First paid wedding: ceremony pics

CaroleHayes · July 18, 2009

I really like these, and my bride does too, so I hope some of you do, too....

They were SUCH a fun couple!!

- She was barefoot
- they walked each other down the aisle
- there was no bridal party
- one of their dogs was the ring bearer! : )
- he played his guitar and sang her a song (And I Love Her, by the Beatles)
- did I mention that they were just really cute and fun?? :barb

Disclaimer:

- I know a lot of them look soft. I'm going for a "dreamy" feel here, and my bride is beyond thrilled with it. (She had a gazillion guests giving her "normal" pictures, so she's happy that mine are different.) (Also, one or two that are overly soft are that way because I goofed and missed focus, and this is as good as they get; but they blend fairly well with the others, so I left them....)

- I know there are some wonky angles. I have many more pics without the angles, but some of my favorites just happened to have that in common; I swear I don't shoot these angles ALL the time!

- Oversaturation is on purpose, as is high contrast, on those that have it. (It's all about the "feel....")

- This isn't representative of the whole shoot; these are just some of my favorites. : )

Anyway, here they are:

1.

3.

5.

9.

10.

12. (couldn't decide between these two....)

and
13.

14.

15. (not sure if it's clear what this one is, but I liked it anyway....)

16.

19.

20.

21.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

Wow, that was a lot of pics. I didn't realize I had so many edited already! :rofl

ETA:
Okay, I took some out. Does that help a bit??

Scott_Quier · July 18, 2009

Two comments -

1) Too many pictures! I can easily understand your excitement, but these are too many!

2) Too much tilt on many of them - just toooooo extreme.

I'm very happy for you that your clients loved these. That's really matters - you create your own style and that you have clients that love it!

CaroleHayes · July 18, 2009

Scott_Quier wrote:

Two comments -

1) Too many pictures! I can easily understand your excitement, but these are too many!

2) Too much tilt on many of them - just toooooo extreme.

I'm very happy for you that your clients loved these. That's really matters - you create your own style and that you have clients that love it!

Sorry!! Should I take some out?? (I have to get lunch for the kids first, but I could take some out after....)

CaroleHayes · July 18, 2009

Okay, I took some out. Does that help a bit??

CaroleHayes · July 18, 2009

Nobody else?

Are they that bad?? :cry

zoomer · July 19, 2009

9 20 26 I like.
I know you are just starting out and it is fun to experiment with processing options.
My guess is you will look back at these in a couple years if you stick with wedding photography and ask yourself "What was I thinking?"

I still do the same thing today looking back at my work from just 6 months ago, so don't take it to seriously.

Having said that, people like you who are pushing the envelope with your own creative style soon develop a personal style that works and does not look like every other wedding photographer out there.

So in closing, for me , most of these shots I do not love, but you have a lot of potential so keep shooting and working on your style.

Tilts, extreme contrast, and blurs are fun but should be used in moderation.

cdonovan · July 19, 2009

These photos have great energy and emotion. I love the content, however; many of them seem to have nothing in focus, or show camera blur of one form or another. I could be wrong because some of the softening seems to be to the extreme and makes me feel it's trying to mask something! Take this with a grain of salt, and keep with it!

I know of a photographer that consistently produces pictures with absolutely nothing in focus, and they are still in business

which goes to show that a lot of times, people are more in love with the content than the quality or technical aspects that most photographers would cringe at!

Scott_Quier · July 19, 2009

CaroleHayes wrote:

Sorry!! Should I take some out?? (I have to get lunch for the kids first, but I could take some out after....)

Depends on what you want. If you are looking for detailed C&C, you post a limited set of what you think are great shots (ego strokes are always nice

) and/or not so good ones if you are looking for "how to avoid doing this next time" kinds of comments.

If you are just excited and want to share - lots of photos are fun for everyone!

CaroleHayes · July 19, 2009

zoomer wrote:

9 20 26 I like.
I know you are just starting out and it is fun to experiment with processing options.
My guess is you will look back at these in a couple years if you stick with wedding photography and ask yourself "What was I thinking?"

I still do the same thing today looking back at my work from just 6 months ago, so don't take it to seriously.

Having said that, people like you who are pushing the envelope with your own creative style soon develop a personal style that works and does not look like every other wedding photographer out there.

So in closing, for me , most of these shots I do not love, but you have a lot of potential so keep shooting and working on your style.

Tilts, extreme contrast, and blurs are fun but should be used in moderation.

Thank you for the feedback!

I guess I should explain that I'm doing the different treatments for the album.... The designer I use likes to mix styles on a page, and she does it with excellent results, so I'm trying to give her plenty of variety to work with. (My bride has seen samples of her albums, and loves the style, so she's excited about it.)

I definitely want a style that's my own, so I hope you're right about me heading that direction....

cdonovan wrote:

These photos have great energy and emotion. I love the content, however; many of them seem to have nothing in focus, or show camera blur of one form or another. I could be wrong because some of the softening seems to be to the extreme and makes me feel it's trying to mask something! Take this with a grain of salt, and keep with it!

I know of a photographer that consistently produces pictures with absolutely nothing in focus, and they are still in business which goes to show that a lot of times, people are more in love with the content than the quality or technical aspects that most photographers would cringe at!

Thank you! :sweet

There ARE a few of these in which the softness is masking a photo that wasn't quite sharp enough, but the majority of them were fine SOOC.

I know, when I've gotten pictures done, I've always been more concerned with the content, but I don't want to count on my brides being the same.... (I'm HIGHLY annoyed with the shots where I missed focus, and I'll do my best to not let it happen again!)

Scott_Quier wrote:

Depends on what you want. If you are looking for detailed C&C, you post a limited set of what you think are great shots (ego strokes are always nice ) and/or not so good ones if you are looking for "how to avoid doing this next time" kinds of comments.

