Saturdays Wedding (getting ready shots)

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

Had a wedding at the Lyndhurst castle on Saturday, I am processing the gallery images now, probably won't finish until sometime tomorrow, but the getting ready photos are starting to show up, so here are a few:

More later as they become available

Andy · May 31, 2005

yummy.

gus · May 31, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

Had a wedding at the Lyndhurst castle on Saturday, I am processing the gallery images now, probably won't finish until sometime tomorrow, but the getting ready photos are starting to show up, so here are a few:

More later as they become available

Love this one shay

Nir · May 31, 2005

If those are just the warming up pics ...

Fantastic Shay!

Yuri Pautov · May 31, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

Had a wedding at the Lyndhurst castle on Saturday, I am processing the gallery images now, probably won't finish until sometime tomorrow, but the getting ready photos are starting to show up, so here are a few:
More later as they become available

Like emotions here, Shay!
Last one is my favourite - just super portrait.
Why dont you 'work with her skin', I wonder?
Spasibo,
Yuri

Dave DB · May 31, 2005

Very nice, love the third picture especially.

Dave DB

thegreenegg · May 31, 2005

Hi Shay,
Love your pictures.
-The first one I really like the idea. I don't so much like the bar code on the back of the mirror but that's easy to take off. The lighting is nice and warm... do you have any more poses of her with the mirror?
-I'll do two and three together. I like the wide angle you have on the tying of the bride's dress but the intimate closer view and beauitful and a real keeper.
-Four is a nice candid. I like that one.
- Five and Six are very nice. Some really nice pictures of the the bride. I like the last one especially. It's like her groom just came around the corner or something. So, wistful.
Overall, very good job. So, let's have more of the bonbardment of wedding pictures.
Ashley

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

Formal portraits
Thank you for the comments everybody. Here is another small round of pics:

It was periodically raining, so we had to shoot much of the portraits between bands of medium to light rain. So we stuck pretty close to tree cover to keep everyone dry.

Nikolai · May 31, 2005

Awesome, Shay!
I now look at your photos and asking "where did he put the light?":D
Great work, I see that still have a lot to learn, but at least you provide such a fine learning material:-).
I like the way you've used that mirrior:-)

Cheers, mastah!

Nir · May 31, 2005

Once again, fantastic!

I may just consider marrying again... would you come over here to Israel Shay?

leebase · May 31, 2005

Absolutely fantastic

I'm shooting a wedding this Sat., your shots are inspirational.

Lee

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

Ceremony time
The ceremony almost got rained out, but just as people were starting to head for the trees, it let up and all went without a hitch.

binghott · May 31, 2005

shay, i'm a fan of your work, it's beyond excellent. the wide shots are nice, but the shots with the 70-200 are abolutely stunning. i shot a confirmation/bat-mitzvah type thing this weekend and didn't use my 70-200 once, the tamron 28-75 was great. i kinda regret not using it, but it would've been difficult to use since the lens is basically as big as the whole restaurant we were in.

i'm assuming you were only using your 16-35 and 70-200 the entire time, i'm also assuming you use two bodies, but i could be wrong.

my favorite shot so far is the last shot of the first set you posted, it's beautiful.

EDIT: i noticed theres one you just posted that was apparently taken with the 18-55 kit lens, is that right?

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

but it would've been difficult to use since the lens is basically as big as the whole restaurant we were in.
The 70-200 is honkin' huge! I really debated on whether or not it would work for me, and it's really heavy too. It might not sound like it to some, but when you carry this all day for 12 hours, that adds up

But the results, like you mentioned, are worth it to me. I can't actually imagine not using the lens now. And with the IS (image stabilization) I can use it at 1/60th of a second in low light situations very reliably without getting camera shake at full zoom. Just amazing.

i'm assuming you were only using your 16-35 and 70-200 the entire time, i'm also assuming you use two bodies, but i could be wrong.
I carry three lenses in my bag, the 70-200, 16-35, and the 50mm. I mostly use the 70-200 and the 16-35 for everything. I do use two bodies, and at times will use both at the same time, but my preference is to use one body and swap lenses. I do too much body movement to have two bodies swinging around my neck most times. When I am not using Jen for anything, she takes the second body with the kit lens. When she gets a good one, it finds it's way into the gallery (much to her delight hehehe)

EDIT: i noticed theres one you just posted that was apparently taken with the 18-55 kit lens, is that right?
Yes, you are correct. As mentioned above, Jen shoots with the kit lens, and one of them found their way into this post by accident. Not that it's a bad thing of course, but I like to keep any confusion at a minimum

Jen is currently in training with the camera. In a while, she will start learning PS too. She is making good progress and the goal is to have her capable of doing a wedding all on her own.

