First Wedding Shoot Ever!!

Quincy T

Hey folks. First post in Weddings. I took these pictures as a favor to my cousin for her wedding, and not as a paid photographer. I didn't find out I was actually doing this until the day of, otherwise I would've rented some better lenses. I let the "pro" (not quite sure she qualified as that, haha, but hey, we're all trying to make a living somehow) worry about the bride and groom, but got a few of them that I thought turned out well anyway.

Shot with 50mm f/1.8 <--- and the 7D kit 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 <---

C&C is very welcome, as always.

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Cliche, but necessary really.

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8.

Bakko

great results!

Surfdog

Nice job!

Quincy T

Thanks to the both of you! Do you have any recommendation/criticisms/problems?

divamum

I'm not one of the wedding pundits, but just a couple of quick thoughts while the real gurus are busy shooting their own gigs!!

You've captured some really nice emotions in those moments - they'll be pleased with those, I'm sure.

- Watch your crops - eg #5 really needs her forehead! I like the way the final shot includes the name of the church (will be a nice memory in years to come), but you might want to straighten it up OR tilt it further for effect; as it is, it's just a little bit off to the right.

- check your colour/wb. These all look very red on my monitor. This is easily fixed, so either recalibrate (you are using a calibration device, right?) and/or check on multiple monitors to be sure.

Quincy T

divamum wrote: »

I'm not one of the wedding pundits, but just a couple of quick thoughts while the real gurus are busy shooting their own gigs!!

You've captured some really nice emotions in those moments - they'll be pleased with those, I'm sure.

- Watch your crops - eg #5 really needs her forehead! I like the way the final shot includes the name of the church (will be a nice memory in years to come), but you might want to straighten it up OR tilt it further for effect; as it is, it's just a little bit off to the right.

- check your colour/wb. These all look very red on my monitor. This is easily fixed, so either recalibrate (you are using a calibration device, right?) and/or check on multiple monitors to be sure.

Thanks a lot, divamum, I appreciate these notes. I noticed the crop of the forehead the other day and was disappointed that I didn't notice it sooner. I will have to address that.

As for the redness, I don't see it myself and I have looked on several different monitors as I use several different computers throughout the day. However, it comes as no surprise to me that this is the case, because I'm mildly colorblind. It's also possible that I'm just very used to seeing the pictures this way. If you could take one picture that you find to be very red and adjust it to what you find suitable, that would be pretty awesome.

Also, no, I am not using a calibration device. I know it is important, I just don't know much about them. I need to look into that.

Stuart-M

divamum wrote: »

- check your colour/wb. These all look very red on my monitor. This is easily fixed, so either recalibrate (you are using a calibration device, right?) and/or check on multiple monitors to be sure.

FWIW, the white balance looks fine to me. They may be slightly warm, but just pleasingly to my eye. Certainly not "very red".

Strange.

Shima

Excellent job for a first wedding! For a shot like #8 I probably would have cloned out the birthmarks on her back, but that's just me, not everyone wants to hide what nature gives people.

Quincy T

Stuart-M wrote: »

FWIW, the white balance looks fine to me. They may be slightly warm, but just pleasingly to my eye. Certainly not "very red".

Strange.

Phew, okay. I was starting to get really worried about that, haha. Thank you!

I did bump the white balance a little bit. I just felt that the pictures got too bland when they were "ideally" balanced. It was a hot day, an event that warms the heart, and everyone was in a happy mood. To me, that warmth was part of the feeling of the pictures. I know technical details are incredibly important in photography, but they are nothing without the emotion that transcends all that.

So there are my ridiculous amateur comments on what I believe color temperature should be.

@Shima, thank you very much. I wasn't sure how the bride/family would feel about "prettying things up" so I tried to do as little as possible. I did not even notice the birthmarks, though, so that is a testament to my lack of attention to detail in things. Thanks to you, I will be more patient in my processing!

