**WCC (Weddings Challenge Contest) #4: ARCHITEXTURE**

Mishka

We don't always have a pretty park, an elegant mansion, or a lovely beach to use for wedding portraits. Sometimes all we get is a city street to craft the beautiful images the bride wants.

So, this theme's challenge is for you to show off your most creative use of buildings, architecture, and/or urban backgrounds to produce stunning wedding portraits. Now, I'm all about bokeh and creamy backgrounds, but for this challenge I need to be able to tell that you've incorporated architecture and/or urban textures into the photo. Again, creativity is key.

And when I mentioned "textures," I do NOT mean applying textures to the photos in PS. I mean having actual urban background textures in the photos--you know, bricks, concrete, graffiti, etc.

If you haven't seen them already, here are the rules for entry. Let me know if you have any questions! And have fun!

-Mary

mmmatt

Mishka wrote:

We don't always have a pretty park, an elegant mansion, or a lovely beach to use for wedding portraits. Sometimes all we get is a city street to craft the beautiful images the bride wants.

So, this theme's challenge is for you to show off your most creative use of buildings, architecture, and/or urban backgrounds to produce stunning wedding portraits. Now, I'm all about bokeh and creamy backgrounds, but for this challenge I need to be able to tell that you've incorporated architecture and/or urban textures into the photo. Again, creativity is key.

And when I mentioned "textures," I do NOT mean applying textures to the photos in PS. I mean having actual urban background textures in the photos--you know, bricks, concrete, graffiti, etc.

If you haven't seen them already, here are the rules for entry. Let me know if you have any questions! And have fun!

-Mary

Nice topic Mary!!! This should be real competitive for sure. Lots of good urban shooters around here.

Just to clarify, we can blur our backgrounds as long as the background is discernible as urban/architectural or are you looking for fairly clear focus throughout?

Matt

Mishka

Yes, you can blur the backgrounds...as long as you can tell it's an urban setting. Which, you can still do even at f1.2 if you set it up right.

MA-FOTO

playing.....
here is my take....
A wedding i shot in Taiwan in October. This is outside the reception hall just moments before they go in....

Agnieszka

No new entries???

I'm sure everybody has some pics with an urban background

heatherfeather

Thanks for the prodding, Angie. Yours next, okay?

patfureyphoto

Moogle Pepper

It's always great to have clients with really spiffy L lenses for me to use for the shoot.

Agnieszka

Here is mine It's just a pic of the bride, hope that's ok ... taken in a dodgy industrial part of town ... unfortunately they restored the elevator shaft / door shortly after I took the pic :cry

Swartzy

Crystal-Pixel

Heres mine

mmmatt

From the Riverwalk in downtown Milwaukee.

Matt

Mishka

These are awesome! Keep 'em coming!

cdonovan

It was sooo cold out, these girls had goosebumps, but humored me, thankfully!

camarochick

my first wedding shoot
hope this counts...It is my fav photo out of the 1500 photos taken

Kinkajou

I know it needs more work... suggestions for processing would be appreciated, though I know that this is not the place and I should just post it in the forum directly. Why this part of town has so many tan-colored bricks is beyond me; they're really not my favorite. Nonetheless, here it is:

Ti Amo

lilmomma

One of my favorites:

Darren Troy C

No texture added here...just a quick adjustment within Camera Raw to the "blacks" slider and the granite wall spoke for itself.

tenoverthenose

I left town with out looking for a photo to enter, so this is pulled from my blog for this month (I'm still playing with slow shutter speeds).

Mishka

Congratulations patfury! You're #1.

patfureyphoto wrote:

Mishka

Congratulations Angie--you're my #2 pick!

Agnieszka wrote:

Mishka

Congratulations lilmomma--you're pick #3!

lilmomma wrote:

Agnieszka

Congrats Pat & lilmomma

Mishka

First of all--thanks to everyone who submitted photos for this contest...there were a lot of wonderful entries. And I know this is a busy time of the year with the holidays and such, so thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule.

