First Wedding

slpollett · May 23, 2009

I shot my very first (& maybe last!) wedding last weekend. I enjoyed myself for the most part, but things didn't quite go as planned (do they ever?). This was supposed to be an outdoor wedding, but it ended up raining all day--very hard at times. All the chairs, tables, & decorations had to be moved inside almost at the last minute. It ended up being very crowded and it didn't matter which direction I faced, the backgrounds and the lighting were pretty awful. The reception was in a 'pool room' and as it usually worked out, the best place for me to stand to get the best angle for the picture would have been in the middle of the pool (which I did NOT want to do, lol)!

I want to share a few pics from the day. I haven't done any real editing to any of these shots yet unless noted.

1. First the reception venue:

2. Bride, Groom, Maid of Honor, & Best Man

3. B & G

4. During the ceremony

5. I do.

6. Chocolate Fountain--Everyone's favorite spot!

7. Ring Shot #1--Any suggestions on how to make the rings 'pop'? I've played with this one a little, but haven't quite nailed what I think I want.

8. Ring shot #2

9. First dance (yes, bride had changed clothes)

10. Grandpa has cancer and was not thought to be well enough to attend the wedding. Well, he surprised everyone by attending and then had everyone cheering when he danced with his Granddaughter who came home on leave to see her cousin get married.

Thanks for looking! I'm open to constructive criticism and/or suggestions for post-edits. I'm particularly interested in getting those rings to look a little better.

Thanks,
Sherry

ShepsMom · May 23, 2009

Well, don't sell yourself short! I think your exposure looks great

After all, it's not your fault that setting weren't great, but you did your best to work around it.
I'm sure it's not going to be your "last"

slpollett · May 24, 2009

Thanks!

I was pretty anxious about shooting this wedding and I was so worried about the setting and the backgrounds. I looked at every picture and saw nothing but the flaws. The family is very happy though, and I guess that's all that really counts in the end.

Sherry

Candid Arts · May 25, 2009

How about something like this? I know a lot of people don't like selective coloring, but since the color of the rose is so close to that of the ring, they kind of blend together. So I desat'ed everything but the rings, add clarity to just the rings, added clarity to the whole picture, switched the contrast from linear to strong, upped the vibrance and blacks a little bit, and good to go. Obviously if you spend more time on it, it'd look better, but I think the rings pop a bit more now eh?

zoomer · May 25, 2009

The main thing is you hung in there and got the shots the family wanted.
That is half the battle.
Here is a shot at your ring picture, reduced highlights to accentuate the rings, increased contrast on the rings.

Ed911 · May 25, 2009

Candid Arts wrote:

How about something like this? I know a lot of people don't like selective coloring, but since the color of the rose is so close to that of the ring, they kind of blend together. So I desat'ed everything but the rings, add clarity to just the rings, added clarity to the whole picture, switched the contrast from linear to strong, upped the vibrance and blacks a little bit, and good to go. Obviously if you spend more time on it, it'd look better, but I think the rings pop a bit more now eh?

I have one question...what color are the rings? The originals look like white gold...and now they look like yellow gold...which I think looks really nice...but don't you want to keep the rings the right color for the bride and groom.

Candid Arts · May 25, 2009

Ed911 wrote:

I have one question...what color are the rings? The originals look like white gold...and now they look like yellow gold...which I think looks really nice...but don't you want to keep the rings the right color for the bride and groom.

Yes I noticed that as an after thought. I will re edit the re edit when I have time today.

slpollett · May 25, 2009

Thanks to each of you for the tips on processing the rings pic. I will try the suggestions you made. (The rings are white gold, btw, but I do love the gold look.) Zoomer, I love what you did to make the rings pop a little more but now I REALLY notice my reflection (argh!). I need to get that out of there without making the ring look weird!

Thanks again,
Sherry

zoomer · May 25, 2009

I didn't notice your reflection when I was fooling with it till you pointed it out. Doubt anyone else will notice it either. You can always clone it out if it is buggin you.

slpollett wrote:

Thanks to each of you for the tips on processing the rings pic. I will try the suggestions you made. (The rings are white gold, btw, but I do love the gold look.) Zoomer, I love what you did to make the rings pop a little more but now I REALLY notice my reflection (argh!). I need to get that out of there without making the ring look weird!

Thanks again,
Sherry

sherijohnson · May 28, 2009

I think that you did good considering the challenges of the day.

slpollett · May 30, 2009

Thanks, Sheri. I did enjoy myself, but I was doing this wedding for a close friend. I do photography for the love of it, not to try to make enough money for this to be my 'job.' This has to stay fun for me. I had fun shooting the images, but I also enjoyed the post-editing since I was doing this for a good friend. I didn't make much money from this one, but I did make enough to cover my expenses and add a little bit to my 'lens fund' which puts me a little closer to my dream lens.

Since shooting this wedding, I've now been asked to be the 'second' for two different local photographers & I've had 3 people ask me to do their weddings and/or bridal portraits. Yikes!! I REALLY don't want this to turn into 'work' so I've had a hard time this week trying to decide how to tell people 'thanks, but no thanks' (for now) without blowing any future opportunities for when I'm ready. I'm afraid it wouldn't be fun anymore when it becomes work. I'm really happy that people liked my work enough to ask though. It sure made me feel good even though it scared me to death!

This may not have made any sense, but I know what I meant anyway! :giggle

I'll keep lurking here and reading all your tips and looking at all your great photos. One day I'll be ready to tackle another wedding, just not right now.

Sherry

First Wedding

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