Matthew Saville

Sword and Scales wrote: »

Phew, okay. I was starting to get really worried about that, haha. Thank you!

I did bump the white balance a little bit. I just felt that the pictures got too bland when they were "ideally" balanced. It was a hot day, an event that warms the heart, and everyone was in a happy mood. To me, that warmth was part of the feeling of the pictures. I know technical details are incredibly important in photography, but they are nothing without the emotion that transcends all that.

So there are my ridiculous amateur comments on what I believe color temperature should be.

@Shima, thank you very much. I wasn't sure how the bride/family would feel about "prettying things up" so I tried to do as little as possible. I did not even notice the birthmarks, though, so that is a testament to my lack of attention to detail in things. Thanks to you, I will be more patient in my processing!

MAKE PRINTS. That is the ultimate deciding factor in determining whether or not your processing is over the top or not, too warm, too cold, etc...

I think you will find that you could probably stand to tone down the processing a little bit, from the standpoint of printing. A little less contrast, clarity, saturation, and the images would print very nicely with a timeless, high-quality appeal.

=Matt=

divamum

I'm wondering now if I need to recalibrate I checked these on my iPhone and they looked ok - as Stuart says, warm, but not overly so.

That said, other shots here at dgrin don't look so heavily magenta/red on my monitor as these do.

Therefore:

Matthew Saville wrote: »

MAKE PRINTS. That is the ultimate deciding factor in determining whether or not your processing is over the top or not, too warm, too cold, etc...

Tingtingtingtingting - we have a winning solution!!

Quincy T

Matthew Saville wrote: »

MAKE PRINTS. That is the ultimate deciding factor in determining whether or not your processing is over the top or not, too warm, too cold, etc...

I think you will find that you could probably stand to tone down the processing a little bit, from the standpoint of printing. A little less contrast, clarity, saturation, and the images would print very nicely with a timeless, high-quality appeal.

=Matt=

True fact. I have never made prints of anything I've taken. I just have such a wild and hectic job, I don't have much time for thinking about everything with photography. I am looking forward very much to the day I am free to practice photography as my main focus, and learn about it that way.

That being said, I guess I will order some prints of these pictures. What sizes should I get for the best idea of what they look like?

Mark1616

Looking good for a first time out, sure there are things to change..... we can all say that about our photography..... but you should be happy!

FedererPhoto

Looks like you had some nice light. Them coming down the stairs is especially nice.

Watch out for too much clarity- slider work... the trick to a good 'smoothing' is that it doesn't look like you did anything.

Quincy T

FedererPhoto wrote: »

Looks like you had some nice light. Them coming down the stairs is especially nice.

Watch out for too much clarity- slider work... the trick to a good 'smoothing' is that it doesn't look like you did anything.

I feel oppressed seeing so many overly shopped pictures from other weddings...or maybe I just don't know enough. I felt pressured to give them a certain look, I guess.

I certainly didn't mind many of my originals. This is good to know! Thanks!

jeffreaux2

divamum wrote: »

I'm wondering now if I need to recalibrate I checked these on my iPhone and they looked ok - as Stuart says, warm, but not overly so.

That said, other shots here at dgrin don't look so heavily magenta/red on my monitor as these do.

Therefore:



Tingtingtingtingting - we have a winning solution!!

The skin tones on all of them look a tad too red to me too. Thats on a current calibration.

FedererPhoto

Sword and Scales wrote: »

I feel oppressed seeing so many overly shopped pictures from other weddings...or maybe I just don't know enough. I felt pressured to give them a certain look, I guess.

Don't aim to give them someone else's look.... give them YOUR look.

BlueSkyPhotos

The color also depends on the internet browser. Google chrome makes your images more red than Firefox. So, as Matt said, the true test is your prints. If they look fine, you are good.

You did a good job for your first weeding.

ziggy53

Rather than trust a computer/display card/monitor/your eyes, it's usually best to "digitally sample" the skin tones to see if they fall within reasonable guidelines for acceptable tones.