Now for my thoughts on all the photos:

ma-photo: This was a really interesting background...I certainly was drawn to it, but I felt like the bride and groom themselves were somehow separate from the scene, and I wished there could have been more interaction.

heatherfeather: Really lovely use of the lines and the ilght posts...I also loved the reflection on the wall, but I felt that the cars and street signs detracted from the focus of the couple.

patfureyphoto: Just a really incredible shot all around. I was instantly drawn to it. The lighting is superb, the perspective interesting, and the couple's expressions and placement is perfect. Really a gorgeous use of the surroundings to create a beautiful image.

mooglepepper: I liked the use of vignette here and the wide angle is interesting, but the photo feels a bit too dark for me.

agneizka: Just a gorgeous shot. I love the texture of the wall and the post processing that enhances it. The bride's pose also makes the shot stand out and really grabs my interest.

swartzy: I really love this shot, especially how use used the available light to highlight the bride and groom. The only thing that didn't appeal to me particularly was the pose...it almost feels a little too "orchestrated." Still, a really lovely shot.

crystal-pixel: I loved the interesting location here and how you framed the bride and groom in the archway, but it looks a bit overexposed. I also think the perspective could be more interesting if you went from a different angle.

mmmatt: I love the use of lines here to draw you to the couple, but I feel the scene is almost too busy with so many different lines and intersections. I lose my focus on the couple, though I really like the natural look to their pose.

cdonovan: The alley concept here is really interesting, as well as having the bride and her bridesmaids walk away from you. The texturization, however, really detracts from the photo for me. I am no longer looking at the bride but trying to figure out what is making the photo look almost stitched together.

camarochick: I really like the idea of this photo, but unfortunately, the late day shadows do not help here. The groom is almost completely in shadow, as well as the bride's face, which really makes me loose interest in the photo.

kinkajou: I love the beautiful gate you've placed the bride and groom next to, but the harsh mid-day lighting flattens the image. I like the simple pose you've used, but again, I feel a change in perspective could really make this image more interesting.

lilmomma: What a beautiful image! I love the mysteriousness of the subject and how you have the bride slightly turned back, though still hiding most of her face. The light from the window contrasted with the shadows adds depth and interest, and I love the elegant placement of her hand on the railing. Great use of location.

darrentroyC: This is a great shot for viewing the bride's entire dress, and I love how you've used the pillars to frame the bride. For me, though, the post processing you used to increase black in the photo destroys the natural beauty here.

tenoverthenose: I love this shot and would have picked it if this was the slow-shutter contest! It's an interesting perspective and I love the motion blur, but again, I think this would have been a perfect pick for "draggin' the shutter.

Thanks again for everyone who entered. I really enjoyed looking at everyone's photos!

MA-FOTO

Agnieszka wrote:

Congrats Pat & lilmomma

ditto - nice work.

Mishka, thanks for the insightful review - much appreciated.

lilmomma

WOW i'm in shock! thanks Mishka, and congrats Pat and Angie!

heatherfeather

Yay Mishka! Great choices, great theme and a wonderful collection of photos by everyone! Congrats to Pat, Angie & Lilmomma!! Now I can't wait to see what PAT picks for his next theme. Whatever it is, I bet it is gonna be fun!

patfureyphoto

heatherfeather wrote:

Yay Mishka! Great choices, great theme and a wonderful collection of photos by everyone! Congrats to Pat, Angie & Lilmomma!! Now I can't wait to see what PAT picks for his next theme. Whatever it is, I bet it is gonna be fun!

haha wow - didn't expect this! new thread coming once i think of something...

mmmatt

Congrats Pat! Thanks Miska for the comments. On to the next one!!!

Matt

Shima

Bummer, looks like I missed a fun one in my hiatus from dgrin... congrats Pat, Angie & Lilmomma!