Wedding #4, another sunset in Maine

ssimmonsphoto

I'm just uploading my latest wedding from a week and a half ago. This was another small wedding at sunset on the coast of Maine. It was my fourth wedding ever. I'm pretty happy with how it all came out. As always, I'm still learning more and more and tons is becoming more natural for me with each go at it. At the risk of sounding sappy, I'm still thrilled to be able to capture these moments for the b&g and have absolutely no regrets about getting in to it. But ask me again after Halloween when by season wraps up and I may say something different. It's going to be a crazy summer! At any rate, here is the sneak peek shot I gave them (I'll post more as they upload). I tried hard to pay attention to the horizons thanks to your C&C the last time around.

Snowgirl

ssimmonsphoto wrote:

I'm just uploading my latest wedding from a week and a half ago. This was another small wedding at sunset on the coast of Maine. It was my fourth wedding ever. I'm pretty happy with how it all came out. As always, I'm still learning more and more and tons is becoming more natural for me with each go at it. At the risk of sounding sappy, I'm still thrilled to be able to capture these moments for the b&g and have absolutely no regrets about getting in to it. But ask me again after Halloween when by season wraps up and I may say something different. It's going to be a crazy summer! At any rate, here is the sneak peek shot I gave them (I'll post more as they upload). I tried hard to pay attention to the horizons thanks to your C&C the last time around.

I think that when someone gets tired of the joy of the day and photographing a wedding becomes "just a job" it's probably time to try something else Great that you find pleasure in capturing these moments.

Nice shot - and straight horizon!:D

Scott_Quier

Gotta agree with Snowgirl - when you get to the point where you aren't smiling when you are working a wedding, it's time to look to something else. I've only done something like 20 weddings over the course of the last two seasons, but I still get a little weepy-eyed at some point during the day. I hope to never loose that - it tends to make the photos a little more special.

As for the horizons - getting them close in camera (can't do it perfectly) but, more importantly, get the shot. You can correct the horizon angle in post without loosing too much of the photo if you only get it close.

BTW - this photo appears to have a slight lean to the horizon and needs to be rotated slightly CCW. That aside, this is a nice shot. A little more light from camera right would have opened up the shadows on his face a bit more, but this small correction can also be accomplished in post without serious impacts on the quality of the shot.

ssimmonsphoto

Now that the gallery is done uploading, here are some other favorites...

Threatening to dump the bridesmaid/girlfriend in the ocean:


Finally married! (And evidence of the shadow issue that I was dealing with the entire time.)


I woke up from my nap for this?!?! Mom and Dad, I just wanna go back to sleep!


And, when all was said and done...
(Still kicking myself for not being able to hop in the water or ask them to move down so I got the full reflection.)



There are others, but I don't want this to be too long. I've got wedding #5 coming up this weekend. I'm happy with how this one came out, so hopefully this one is even better. C&C welcome, as always!

Darren Troy C

The second one in the second group makes me want to scream! Love the shot, be damned that shadow! Looks like you had a couple of spots @ the shadows terminus that they could have stood in to correct that issue. Either way, I really like the shot.

BTW, are those people or is that maybe pilings like from a jeddie or pier-type structure? I'm thinking "human". If so, you should have made them moooooove!

Ok, I keep going back to edit this. I can see from the wide angle it would have been nearly impossible to rid the image of even your own shadow (I see someone/an assistant holding a reflector) Would laying down literally on the sand been an option and then shooting vertically? The distortion may have been too pronounced in this position.

Final analysis.....REALLY like the image and the shadow just.....is. Nice work!

ssimmonsphoto

Idlewild wrote:

The second one in the second group makes me want to scream! Love the shot, be damned that shadow! Looks like you had a couple of spots @ the shadows terminus that they could have stood in to correct that issue. Either way, I really like the shot.

Oh, yeah, the entire ceremony was right as the sun was above the horizon. Horrendous shadows! I tried shooting in every position I could so that I wasn't in the shadows.

Idlewild wrote:

BTW, are those people or is that maybe pilings like from a jeddie or pier-type structure? I'm thinking "human". If so, you should have made them moooooove!

Those were humans. It was right at the end of the ceremony, so I couldn't tell them all to move. It was right as they were pronounced.

Idlewild wrote:

Ok, I keep going back to edit this. I can see from the wide angle it would have been nearly impossible to rid the image of even your own shadow (I see someone/an assistant holding a reflector) Would laying down literally on the sand been an option and then shooting vertically? The distortion may have been too pronounced in this position.

I don't have an assistant and therefore no reflector. So it must have been one of the guests, perhaps taking a shot with their point and shoot.

Idlewild wrote:

Final analysis.....REALLY like the image and the shadow just.....is. Nice work!

Thank you for your kind words. I'm been working really hard at it all, so I'm pleased that it's finally paying off in my finished product. Damn the shadows though!

Khristen

I agree that the shadpws kinda add to the effect. I like it for the simple reason you know their loved ones were there. Great series! Congrats!