Best to print?

mmmatt · October 7, 2011

Hey there friends!

I have a favor to ask of anyone who is willing. I am preparing for my first bridal show and I would like opinions on which images to print for my booth. I have put together a gallery of some of my personal faves and would appreciate anyone willing to go thorough and rate them. If you pass your mouse over the large image a small window will come up with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. If you think the images is one I should use in my display give it a thumbs up. If I definitely shouldn't then thumbs down, and if you like it but it didn't wow you just do nothing. Keep in mind that I am looking for images that will make brides in the $2500-3500.00 range want to hire me. That level of bride is the higher side of the middle line for my area.

I will be printing 6 or 8 images for a collage on the back wall and then 2 more to display on easels. I will also be displaying a few books and will have a slideshow running, so I will be able to display all I want and more, but the big prints are what I need help with. the back collage will be multiple dimentions of square, reg and pano that fit together like a puzzle to form a rectangle that will be contained in a large barnwood frame.

Thanks so much, and by all means post any coments or questions here. I know there is a lot of experience out there that I can benefit from!

Matt

divamum · October 7, 2011

Speaking for myself, the ones that leaped off the screen at me as both "wallhangers" and something that's unique rather than necessarily the kind of shot you see everywhere:

2
9
14 (love this one!)
15 (for a "conventional" church shot)
26 (stunner)
31
33

You probably need a couple of formal-ish bridal portraits in there as well, if only to show you CAN do them - the only real bridal portrait you have in the gallery (as at writing) is 20 which, while nice, isn't necessarily a wall-hanger for me, and doesn't match the WOW factor of some of these others!!!

eoren1 · October 7, 2011

Did the green thumb thing. Favorites (in addition to green votes):
14 - Awesome capture!
18
21
26

with Divamum
34

mmmatt · October 7, 2011

Thanks guys! Great comments so far.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

BradfordBenn · October 8, 2011

My pics:
3 (Make sure that the red rose pops, at first I thought it was selective color until I saw the caption)
6
8
14
21 (Although the watermark location might want to move if being left on the print)
24
27
29
30

I am rating the images as the ones that would strike my interest, I would stop and consider that person as a photographer for my event.

Kinkajou · October 8, 2011

8, 9, 23, 27 stand out to me

mmmatt · October 9, 2011

Awesome!!!

Ed911 · October 9, 2011

Hi Matt,

I thought long an hard about your offering of possibles. I tried to pick the ones that would not only look good as a large print, but that would also possibly appeal to the high end bridal clientèle that you're trying to attract.

1. I think looks nice and would look good enlarged in a studio setting...it got my vote.
7. Yes, nice...
20. Yes, yes, yes...nice...and you need a bridal shot...where are the nice bridal shots...brides in dresses...pretty girls...beautiful dresses.
28. Yes, if you pano it...crop off the bottom 1/3 or so...to showcase the guys. I think it would look good in large print...and show some upscale ability.
25/35. Same photo...but for sure this one...it's a classic...looks good...nicely framed...and will look good in a large print.

I would love to have voted for 3...but, I'm not a big fan of the open mouths in this image. Either just before, during, or just after, not not halfway.

Take this with a grain of salt, but you have offered us a lot of engagement photos and few bridal shots...how are you going to impress the girls that want big, beautiful dress shots with them in the dress, like your 20. I would think that you will be seeing a lot of nicely framed beautiful 16x20 and larger bridal shots all around you. So, if you have some bridal shots...girls in dresses...you might want to print up and frame a couple more.

Just me...hope this helps. Like your work.

Surfdog · October 10, 2011

I really like these:
3
6
14
20
27
34
Nice work!

DsrtVW · October 10, 2011

It is 1:00am in the morning I was glad to go look at your shots because I have been editing and uploading wedding shots that I did for a family member last month I need to look at something different while pictures were up loading. I salute you who do this full time. It does not pay well but I am sticking to Nature Photography.
i would agree that you need more wedding shots than engagement shots if that is what the main sell is.

Kinkajou · October 10, 2011

Can I say that I love how we all have different images that stand out to us? I think that's pretty neat.

zoomer · October 10, 2011

Ask your self does it look expensive....if not cull it.
Does the bride look expensive beautiful and classy....if not cull it.
Does the venue look expensive and classy....if not cull it.
If the bride isn't thinking "I want that to be me" when she is looking at the photo....it is the wrong photo.
The hardest thing is to remove your own emotion from the shots. You are doing the right thing by getting outside opinions.
6 14 16
would be my picks.....but I am the WORST at picking pictures so take that with a grain of salt

.
Less is more....2 kick ass photos are better than 10 ok shots.
Best of luck with your show!!

mmmatt · October 10, 2011

Ed, thanks for taking the time,. I will consider all of that for sure. As for bridals. if you mean just the bride, I don't do a lot of that. I know others do but as far as I am concerned, I am showing emotion moreso than the pretty dress. Of course you see the pretty dress fmore times than not but IMHO wedding photography is a bout the couple's love first, the event itself second, and everything else is after that. Not saying I won't show bridals, but we will see how I show them. It won't be the main focus.