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

Hi Ashley, I don't usually do much spot editing for the proof gallery. People like to see their photos fast these days "donchya know". But here are the two other mirror shots and the first one posted that are cleaned up.

tlittleton · May 31, 2005

Those are excellent photos Shay. Did you have a flash behind her when she's looking into the mirror, or is that natural background light?

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

I did have a small softbox in the room to provide some fill, but the reflected light in this case is coming from a window from behind here (over her left shoulder). The room had three walls with windows all around. The fill light from the flash was placed in the corner of the wall that had no windows.

There was also some incandescent lights up in the ceiling that helped to impart the warm tones and the walls were an orange-y yellow which helped too.

tlittleton wrote:

Those are excellent photos Shay. Did you have a flash behind her when she's looking into the mirror, or is that natural background light?

T4Tots · May 31, 2005

I just enjoyed your entire gallery

These are really great. I love the colors. Glad the rain held off!

Shima · May 31, 2005

Beautiful work as always Shay... love the one where they're walking away from the altar, faces are priceless.

Peter Dumont · May 31, 2005

Shay, WoW !

Shay Stephens wrote:

Thank you for the comments everybody. Here is another small round of pics:

Really lovely pictures, Shay !

I have a few favourites from your posts and this is one of them.

Very nice capture ! What did you tell them to make them laugh like that ?:lol

Bye,
Peter Dumont

BridgeCity · May 31, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

EDIT: i noticed theres one you just posted that was apparently taken with the 18-55 kit lens, is that right?
Yes, you are correct. As mentioned above, Jen shoots with the kit lens, and one of them found their way into this post by accident. Not that it's a bad thing of course, but I like to keep any confusion at a minimum

Jen is currently in training with the camera. In a while, she will start learning PS too. She is making good progress and the goal is to have her capable of doing a wedding all on her own.

Good to know there is still hope for this lens! I have the 50 1.4 but am not talented enough to realize it's greatness. I still have a tough time taking the 18-55 off my camera... Which leads me to beleive that I need to upgrade to the 16-35 L.. or the 24-70 L

Wonderful set Shay... pictures like that are what inspire my to keep trying

Angelo · May 31, 2005

very sweet Shay. I admire your ability to work around bright windows and mirrors and maintain beautiful light.

binghott · May 31, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

Jen is currently in training with the camera. In a while, she will start learning PS too. She is making good progress and the goal is to have her capable of doing a wedding all on her own.

i find this interesting, why don't you have someone working for you that already knows how to use the camera and photoshop? is she working for you and in return you're teaching her to use the camera and photoshop?

Shima · May 31, 2005

binghott wrote:

i find this interesting, why don't you have someone working for you that already knows how to use the camera and photoshop? is she working for you and in return you're teaching her to use the camera and photoshop?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm 99% sure that she's Shay's wife

binghott · May 31, 2005

Shima wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm 99% sure that she's Shay's wife

haha. oops, didn't know that

sorry!

lynnesite · May 31, 2005

Gorgeous work, Shay, love the white balance especially. So nice when flash is really used correctly, and in this case despite variable light as well. I liked your creative poses, too.

wxwax · May 31, 2005

Shay, some absolutely wonderful images. I especially like the first mirror shot, that's just great. And one again I note that the good shooters always seem to nail the exposure - great stuff.

Hey lynne, are those two horses getting it on in your avatar?

dragon300zx · May 31, 2005

Shay I have some questions and was wondering if it would be ok to PM you with them.

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

Thank you for looking and commenting T4Tots, Shima, Lynne, and wxwax.

Peter, that's a trade secret....hahaha....no, really, it was as simple as just suggesting they all laugh and have a good time. They were already in a happy fun loving mood, so they did not need any other help than that. Also did a non laughing shot:

BridgeCity: You can do a lot with the kit lens. The 50mm will let you do low light work. You don't need a bevy of lenses to get good work done ;-) but with that said, the 16-35mm is totally sweet and bright.

Angelo: I look for lighting and backgrounds almost as much as I look for subject matter. When both make themselves available at the same time, that's when the sparks fly :-)

binghott: As Shima mentioned, Jen is my wife.

dragon300zx: You may launch when ready

Shay Stephens · May 31, 2005

The Reception
The reception was held under a tent. Good thing too, because not long after everyone got seated, it started pouring cats and dogs.

simon bennett · May 31, 2005

Shay Stephens wrote:

The reception was held under a tent. Good thing too, because not long after everyone got seated, it started pouring cats and dogs.

Hi Shay... would be keen to know what lens you used for the above shots.

I have to agree with Gus on the following shot. It's my fave from the series.

A wedding in a scenic location with photogenic people. That makes a difficult job a little easier. Looks like it was a fun shoot.

Simon.

Saturdays Wedding (getting ready shots)

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