SmugMug has a very nice primer on this:

http://www.smugmug.com/help/skin-tone

Once you get the images correct "by the numbers", you can trust that they should print accurately too. (If not, find another print service.)

SmugMug Pro accounts get to choose hand color correction through "Bay Photo" (for a fee, of course.) For critical images it's easily affordable if you don't have the time yourself or don't trust your judgement.

http://www.smugmug.com/help/print-pricing

For volume work I do tend to trust the Photoshop plugin, "PictoColor iCorrect Portrait" to quickly set the skin color values semi-automatically for me in sRGB color space.

http://www.pictocolor.com/portrait.htm

Matthew Saville

Sword and Scales wrote: »

True fact. I have never made prints of anything I've taken. I just have such a wild and hectic job, I don't have much time for thinking about everything with photography. I am looking forward very much to the day I am free to practice photography as my main focus, and learn about it that way.

That being said, I guess I will order some prints of these pictures. What sizes should I get for the best idea of what they look like?

Start by making a couple 8x10's of major, favorite portrait images, and 5x7's of major, favorite candids. But after doing that just once or twice, I mostly just made / make 4x6's. The more important thing is to get them from the same lab each time, or to at least keep track of which labs you're testing... :-)

=Matt=

Scott_Quier

Sword and Scales wrote: »

Thanks a lot, divamum, I appreciate these notes. I noticed the crop of the forehead the other day and was disappointed that I didn't notice it sooner. I will have to address that.

As for the redness, I don't see it myself and I have looked on several different monitors as I use several different computers throughout the day. However, it comes as no surprise to me that this is the case, because I'm mildly colorblind. It's also possible that I'm just very used to seeing the pictures this way. If you could take one picture that you find to be very red and adjust it to what you find suitable, that would be pretty awesome.

Also, no, I am not using a calibration device. I know it is important, I just don't know much about them. I need to look into that.

As another photog with a color perception issue (red-green, FWIW), I've figured out how to set the WB and process photos using just the numbers. Look for neutrals in your images for referneces and leard the CMYK numbers for representitive skin tones (the Info panel is your friend ). I believe I could probably render a reasonable color image using Photoshop and a B/W monitor (should one be able to find one ). With a well-controlled exposure, you have a near perfect "gray card" in her dress. Use that as a starting reference and adjust to make it more like you remember seeing the scene.

Then, as was suggested above, make a print or two. Send a representative image or two to a good lab and order two prints of each image - one where they adjust the WB and the second where the rule is "Hands of the WB".

Quincy T

Scott_Quier wrote: »

As another photog with a color perception issue (red-green, FWIW), I've figured out how to set the WB and process photos using just the numbers. Look for neutrals in your images for referneces and leard the CMYK numbers for representitive skin tones (the Info panel is your friend ). I believe I could probably render a reasonable color image using Photoshop and a B/W monitor (should one be able to find one ). With a well-controlled exposure, you have a near perfect "gray card" in her dress. Use that as a starting reference and adjust to make it more like you remember seeing the scene.

Then, as was suggested above, make a print or two. Send a representative image or two to a good lab and order two prints of each image - one where they adjust the WB and the second where the rule is "Hands of the WB".

Wow, this is great. I can't thank you enough for leading me onto this!

Scott_Quier

Sword and Scales wrote: »

Wow, this is great. I can't thank you enough for leading me onto this!

Glad to help.

I should add that the wedding gown is a good place to start if it's fabric is of a decent quality. One of the first weddings I shot - the gown was, literally, $99 and that wasn't a sale price. Needless to say, it was a cheap synthetic and had a significant blue cast to it - rendering it useless as a neutral.

The grooms shirt is almost always going to be a decent (or better) quality cotton shirt - especially if it's rented. These make for wonderful neutrals if one hasn't over-exposed the shirt.