SD and Chris thanks for the input guys and for the kind words. My best work comes from my e-sessions I would say. No pressure, all the time in the world, and we call it if weather isn't just right. That first pic with the sun flare and the barn will likely be prominent in my display because I love it, and the bride is gorgeous, and the flare is trendy, and the barnwood matches the theme of my booth. that all being said, I agree that I need to show some white dresses and I will for sure.

Kinkajou, I agree and I think it is ideal that we all have different opinions, and as Z has stated it is so easy to become emotionally attached to your own work so I am very glad that people are helping me out here. I have 3 more weddings to go through so there will likely be more.

Z, thanks for the advice here and in the other thread. Much appreciated.

So THAT all being said, does anyone have an opinion specifically on the what as opposed to the which? People have made comments but what are the hot buttons? The higher end brides have been asking me for more detail work, so I have been trying to do more of that and I intend on printing atleast one detail shot but likely a couple . Those same brides usually plan for more time to shoot formals and are looking for more romantic shots vs fun wedding party stuff which I so conveniently hate. My medium end brides seem more interested in rushing through formals and then hitting their favorite bars before the reception and then they want to have the ladies hold up the groom and other cheezy things. In my perfect world I want a couple of classy shots with the wedding party and then get down to business with the bride and groom shooting or at least attempting to shoot art.

Once again thanks to everyone for all the great comments and suggestions!!!
Matt

zoomer · October 10, 2011

If you want higher end brides you want classy expensive beautiful.

mmmatt · October 11, 2011

To clarify. 3K is not high-end here. High-end is 5-9K, or 3k with "negatives" held hostage maybe. Medium for full day is 1500-4K. Thanks again Z!

Matt

Kinkajou · October 11, 2011

I think it totally depends on you... and what you want. I know that the ones that caught my eye were the types of photos I would want in my portfolio... and I want clients who want those types of photos, while Zoomer is recommending the more traditional and elegant types of photos because the clients he wants want photos like that. Does that make sense? Hard to explain via the interwebs...

And why shouldn't you be drawn to the ones you have some connection to? That's how you find yourself as an artist. That's what defines YOU and makes you stand out. Figure out what makes you connected to them and go do more of that.

Just my couple of cents

Good luck!

Blurmore · October 11, 2011

1,11,20,26,28,23,24 I think with this level of clientele the beauty and youth of the bride weigh big.

divamum · October 11, 2011

Would it be worth doing a collage-print - like an album-page layout - of some detail shots? That would satisfy the requests you've had but in *one* image on the wall rather than lots. Details are "small" so a multi-shot layout works well, IMO.

I don't think engagement shots showcase the WEDDING - sure, include one or two but more than that is selling a different product IMO. Don't get me wrong - they're good (very good) shots - but you are (presumably!) selling *weddings*, and those engagement shots are an extra rather than the main act.

It seems to me that your USP's are:

- technical facility to go from ueber-traditional to PJ to artistic.
- sense of humour
- ability to tell the story
- unusual but classic/classy angles

The shots of yours I like the best are the ones that do all of those (eg the ironing board, the through-the-fountain shot, the beer-pull ring-shot etc).

I personally think that more than one or two "getting ready" shots is too much - some of those IMO only work in context of a lot of other shots eg 11. It's really cool, but she could just as easily be dozing on a train as getting ready for her wedding! I personally wouldn't include any shot that needs an "explanation" or caption for it to make sense. The ironing board, however, tells the ENTIRE story in one picture, without a single word.

I'd agree that you need a couple of stunning brides - even just one real "bridal portrait" to round out the set in the same way that you can use that church interior to show that you are *able* to do stuff other than artistic/PJ.

Do you have any other bride-only shots that you could add to the gallery for us to see? They don't necessarily need to be traditional posy-posy portraits, but just a pretty bride in a gorgeous dress (like the dockside shots, or the fountain shot - same kind of thing, only the bride rather than the couple).

mmmatt · October 12, 2011

Kinkajou I understand perfectly and Jason, thanks for the help. Diva, I don't think you are following me on this. I'm putting a 5'x3' collage of images on the back wall of my booth. It will consist of 5-8ish large prints in a single frame. I am asking you guys for advice on that one part of my booth because it will be primary focus. I will have larger prints on easels and 4 monitors running a slideshow with hundreds of images, plus 6 or 8 books that people can pass around, plus a few other images placed around randomly. The colage that I am seeking advice on is what I hope will make peole stop in their tracks and say "lets look at this guy". Not that I don't have bridals, I do but what I like best about my work is my ability to recognize and capture pure emotion and a persons natural beauty. I want brides that see value in that. Your comments about story telling images like the ironing board shot certainly play well in my mind and I agree. As for bridal shots, sure I have plenty of them, but they are not what I like best about my own work. Some will be displayed, but I don't feel the need to put them front and center in the booth if they aren't my absolute best images.

