1st Wedding Trial Run
I'm shooting my first wedding this weekend--outside at 4:00 in the afternoon, casual backyard wedding, TX usually sunny in May...you get the idea. I'm not interested in getting into the wedding photography business...I'm doing this for a close friend. They know I'm not an experienced professional with all the 'right' equipment & they know most of their pics will be what I call 'Mom' shots (good enough for Mom...). Still, I want to do the best job I can do. I'm kind of nervous about it so I wanted a 'practice' run to get a feel for where I need to set up, where I could shoot to get the best light situation vs background, and just to calm the nerves a little bit. My friend wanted a bridal portrait before the wedding anyway, so this little photo shoot served that purpose, too.
I'd really love some advice and critique on these photos. I already feel as though I learned a lot of what to watch for during the real thing, but I still won't turn down anything you guys can offer to me.:D I took these pictures at the same time of day as the wedding will be, btw.
1. My favorite of the bunch
2. Their favorite, but I thought the bride looks a little 'flat' in this pic. Also, I would need to clone out the metal art on the fence in the bg.
3. Another one the family loved but I didn't. Yes, I know the fireplace is crooked (:huh ) and I'll have to work on that! I am posting this one because the family does want some shots at this spot. It's in a darker covered spot, but the rest of the background will be very bright. Argh! Suggestions really needed!
4. Yes, I know, another one with a crooked fireplace. :cry
5.Another place the family wants pictures from.
6. The Dad sneaked up on us and popped out from behind the fountain.
7.
Thanks in advance for any tips and/or advise you are willing to share with me.
Sherry
I'd really love some advice and critique on these photos. I already feel as though I learned a lot of what to watch for during the real thing, but I still won't turn down anything you guys can offer to me.:D I took these pictures at the same time of day as the wedding will be, btw.
1. My favorite of the bunch
2. Their favorite, but I thought the bride looks a little 'flat' in this pic. Also, I would need to clone out the metal art on the fence in the bg.
3. Another one the family loved but I didn't. Yes, I know the fireplace is crooked (:huh ) and I'll have to work on that! I am posting this one because the family does want some shots at this spot. It's in a darker covered spot, but the rest of the background will be very bright. Argh! Suggestions really needed!
4. Yes, I know, another one with a crooked fireplace. :cry
5.Another place the family wants pictures from.
6. The Dad sneaked up on us and popped out from behind the fountain.
7.
Thanks in advance for any tips and/or advise you are willing to share with me.
Sherry
Visit my galleries at: http://psphotos.smugmug.com/ and/or http://pollettsquaredphotography.smugmug.com
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Comments
I don't mind the poses. I think some of them are really nice. I am struggling with the clarity on her face. It seems to have a dull white over her face, and I can't tell if the veil is covering her. Just curious. 4pm is a tricky time of day for wedding photographs. My number one advice...have fun:D
I'm not seeing the white 'veil' on her face. ??
I had hoped to get a little more advise and tips before tomorrow. Oh well. At least our forecast is for partly cloudy so maybe I'll get lucky.
Sherry
2. shoot raw. You have a lot you can do with less than perfect shots if you shoot raw. For example, the first shot would be substantially better moving the black point up to around 15. You may not have the software/ skill to edit raw at this time, but if you have the RAW files, you can alway edit later, but, you can never recreate the data.
3. think back up. back up camera; lots of batteries, lots of memory cards, batteries for both flash and camera -- you get the idea.
4. when posing groups, all things being equal, group shots look better as the faces are closer together.
5. generally speaking, when posing people, a 45 degree angle is your go to position. We don't favor the drivers license pose -- straight on to the camera.
6. bounce flash is your friend. You need to get familiar with the +/- (mostly the plus) on your flash for the pics to be bright enough
7. bright sun light is a difficult condition to shoot in. A little fill flash can help. i'd experiment with this between now and then. Again, shooting RAW can cover a multitude of problems.
8. if you can find some shade to shoot in, that is always nice. use the shade white balance setting.
Hope I don't sound condescending or anything. I don't know your level of knowledge. a lot of this may be totally DUH to you.
Good luck and have fun!
Las Cruces Photographer / Las Cruces Wedding Photographer
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Check for comfy shoes...check for lots of batteries (I bought lots of extras for my slave flashes & my 'regular' flash) plus charged all camera batteries...check for lots of memory cards--I even bought more...I have several sizes and colors of reflectors plus 2 reflector stands so I should be able to bounce OK; both slave flashes (& stands) have swivel heads & that will help, too.
