Janet and Michael Wedding (20 images)

donek

Shot this one a couple weeks ago. My regular job has kept me pretty busy. I just finished editing them.

1. I met the bride at the salon. Looking at these, I wonder if I should have geled my SB, but I think the walls were sort of orange.


2. I did a couple different dress setups.


3.


4. Lots of mirrors


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.


11.


12.


13.


14.


15. I did a couple different ring arrangements


16.


17.


18.


19.


20.


Any critique is appreciated. I have to admit, I was one of those guys doing weddings for dirt cheap on craiglist this summer. I feel it has been an invaluable educational experience. I am looking to plan for next summer and wonder what sort of price you think my work might be worth. Any advice on what I should charge next year?

cdonovan

That's a great set! Seriously!

It's hard to tell you what to charge, I would look at your local competition, and use that as a starting point. Figure out what option you'll offer, there are so many different factors in setting prices, it's really an individual thing!:D


I love the mirrors shot!

Swartzy

There are many images here so commenting on each individually may be over the top

Please allow my observations not to be offensive but helpful as wedding photography allure takes a bit more than your standard "vanilla" type shooting. I'll expound a bit further down.

All the shots are pretty much shot square and straight although compositionally, they are acceptable. The first for instance is honestly not portfolio material and most likely a toss. Besides the overall yellow cast (hence incorrect color balance), the bride's facial expression does nothing to enhance her beauty but instead looks like a shot taken with a DSLR without artistic regard. A different angle other than directly from the profile would benefit this shot (of course there is no way to retake it I know). Try to see things when viewing through the lens as something unique, grabbing, interesting...something one wouldn't see everyday..even at a wedding.

#7 could have been a glorious shot...again...getting the correct angle, position, look, pose is essential. Once the shot screams, "Oooh Baby", then one needs to get creative with post processing effects. The best way to sharpen one's eye for those "wow" shots is to review thousands of photographs of your favorite shooters. We must ask ourselves, "What is it about those shots that draw you in, make you WANT it?" Each time one clicks the shutter, they must have an eye or propensity for a particular look and as experience will prove, you'll shoot with the post work in mind long before they are imported in the computer.

Let's use the dress shots as prime examples. Here, we are not limited to facial expressions, poses and the like. This is where "detail" shots are paramount. This is where the "artistic" vision can take place....both in shot and post production. Get the light right, get the angle right...include enough of the dress or just part of it...give it the wow factor..give it the edge. Anyone can point a camera at a dress hanging on a door...but as a "Wedding" photographer, we are expected to produce something much more. We need to make that dress become a permanent memory for our clients...because we all know it will be buried in a closet for the next 50 years. Make it count.

#9 & 10...feet cut off with too much headroom.

I truly enjoy #16. That is a prime example of taking a detail shot with elegance and style.

#17 is simply a candid...yes, she's showing the ring but the photo is not there. 18 is the same..simply as these don't evoke emotion, gut feeling, wow, allure, etc.

#19 had so many possibilities...nice time of evening...lights in the background..the couple over the water...but it was missed as the creative angles, vantage points were overlooked. Try to think of all the ways you could have shot the couple using the background elements to enhance "them"....create a scene in your mind's eye. How could you have made this into something very special? Laying on the ground shooting wide perhaps? or maybe zooming in tighter with a shallow DOF using the specular highlights as a backdrop....feathered into the background. Oh, the possibilities. The best way to improve is to stretch your imagination. Shoot crazy stuff. Try taking shots not even looking through the viewfiinder. Hold the camera way above your head and take some shots down on the couple.....take them from your knee height. You will be amazed at some of the cool compositions that occur. As a result your photography will be anything but "Vanilla" and you'll capture once in a lifetime concepts that all your clients will relish.

I hope this proves helpful.

donek

Swartzy wrote:

There are many images here so commenting on each individually may be over the top

...

I hope this proves helpful.

Thanks a lot. Honesty is always the best thing and I appreciate it. I would agree that, as an engineer, I am a photographer who dwells on mechanics and will always struggle on the artistic side. I think posing is probably my the next thing I intend to work on. Any book recomendations on the basics?

I had some problems getting smugmug to sort my images properly. As a result I sort of threw in some shots that I didn't really consider the best since I was having a tough time finding the right one in the sea of other images.

I have a number of versions of 7, but it's the pose and how to look at it that is the problem. It was a struggle for me trying to figure out what to have her do.

for 9 & 10 I'd intended to post these:
9b


10b


The shots at the reception were not the greatest. There wasn't much to shoot. Perhaps I just need to learn to see things differently.

I have a number of other versions of 19. Here are a couple.

19b


19c


Your honest thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Kinkajou

I just have to say, Swartzy, as a newb shooting her first wedding next month, these are great points for me to think about. Thanks for taking the time to post all that info!

The Obstruction

So, I'm not really much of a photog yet, as I'm still stuck with an old point & shoot, but I really like this last one, 19c. The low perspective gets the couple out of the background, let's them be the important part while still having the setting.

Mishka

As Swartzy already gave a very good review, I won't go into much detail. Over all, I think the bride and groom will be very pleased with the photos. They may not be particularly artistic, but they do capture the story of the day. And as for the candid one of her showing her ring, I wouldn't throw it out. The bride would probably like that image for the content--maybe those are her new relatives admiring her ring. There are ways you could make the image more dramatic, but as you will probably find--the bride's favorites don't always match your favorites.