Engagement Shoot - Stanford

firedancing4life · April 14, 2009

Hi everyone...here are a series of my favorites from a recent engagement shoot with Katrina and JJ taken at Stanford. It was hard for me to choose only a couple...Light was a bit rough, but my speedlights and fong spheres saved me in the hallways. Would have loved to have had my new pocket wizards...but they are coming in a couple weeks. Comments much appreciated.

1 - Hallway

2

3 - Sit with me

4- Grass

5

6- Bambo Kiss

7

8

-Kevin

Blurmore · April 14, 2009

3 is a great idea...with good execution.
4. is SUPER jaundice...looks like you might have pumped up this shade shot and white balanced off of the dress. Either way it is too yellow/orange. WB off of white fabric is an ok place to start but it doesn't always work perfectly.

Nice work.

Agnieszka · April 14, 2009

First of all, what a good looking & sweet couple!

#1: is very cute (looks a bit out of focus, but that might just be the uploaded version)
#2: not sure about that crop, in my opinion there is too much "empty space" (on the left side + there is a trash can). The architecture is overpowering, and you got the perspective working against you (the columns on the very right look cricket). It would have been better is you would have had a lower perspective in that one
#3: FUN

#4: Nice photo, I think a vertical crop would be better, to avoid having the subjects in the dead center & to avoid too much empty space ... also, you might have to watch out a bit, their skin looks too orange/yellow to me ....
#6: LOVE IT!

#7: very cute ... I would maybe brighten it up a bit?
#8: Awww, love that one too!

You might maybe want to touch up her right cheek a bit?

Nice set! Looks like spring is in the air

firedancing4life · April 14, 2009

Agnieszka wrote:

First of all, what a good looking & sweet couple!

#1: is very cute (looks a bit out of focus, but that might just be the uploaded version)
#2: not sure about that crop, in my opinion there is too much "empty space" (on the left side + there is a trash can). The architecture is overpowering, and you got the perspective working against you (the columns on the very right look cricket). It would have been better is you would have had a lower perspective in that one
#3: FUN
#4: Nice photo, I think a vertical crop would be better, to avoid having the subjects in the dead center & to avoid too much empty space ... also, you might have to watch out a bit, their skin looks too orange/yellow to me ....
#6: LOVE IT!
#7: very cute ... I would maybe brighten it up a bit?
#8: Awww, love that one too! You might maybe want to touch up her right cheek a bit?

Nice set! Looks like spring is in the air

#2...I agree with you.. I was debating on that trash can! haha
#4...I'm going to tweak the white balance...
#8...good call on touch up!

Thanks Blurmore...I'm with you on the Jaundice! haha

Thanks for looking

Qarik · April 14, 2009

#1 I think is the strongest of the set..even then it appears a bit too contrasty for me. Lot of blown highlights...love the "moment" and composition and tilt.

#2 the couple is soft and the hallway is interesting but not adding to the couple.

#3 is a great idea and 2nd favorite. The highlights are in better control but still a touch too contrasty for me.

#4 as bluremore mentioned..WB is way off. Also a bit too much dead space.

#5 is not doin too much for me.

#6 I would crop the bottom and right side. nice capture on this.

#7 she looks great..not sure about th rest of the shot

#8 she has a very nice expression. I feel the lighting is touch harsh on this shot. You see specular highlight in her hair, nose, teeth and the shadows are strong. This one could have been really good if the light were softer and you could get more expression from the guys face/pose.

firedancing4life · April 14, 2009

Qarik wrote:

#1 I think is the strongest of the set..even then it appears a bit too contrasty for me. Lot of blown highlights...love the "moment" and composition and tilt.

#2 the couple is soft and the hallway is interesting but not adding to the couple.

#3 is a great idea and 2nd favorite. The highlights are in better control but still a touch too contrasty for me.

#4 as bluremore mentioned..WB is way off. Also a bit too much dead space.

#5 is not doin too much for me.

#6 I would crop the bottom and right side. nice capture on this.

#7 she looks great..not sure about th rest of the shot

#8 she has a very nice expression. I feel the lighting is touch harsh on this shot. You see specular highlight in her hair, nose, teeth and the shadows are strong. This one could have been really good if the light were softer and you could get more expression from the guys face/pose.

Thanks Dan. I appreciate your comments. I've been sort of "finding my style" for these shoots. That bambo forest was a bit rough...the daylight was still strong and was difficult to avoid the random shadows and bright spots. As for the "contrastiness"...I bumped the curves a bit more on these than I normally would...just to play around...try something new. The pictures were very well received by Katrina and JJ, however I really do appreciate the comments from dgrinners, only makes me pay attention more to what I am doing. I'm going to impliment some of these comments before I print a few.

Thanks!

-Kevin