A few from my first solo wedding

Bsimon

Hope you enjoy! I had a blast and so did my couple!

CC greatly appreciated!
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5

6

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8

9

10

11

12

Art Scott

well done....

Ed911

Certainly a nice venue for your first solo wedding shoot. I see you made a lot of black and white images...did you have a lot of over exposures?

All in all...nice. Number one is my favorite...very nice. Number two is also nice...good capture. Pretty good work here...looks like you are going to have some happy clients.

Isn't it nice when the wedding couple are cool.

Bsimon

Thanks Ed and art! Exposures were solid on all black and whites, I just like the deep black point contrast in the reception shots. The venue was completely glass all around except floor. Just felt the black and whites looked a bit better than the color ones and the clients ate them up.

l.k.madison

That's only your *first* solo wedding???bow

My only nit is the one of the on the stairs, the bridesmaid looks lost behind the bride.

AWESOME job!!!

All glass you say??? How'd you luck up with *that*?

Ed911

Bsimon wrote: »

Thanks Ed and art! Exposures were solid on all black and whites, I just like the deep black point contrast in the reception shots. The venue was completely glass all around except floor. Just felt the black and whites looked a bit better than the color ones and the clients ate them up.

I was mostly refering to 10 and 11. You are right about your black and whites...good stuff for sure.

paulmac

Nice shots Ben. Lovely light in number 1.
For the dance floor shots, how were you triggering the strobe on the stand?

Bsimon

Thanks everyone! Paul, The lighting for the reception shots consisted of my sb900 on camera in ttl mode with an sb600 bare with diffusion flap down triggered by my cactus trigger. The on camera trigger was connected via a pc cord plugged into my d300s. I think I had the 600 set at 1/8 or 1/4th. Obviously in the dark room I was shooting at about 1/60th or slower the whole time so did not have to worry about going over max sync speed for the cactus triggers. Worked pretty well, however next time I will be using one of my studio strobes so I dont have to change batts. Recycle times werent bad at all on the 600 at those power levels.

paulmac

Thanks for the quick reply Ben.
I'll have to try the same setup with my gear (Canon 7D). I've only used the in-camera remote OR RF triggers, never both at the same time.
Cheers.

FlyNavy

Very nice!

JimKarczewski

Just a few comments, but overall good job for first solo...

#9, why is your light so low? Someone holding it or did you just not get it that high? You went from rim lighting the couple to lighting everyone behind them.. I think it would be a completely different shot if the flash was higher, which is seems as if it was in later shots.
#5, I agree with others that said the BM looks lost. You put the best man (assuming) off to the right and the BM gets lost between the couple. I didn't even see her until someone mentioned it..
#6, who knows if you could had done something about it, but, could you had moved more to the right, so that big white truck wouldn't had been sticking out in the back? Or shoot with a longer lens so the truck just looked like a big white BG... Dunno.. I don't like the truck, too distracting, but not as distracting as a big yellow truck.

Bsimon

Thanks for your comments Jim!

In #9, it was right after the first dance and a certain couple decided to stand right in front of the light. Still a cool shot I think, but I see where youre coming from and thats why I raised the light when I had a second.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend all!

Bsimon

paulmac wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply Ben.
I'll have to try the same setup with my gear (Canon 7D). I've only used the in-camera remote OR RF triggers, never both at the same time.
Cheers.

No worries! Yeah, the dual setup is the way to go for reception. The wireless ttl triggering systems are cool but they will not work in a crowded reception room, at least not the Nikon CLS. Canon may be different?

Only issue with the PC cord route is having to hold or tape it into the camera with gaffer tape. There is another port on the 300s which has a screw in connector which I will pick up asap after that experience.

I think the route to go is the screw in connector with a long enough cord to put the trigger in a pocket.

Not quite sure how the radio poppers work but they might also be a valid option for this setup - velcro to flash or something. Good luck!

tgrisier

Fantatstic work! If I could only be as good on a first time out....

Matthew Saville

(Note: I understand this is your first wedding, and before I begin I want to mention that these images are 10X better than MY first wedding. I'm only giving you the tough love treatment because I know that's the only way to get better. Especially when everybody else (no offense yall) seems to be casually patting you on the back about these images. So, here goes...)

The images are well exposed / well-lit, with good color, etc. ...But as the saying goes, if the first compliment someone gives is about sharpness or exposure, the images themselves probably leave something to be desired...

I gotta say, the composition and perspective needs a lot of practice. Every one of the images seems to have little regard to exact framing / composition, and the perspective / angle looks too similar and not very thought out.

I know that shallow depth just for the sake of shallow depth is NOT a good thing, but I must say that every one of these images could benefit from being a little more shallow. I had a look at your metadata and I see that you're often already bumping up against the aperture limits of your camera. I too shoot weddings with a crop sensor and crop-sensor lenses, so I can relate. But I have a keen understanding of my depth limitations, so I put a LOT of effort into shooting as telephoto as possible, and framing my shot perfectly. I love the Nikon 17-55, but I really try and shoot with my Sigma 50-150 2.8 as much as possible.

The background is oh-so-important in any photo, candid or posed. In your shots, I see background clutter here and there, poles and other distracting lines intersecting the subjects, buildings and feet cut off, etc.

I know that you don't always have the most ideal situations to shoot in, when photographing a wedding, but that's why it's our job to position ourselves and compose the shot to frame up something that makes the scene look even better than it actually is. If there's distracting splotches of color in the background, consider going B&W. (The walking shot) If there's a very cluttered background, or even if the background is just a similar tone to the subject's clothes or hair, (1st and 2nd shots) ...consider getting an extra flash and hiding it behind them to create a rimlight effect.

And, last but not least, practice posing as often as you can. Buy a bridal or fashion magazine, and pick a half-dozen poses that interest you. Get a model or two, and work with them until you totally OWN that pose and can generate something flattering with any couple, no matter how awkward, in just a minute or two.


...Of course the practice and pursuit of excellence that I am describing to you took me *years* to even begin to feel confident in, so don't think you're expected to be able to do all this stuff before your next wedding. I'm still horrible at posing, and it will always be my weakness.

A portrait will always have at least one of these four elements, if it is going to be meaningful: Composition, timing, posing, and lighting. Decide which are your strengths, and always make sure that your jobs are defined by a style that showcases those skills. But also, pour yourself into the weak points, or bring along an associate shooter who is really good at those things.


Alright, take care!
=Matt=

Bsimon

Matt, Thank you very much for your advice. All of your points are noted and I agree with you. I really enjoy the whole learning process and your past advice was in my head much of the day.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it!

Matthew Saville

Bsimon wrote: »

Matt, Thank you very much for your advice. All of your points are noted and I agree with you. I really enjoy the whole learning process and your past advice was in my head much of the day.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it!

One good thing is, you don't need to be at a wedding to practice the things I'm talking about.

You can practice photojournalism at any social gathering- just grab your camera and a 50 1.4, and work on composition / timing to your heart's content.

You can practice portraiture and posing any time you notice good light, or bump into a good looking friend. ;-)

=Matt=