Thanks for tips on groups shots. The groom's family is fairly large & I've been worried about getting all the faces in focus. Close together works!
I've only shot raw one time before. I'm not sure if my skill level is enough to get the full benefit from that, but I'm not opposed to giving it a whirl!
I do understand all of what you told me. I consider my skill level to be intemediate as far as using the camera on manual & lighting basics go. I have an understanding (in theory) of what I need to do, but lack the experience to put it all together consistently.
I only have some basic knowledge of photoshop and paint shop pro. I have both programs and don't think I use either to the full potential. I can repair blemishes, remove small distractions, bump up contract a little...stuff like that. I know that setting the black point has something to do with levels and I think I found a tutorial, but I don't really know how to do that yet. I WILL take time after this wedding today to figure that out though.
Thanks again. Now I have to go get dressed & load the car to go shoot.
Sherry
ps: It's turned out to be a very overcast day. All that worrying about shooting in bright sun was for nothing!
Pose #2 is not a winner - it is not flattering to her figure. You also seem to have some light fall-off from her face to her arms.
#3 - Fixing the crooked fireplace is easy to do in post so I wouldn't worry about it too much when you are shooting. There are a couple of other things that also need correcting; the blown upper right corner being one and the side-shadows from the flash being another. If you are going to use flash in a portrait orientation, you need the tool (a proper flash bracket) to do it right - keep the flash above the lens! You might also take a bit more time actually looking at your bride before you click the shutter. Her hands are not very flattering. I do like the use of light in this one.
the advice to shoot RAW is good and you should shoot RAW whenever you need to have as much insurance as you can get, but it won't fix the major problems found in these photos. Concentrate on technique. Look at your shot before you trigger the shutter. Research and study some posing books. These will give you huge ROI!
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I knew I had problems with the exposure and lighting & was hoping to find a solution before the wedding. I did purchase 2 slave flashes to help and they did make a huge difference in the final outcomes.
Unfortunately (or fortunately--however you look at it), it poured down rain on wedding day & everything I had practiced & prepared for was vastly different. (We could say the same for the bride's family, too. They prepared tables & decorations for 125 people out in the yard that all had to be moved inside quickly.) When everything got moved inside, there was no room to maneuver. I had a hard time trying to set up the slaves without someone blocking the flashes (unintentionally) because they had nowhere to go. The backgrounds were HORRIBLE to say the least & the lighting was awful. I made it through it though and I think I got enough nice shots to make the family happy.
I didn't like #2 either for the same reasons you (& others) stated. There were several much nicer portraits from that session to choose from that I liked much better. However, this was the bride's & the bride's family's favorite. Go figure.
I have never aspired to be a wedding photographer & I hope I never get talked into doing another one. I did this only as a favor to one of my dearest friends. Believe me, they knew what they were getting with me. I tried to talk them into using a real professional for weeks before I finally said OK, and even then I only said OK because if I didn't do it, they would have had nothing. The bride said she didn't even want a photographer because she hates having her picture taken & having a bunch of posed pics just wasn't important to her. She didn't want to spend a lot of money on something she didn't even want. My friend (the Mom) wanted pictures anyway and that's the only reason I said yes. I knew I was in over my head & that's why I started reading everything y'all posted in this forum section. You guys have such great advice and I feel like I learned so much reading what you had to say.
I also really appreciate your comment about taking more time to look at the bride before snapping the pic. I just wish I could have! These folks moved so fast and flitted from one spot to another so fast & there were so many people that I barely had time to just point & click and pray that I got something. I imagine that most of you guys have more controlled settings to shoot in an at least have more cooperative brides!
Oh well...I won't whine anymore. I really do absolutely appreciate all your comments and I will take them all to heart and try to learn something from them.
Sherry
Las Cruces Photographer / Las Cruces Wedding Photographer
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I took about 1000 images (which is a lot for me) and have barely started going through them all. I haven't edited any yet, but I will post a couple as soon as I can--hopefully by this weekend!
Sherry
Lightroom can make short work of your editing, once you get the hang of it. FREE 30 day trial at adobe.com
Las Cruces Photographer / Las Cruces Wedding Photographer
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