If you are just excited and want to share - lots of photos are fun for everyone!

Mostly, I'm excited and want to share.

Matthew Saville · July 20, 2009

Just speaking freely here, I agree with others who have said that the soft focus effect and the tilted angles are something you will look back on and not be very proud of.

As a professional I do believe that it is our job to consider what is going to be as TIMELESS as possible. True, everything changes, fashion changes, and people's wedding photos from 20-30 years ago are often downright laughable. And indeed, our photographic styles definitely won't be the same in 10+ years, or even in 2-4 years. All the same, try to think "timeless"... Nothing beats a clean, simple, truly memorable image with little or no editing...

=Matt=

CaroleHayes · July 20, 2009

Matthew Saville wrote:

Just speaking freely here, I agree with others who have said that the soft focus effect and the tilted angles are something you will look back on and not be very proud of.

As a professional I do believe that it is our job to consider what is going to be as TIMELESS as possible. True, everything changes, fashion changes, and people's wedding photos from 20-30 years ago are often downright laughable. And indeed, our photographic styles definitely won't be the same in 10+ years, or even in 2-4 years. All the same, try to think "timeless"... Nothing beats a clean, simple, truly memorable image with little or no editing...

=Matt=

That's a good point, and I plan to give them some of those, too, but I still want to give them some of the style that they requested....

JohnnyNapalm · July 20, 2009

I am going to be completely blunt here, and please understand that my critiques are purely intended to be helpful in the long run. I am also saying these things based solely on THESE pictures, since you didn't link to any more, and your site isn't working for me.

The things that jumped out at me:
1. You seem to have been standing in good locations for many of these shots
2. You captured a lot of emotion
3. You worked a variety of techniques in terms of framing
4. Many of these shots are tilted for seemingly no reason, and it detracts severely from the picture
5. Most, if not all of these pictures are WAY oversaturated
6. Most, if not all of these pictures appear to be out of focus

Now, I understand giving the client what they want, but to someone who is viewing these pictures on a completely uninvested level, I would tend to think that most anyone with a point and shoot and Adobe Elements could reproduce these. That's not to say that these are representative of your work...but judging this set alone, I can tell you that most people wouldn't find this acceptable for a wedding album. Most of this "blur" appears not to be from post-processing, but from fundamental errors during the picture taking process.

Again, just the first impressions of someone looking at just this set of work. Hope that wasn't too harsh. I do think there is a lot of potential in here...it's just not my cup of tea.

CaroleHayes · July 20, 2009

JohnnyNapalm wrote:

I am going to be completely blunt here, and please understand that my critiques are purely intended to be helpful in the long run. I am also saying these things based solely on THESE pictures, since you didn't link to any more, and your site isn't working for me.

The things that jumped out at me:
1. You seem to have been standing in good locations for many of these shots
2. You captured a lot of emotion
3. You worked a variety of techniques in terms of framing
4. Many of these shots are tilted for seemingly no reason, and it detracts severely from the picture
5. Most, if not all of these pictures are WAY oversaturated
6. Most, if not all of these pictures appear to be out of focus

Now, I understand giving the client what they want, but to someone who is viewing these pictures on a completely uninvested level, I would tend to think that most anyone with a point and shoot and Adobe Elements could reproduce these. That's not to say that these are representative of your work...but judging this set alone, I can tell you that most people wouldn't find this acceptable for a wedding album. Most of this "blur" appears not to be from post-processing, but from fundamental errors during the picture taking process.

Again, just the first impressions of someone looking at just this set of work. Hope that wasn't too harsh. I do think there is a lot of potential in here...it's just not my cup of tea.

Johnny, thank you for taking the time to look and critique! :sweet

Re. #4: The ones that are tilted are that way because I was NOT in a good spot to take them. (I was across the room, shooting over a shoulder, and around a dress; any other angle would have chopped part of the face off.) I saw them laughing, and started snapping the only way I could; I'm very happy with the expressions that I caught.

ETA: But you were right—for the rest, I had a pretty good spot!

#5 & 6: The oversaturation is on purpose. (One of them was severely out of focus, and one slightly; for the rest of them, the softness is on purpose. There was a very distinct energy in that room... a very specific feel, and I've recreated it in these pictures. (I even verified with my second shooter. She told me, "I was there. It didn't LOOK like that at all, but it definitely FELT like that!")

Thanks again! : )

CaroleHayes · July 20, 2009

JohnnyNapalm wrote:

I am going to be completely blunt here, and please understand that my critiques are purely intended to be helpful in the long run. I am also saying these things based solely on THESE pictures, since you didn't link to any more, and your site isn't working for me.
.

Good grief—I missed a whole bunch when I typed up my first reply!

I'm not sure why my site wasn't working for you. It loads slowly sometimes, but we're working on getting a new one.... In the meantime, I've added a link to my Smugmug site in my signature.

Now, I understand giving the client what they want, but to someone who is viewing these pictures on a completely uninvested level, I would tend to think that most anyone with a point and shoot and Adobe Elements could reproduce these. That's not to say that these are representative of your work...but judging this set alone, I can tell you that most people wouldn't find this acceptable for a wedding album. Most of this "blur" appears not to be from post-processing, but from fundamental errors during the picture taking process.

Again, just the first impressions of someone looking at just this set of work. Hope that wasn't too harsh. I do think there is a lot of potential in here...it's just not my cup of tea

I have much more variety to offer than these, but I also respectfully disagree with you "that most anyone with a point and shoot and Adobe Elements could reproduce these."

And, as I mentioned before, a couple of the shots were actually blurred SOOC, but most of them were not.

Thanks again, for taking the time to comment! : )

First paid wedding: ceremony pics

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