My First Wedding

jmphotocraft

C&C welcome. The groom is my cousin, and this was my gift to them. I'm not much of an artist, so my style is more documentary. Here are some of my favorites. The full gallery link is below. Thanks for looking.

Location - Dennis Port, Massachusetts:

1.


Rehearsal:

2.


3.


Rehearsal Dinner:

4.


5.


Dressing:

6.


7. this is more what the bride was like the whole time, very fun.


8.


9.


10. impromptu Coors Lite toast


11.


Formal and bridal party shots:

12.


13.


14.


15.


16.


17.


Ceremony - was moved up to the lawn next to the tent due to threatening rain

18.


19.

(I know, cut off toe, argh)

20. tried to include MoH, BM, and hide minister


21.


22.


23.


Reception:

24.


25.


26.


27.


28.


29.


30. note the cake topper


31.


32. MotB


33.


Full gallery is here:
http://jmphotocraft.smugmug.com/event/Natalie-and-Randall

Thanks!

Moogle Pepper

6 and 28 should be tossed. 6 is pretty pretty dark and 28 looks kinda weird. But in general it is a nice first! I like the prep and the casual shots the most here.

sweet caroline

Very nice! I know that's not very constructive, but I enjoyed looking at these.

jmphotocraft

Moogle Pepper wrote: »

6 and 28 should be tossed. 6 is pretty pretty dark and 28 looks kinda weird. But in general it is a nice first! I like the prep and the casual shots the most here.

Funny, those are some of my favorites. 6 was an intentional silhouette, and 28 was just a fun capture. I like how her veil is trailing up to the side.

Sam

I'm not gona nit pick each photo................first wedding......a gift......ya did good.

Sam

Griffin

I think they are great!

I like #6 as well -- Perhaps if you processed it to lose some detail from her face it would give it a better silhouette feel -- or maybe not.

Looks like you had fun.

ssimmonsphoto

You should give yourself a lot of props for that being your first! You have a lot of good composition and lighting going on. I would be damned pleased to have that as my first wedding as opposed to the ones I have. I did not do nearly as well my first time!

You need to stick around and show off more of your shots if you continue to do weddings. I enjoyed looking at these.

Moogle Pepper

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Funny, those are some of my favorites. 6 was an intentional silhouette, and 28 was just a fun capture. I like how her veil is trailing up to the side.

Well opinions differ.

I think what would have worked better for 6, would have been something more intimate either in background or what she was doing. Cause as it is, it is static. IMHO.

happysmileylady

ssimmonsphoto wrote: »

You should give yourself a lot of props for that being your first! You have a lot of good composition and lighting going on. I would be damned pleased to have that as my first wedding as opposed to the ones I have. I did not do nearly as well my first time!

You need to stick around and show off more of your shots if you continue to do weddings. I enjoyed looking at these.

I agree. My first wedding was so much worse than this, the second wasn't that much better, and I am currently processing my 5th, I am still not confident enough to post them.

On 6, what if you cropped in a little closer, so that the window doesn't look as crooked, and perhaps as another mentioned, processing so you get more of a sillouhette, losing some of the detail on the face.

On 28, I really like the idea...but then when you look at her eyes, it kinda looks like they are rolling back in her head, like she's gonna pass out or something....do you have another similar that you could swap eyes with?

My favorite is the one with the bride and groom matching the cake topper. Good eye on catching that.

Overall, I think they are great!

jmphotocraft

Thanks all!

I agree 6 could be cropped/pp'd better. I darkened the whole shot to boost the silhouette effect, but maybe I need to take it further. The rest of these are pretty much as-shot, except for 22 which is a combination of 2 exposures. As for getting 6 with a different background, well, we were in her hotel room with all the other bridesmaids and none of that was posed. That's a candid shot. The only posed shots here and in the gallery are the obviously posed ones (and the cake topper shot). I didn't try to pose any artsy shots or fake candids. That said, I really like the way 6 shows her curves.

I also agree her eyes aren't great in 28. Oh well. It was the "big move" of their first dance, and I'm glad I caught it.

It was raining lightly during the bridal party shots, so we were rushed. I would have liked to do more there. But that also worked to my advantage, as it lowered expectations and kept things moving along.

Thanks for recalling your first weddings. It was hard for me to know how I did. As photographers we see our own photos every day, therefore I think after a while they don't look as impressive to ourselves, so it is good to have fresh eyes look at them. Although I got a little reassurance when I handed my camera over to my dad, a rank amateur, and he took this of my uncle and me...


then I was like, ok, I'm doing better than that at least.

Qarik

it's not bad..it's not great. A reasonable 1st effort. Some of the shots have poor subject lighting due to black lights. The light in the tent shots is very nice though. 28 would have been a keeper for sure if you hadn't caught her mid blink.

edit: back lighting I meant

jmphotocraft

I know it's not great. I'd appreciate you posting some of your own great wedding work so I can learn. There were no black lights at the wedding. 28, what can I say. The dip was not staged and it was very quick. Down-up.

