1st Bridal shoot

adpace

I did my first real (I've been to a couple workshops) bridal shoot on Saturday. I'd love to hear any feedback / constructive criticism.
1)
Too much of a halo around her?

2)


3)


4)


5)

Asked her to try not to smile in this one.

Thank you in advance! It's been a while since I've been on here (a bit of a dry winter for me, I guess). I hope to be back on more frequently.

I am shooting a rehearsal dinner this weekend at the beach and am very excited about it. It's a present from sister to bride. Any beach photo suggestions? It's to take photos of the family members on the beach... relaxed & fun.

Thank you!!!!!!

MissB

wow, nicely done!
I really love the simple beauty and elegance portrayed in these photographs. I also really REALLY like the contrast black background and white gown. good work!

imagesofhim

Elegant is the first thought I had when I saw these. I do not think the halo effect in # 1 is too much, however, I wish the bottom of her dress weren't cut off. #4 would be my favorite except that the lily tips are cut off :-(

The color, lighting dof, & posting are stunning! Thanks for sharing!

Scott_Quier

A couple of things come to mind:

• with previous posts about the elegant feel of these. Of course, the bride has a lot to do with that!
• :cry Your images are too tightly cropped. These appear to be 2:3 ratio. With no extra room to crop, your clients are limited in the sizes and aspect ratio in which they can purchase prints. As a general rule, make sure there is enough extra room around your subject so they can crop it to 8 x 10 without loosing anything important.
• #1 - I love the treatment/processing of this one. The coloring has a timeless feel to it that I think will be greatly appreciated for many years to come.
• I'm not a big fan of the bouquet being right up in the face. A 135 degree bend in the elbows is much more relaxed and, to my eye, more elegant as well.
• :cry #4 - Watch your backgrounds. The rail or curb or whatever it is - running through her head.
• #4 - Aside from the the curb, this is an excellent shot. It would probably be worth the time to clone out that curb.
• :cry - With the exception of #1 and #3, you need to add a little light to the face to open up the eyes a bit.
• #3 - Generally, I like the composition. I think it might have been even stronger had you moved her body closer to the right edge of the frame and had her looking to her right. You also need to burn in the grass behind her a bit - a very distracting bright spot there.
• :cry #5 - I'm not a big fan of the locked elbow or what appears to be a death-grip on her bouquet (her knuckles are white).

For the beach ... take a flash for fill, face them away from the sun (use the sun for kicker/rim lighting), you could turn the beach excursion into a mini e-session with the B&G.

Photosbychuck

Very Nice Photos

1)Tip of dress cropped out. Halo looks fine to me.
2)Different angle would help.
3)Great Shot my fav.
4)Nice shot
5)Tip of her hand is cropped out.

Take Care,
Charles,

adpace

Priceless advice - thank you so very much!! Thank you to all that commented, I appreciate it.

I really do need to watch where and how I crop and my background(!) - sheesh... how could one not see that??

Thank you!!

Scott_Quier

adpace wrote:

Priceless advice - thank you so very much!! Thank you to all that commented, I appreciate it.

I really do need to watch where and how I crop and my background(!) - sheesh... how could one not see that??

Thank you!!

I find it very difficult to pay proper attention to the background - it's a discipline thing with me ... that is, I have very little discipline. I get too excited about the subject and don't pay proper attention to the other details.

Something I've read either on the net or in an Ansel Adams book is that, before one presses the shutter release, the photographer should scan the frame - especially along all four edges of the frame.

I've noticed when I pay propery attention to the details that my keeper rate sky-rockets and my frustration level all but disappears.

swintonphoto

Lovely images - you should be proud especially if this is the 1st shoot of bridals. Nice job.
One little piece of advice - I think brides tend to hold their flowers too high most of the time. I like them sitting much closer to the waist.

mmmatt

Nice work!! I agree with what has been said already, and like Scott I struggle with really searching the frame before pulling the trigger. I get better all the time however and as Scott said it makes a big difference in the keeper rate and/or the amount of post work you do. For now it may be a good idea to shoot a little wider than what you want and crop down in post. Just the act of recomposing in post will help train your eye and that little extra time in PP will be time well spent IMO.

Matt

lisarhinehart

wow
I'm very impressed with your first bridal shoot! I agree with the comments about cropping and having the bride hold the boquet lower, but all in all they are fantastic. I would be over the moon with these results as a bride or photographer. Well done! --Lisa

nicoleshilliday

lisarhinehart wrote:

I'm very impressed with your first bridal shoot! I agree with the comments about cropping and having the bride hold the boquet lower, but all in all they are fantastic. I would be over the moon with these results as a bride or photographer. Well done! --Lisa

i agree...

the flowers seem to be over powering the bride in some of the shots. Have her hold them a little more naturally. Great Job!!!

zoomer

They feel a little cramped to me, give the subject some space.
The bright bride is competing with the bright backgrounds for attention.
First choose a good background....then place the bride into the composition. Your eyes should be pulled to the bride.

Experiment with light and shadow a bit, these are overall very bright.
Experiment with composition to create more interesting photos.

These are not bad photos but there is a lot of room for improvement.
I can see you have the potential for that improvement...keep at it.