked and they are an odd size...they are 5.9x8.889..

if you've cropped them you might want to go back to your originals and crop to the size prints that you want..


and if I didn't already make it clear.. I like these pictures, and really do believe you should have been paid fairly for doing the weddings..

 

[DesertBell]

You are both sweethearts, and I can tell you it's a relief to have people I know would tell me the truth telling me that they like these shots, even with their problems. My friends & DH are all telling me that they're beautiful, but. . .they're my FRIENDS. I can't trust them.

Mickey88, I don't remember cropping any of these shots, so I would think that it's Photobucket resizing them. Thanks for the reminder on shooting tight. On some of the pictures I took, I have been looking at them and thinking, "Where is the frame supposed to go?!" So that's something to work on in the future. I tend to leave WAY too much headroom, or way too little.


Since my mom was technically the one "hired" to do the work, they're paying her and she's giving me 60% of that. For the second wedding that came out to $160. Honestly, though, I felt terrible charging them anything. I only got my camera in September, I feel like I have no business charging anyone for anything until I am better at this. After all, I benefitted enormously from the learning experiences.

 

[annnewjerz]

For the second wedding that came out to $160. Honestly, though, I felt terrible charging them anything. I only got my camera in September, I feel like I have no business charging anyone for anything until I am better at this. After all, I benefitted enormously from the learning experiences.

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I did a shoot this weekend for a friend of someone I work with for some Christmas photos to keep and also to use on their Christmas card this year. I felt horrible taking money (I'm in the same boat, got my first dslr in September) but you know what...they were thrilled with the photos and at the very least, if I get a paying job once here and there, by the end of the year I'll have been able to save enough to buy myself a new lens, a nice tripod, a new computer monitor, etc. which will also make DH thrilled because it's less of the household money I'm spending.

Basically, as long as they are well informed that you are a newbie and they have seen some samples of your photos and know what to expect, I think there is nothing wrong with getting paid. You are spending time shooting (and yes, you get experience, but experience isn't going to buy you a need external flash), traveling, post-processing, etc. and you deserve to get compensation for it, even if it's just a little (I got $100 for the shoot this past weekend, but they were more than happy to pay $100 because they paid over $500 the Christmas before to have a "real" photographer come out and shoot their family).

One day, I'm sure we will feel confident enough in our work to think we are worthy of the paycheck that comes along with it...until then, just realize that other people think you are worthy enough of a paycheck, and that should give you at least some feeling of satisfaction!

Good luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You are both sweethearts, and I can tell you it's a relief to have people I know would tell me the truth telling me that they like these shots, even with their problems. My friends & DH are all telling me that they're beautiful, but. . .they're my FRIENDS. I can't trust them.

Believe it or not, Wedding Photography is one of the subjects around here that gets peoples' ire up. For that reason, I almost didn't respond (and was worried others wouldn't either) but I wanted you to have some feedback. I actually learned a lot from one of the previous wedding threads, I'll see if I can find it (eta can't find it right now, will post if I can).

 

[manning]

you can crop and keep the aspect ratio, but that is done by cropping from at least 2 adjacent sides.. not just one side..


generally wedding photographers provide albums not scrapbooks..

and as far as editing, experienced wedding photographers compose the shot the way they want it,

I did weddings way back when in the film days and you are right you learned fast how to see a picture. There wasn't much if any cropping done. There were must shots that had to be taken and became second nature to do. Sometime you had a chance to experiment, but not at the expense of the bread and butter shots.

We also had backup cameras in case the main one malfunctioned. It happened to me a couple of times.

 

[MICKEY88]

I did weddings way back when in the film days and you are right you learned fast how to see a picture. There wasn't much if any cropping done. There were must shots that had to be taken and became second nature to do. Sometime you had a chance to experiment, but not at the expense of the bread and butter shots.

We also had backup cameras in case the main one malfunctioned. It happened to me a couple of times.

that's why I always have both og my A700s with me when shooting, and my Minolta 7D in the bag, just in case..

 

[Ember]

Hello, photography board. It's my first post here, but I thought this would be the place to go for this sort of thing.

I shot my first wedding at the end of last month, and would love some (gentle) critiques on how to improve. I had done weddings before, back when I was in university, but only as the backup photographer, which is much less stressful. I'm also not a professional, only a hobbyist.

My girlfriend wound up in a corner financially, and I offered to do her pictures as a wedding gift. (Maybe should have thought a little harder before offering...)

Anyway, I'm not planning on getting into this as a professional or anything, but I would still love some feedback to be able to improve overall.

The link is: http://winawer.org/TashaGallery/index.html


Thank you for taking the time to look!

 

[staceycanada]

I am loving those photo's! I think you did a wonderful job. I was put into a similaiar position in December having to photograph my BIL and SIL wedding. I wish I had one photo that looked as nice as yours.

 

[Kyen]

I think you did a nice job! I like the pictures of the bride getting ready and the ones of the little details like the back of the brides dress. When a friend of mine got married last summer her photographer missed all those pictures!