Moogle Pepper

Also be mindful of your surroundings for the next one. The plastic chairs and tossed clothes or bags in the prep shots take away from the images.

..Coors light... come on ladies. Sam Adams or Guinness.

jmphotocraft

Moogle Pepper wrote: »

Also be mindful of your surroundings for the next one. The plastic chairs and tossed clothes or bags in the prep shots take away from the images.

Dude. Like I had control of that. The room was a disaster and they were behind schedule. You can get an idea of the size of the room from #10 - that's the whole room! Throughout the two day event, the bride was extremely laid back about the photos, which was great. The downside of that was that she didn't put much thought into them and I just had to work with what was in front of me. I don't want to be one of those bossy self-important photogs who gives everyone orders.

..Coors light... come on ladies. Sam Adams or Guinness.

yeah! Kids these days! I think we're experiencing a strange back-lash from the micro-brew beer-snobbery craze that hit about 15 years ago. Cheap crappy bear is cool again. PBR is laughing all the way to the bank.

Moogle Pepper

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Dude. Like I had control of that. The room was a disaster and they were behind schedule. You can get an idea of the size of the room from #10 - that's the whole room! Throughout the two day event, the bride was extremely laid back about the photos, which was great. The downside of that was that she didn't put much thought into them and I just had to work with what was in front of me. I don't want to be one of those bossy self-important photogs who gives everyone orders.



yeah! Kids these days! I think we're experiencing a strange back-lash from the micro-brew beer-snobbery craze that hit about 15 years ago. Cheap crappy bear is cool again. PBR is laughing all the way to the bank.

You don't have to order them with the mess or be bossy. Just try to compose around it, or it if it does add try it making it into negative space. If not, e.g., the plastic chair move it out of the way. Mess is bound to occur in prep shots, no way around it and no point in telling them to be tidy. Even if you are going for a documentary approach change your angles or try to shoot through it or make it into negative space. Something to ponder.

Cheap crappy beer? I cry at that notion of cheap beer being cool again.

mpaulie

FactoryPhil wrote: »

I think you did an outstanding job for your first gig. I also think that you captured something that a lot of weddings lack, natural fun. What I mean is that it looks like the party had a genuine element of fun and smiles, not staged stuff.

Keep it up!!!

Just about exactly what I was going to say.

12,17, and 23 are my favs... super clean, nice colors

jmphotocraft

thanks guys!

Yeah Moogle, I will definitely try to think of those things next time. Sometimes I lose sight of surroundings when I'm concentrating on the subject, waiting for "the moment". I think I got that moment in 8, because the flower girl was looking down and then looked up for a second, but I also got the plastic chair.

mmmatt

jmphotocraft wrote: »

The downside of that was that she didn't put much thought into them and I just had to work with what was in front of me. I don't want to be one of those bossy self-important photogs who gives everyone orders.

.

JM you have to be that guy to a certain extent. It isn't self-important because it is for her, to make her photos better and SHE has absolutly no responsibility in that. it is up to you to control the situation. Certainly it can be tough and especially in the getting ready room. I usually try to get there before the girls do and move things around to my liking, but I will also ask the people at the salon to clean a mirror if it is streaky, so I am "that guy" for sure. Either way you can't clear the whole room out and if you see a shot, and if you have time to move things around, take it upon yourself to do so or ask a bm to do it for you. People want you to get them the best photographs they can get and will help you to do that. As a wedding photographer you are a key element in the day! Sometimes making it about your needs translates to a better product for your client and that is the goal.

As for what you have posted here, I think they are pretty good for a first attempt. You did a good job of dealing with the outdoor lighting. The guys shot could have used a touch more flash but is pretty good considering how you were able to save the sky. When you got the overcast going you were hitting it really well though on the shots of the ladies. Overall the photos are mostly centered and I find that a little boring but not offensive. Seems like you kept things simple with the posing of the b&g and that also is to be expected of a first wedding. I'm not sure why you were trying to hide the minister... makes it seem set-up without the minister in there. Don't be affraid to move around some during the ceremony unless you are specifically told not to do so. You want more angles then from the center of the isle. A few seem a little dark to me, and the silhouette would be better with the window not so blown.
All in all this is a good first attempt. Keep working on it brother!

Matt

mmmatt

jmphotocraft wrote: »

thanks guys!

Yeah Moogle, I will definitely try to think of those things next time. Sometimes I lose sight of surroundings when I'm concentrating on the subject, waiting for "the moment". I think I got that moment in 8, because the flower girl was looking down and then looked up for a second, but I also got the plastic chair.

I'll make one more comment here! I agree with your thought here JM... candid moments are not repeatable and as soon as you try to stage something similar after rearranging a room or moving your subject you loose what you were shooting in the first place. That being said with the fg shot you could have moved to your left and repositioned yourself or possibly shot a longer lens/closer crop to keep the undesirable parts of the room at bay. I don't mind that shot though I would have cropped it from just below the brides arm and behind the veil to get some of that junk out of the shot.

Matt

jmphotocraft

Thanks for the detailed replies Matt!