I hope that makes sense. and I have no idea what a usp is

zoomer · October 12, 2011

One amazing kick ass image very large will bring potentials into the booth from across the room. A collage will not.
I am with Divamum, print the ironing board shot up huge and put it where they can see it.

mmmatt · October 12, 2011

Hey Z, I don't think that is what Diva was sayuing but you have me thinking. Maybe a single image is the best way, but it would have to be a really big print! Here ius a shot of the hardware I am using. The shaman poster next to it is first off not mine lol, but it is 24" x 36" to show some perspective

The hardware is fairly large and would look wierd on anything smallerthanf 5'w and 3' high. This will be suspended over a counter top that is 36" off the ground and it is barnwood below that line and galvanized corrugated steel above that, so the track will attach to the steel.

divamum · October 12, 2011

Ah, ok Matt - you're right, I didn't follow you. I thought you were going to have 5-6 different prints on a wall rather than all in one frame. That said, I still think the same logic applies .....

"USP" - marketing speak: "Unique Selling Points". What makes you and your product different from everybody else out there; what you do better than anybody else. What makes you, YOU.

mmmatt · October 12, 2011

Fair enough Diva.

Lighting prototype: This is a tomato juice can split down the side and fastened over a keyless fixture (like a typical basement bare bulb fixture) and attached to a peice of barnwood. Cord will be hidden.

here is the easel prototype. I think this is going to be too bulky, so I am thinking more on this for now.

Ed911 · October 12, 2011

zoomer wrote: »

Ask your self does it look expensive....if not cull it.
Does the bride look expensive beautiful and classy....if not cull it.
Does the venue look expensive and classy....if not cull it.
If the bride isn't thinking "I want that to be me" when she is looking at the photo....it is the wrong photo.
The hardest thing is to remove your own emotion from the shots. You are doing the right thing by getting outside opinions.
6 14 16
would be my picks.....but I am the WORST at picking pictures so take that with a grain of salt .
Less is more....2 kick ass photos are better than 10 ok shots.
Best of luck with your show!!

This is exactly what I was trying to say with my picks. Spot on Zoomer...

Ed911 · October 12, 2011

zoomer wrote: »

One amazing kick ass image very large will bring potentials into the booth from across the room. A collage will not.
I am with Divamum, print the ironing board shot up huge and put it where they can see it.

I can get behind this...good reasoning...especially since I saw what your competition will be...not very many big prints and didn't see any really big prints. I liked the ironing board shot and gave it a thumbs up...even though I didn't comment on it....

mmmatt · October 17, 2011

OK... as for the one big print, I'm not going to do that. These walkways are about 10' wide and there is an 8' height restriction so nobody will see me from across the room no matter what I do. also, someone, maybe glort, recommended that size of monitor and prints be controlled somewhat to encourage people to come into the both instead of just looking from the hallway. So, for those reasons I am going to do a montage for my main print space.

In more agreeable news though, here is the nearly completed media column. When looking at my booth from the hallway, there is a walkway on the front and another on the left. This will be in that corner.

There are monitors on 4 sides. I used 900x1400 Hanns G 22" monitors. I am running the vertical because I didn't want my column super wide. I will me trying to highlight portrait compositions and will make portrait sized montages from Horizontal images. The Monitors are recessed mounted so only about an inch of the frame of the screen protrudes from the column.

The back-lit signs are (going to be) on 4 sides and are simply my logo printed on copy paper and mounted in a box with a light bulb behind it. This looks a lot better than I hoped. I thought I was going to end up getting transparencies printed or something.

The column has a hidden door to access the mechanicals, and also provide some storage for extra cards and flyers and whatnot. The giant dell laptop is a tight fit but it will work fine. The back-lit top, the middle monitor section and the bottom are are 3 pieces and simply stack one on top another with recesses on the bottom of the sections.

divamum · October 18, 2011

Wow, Matt, that looks amazing! You're clearly quite the handyman as well - I'm super impressed. Great ideas well executed

mmmatt · October 19, 2011

Thanks Diva. Here is the countertop for the back wall. It is using a piece of glass I had layiang around from a sofa table I don't use. This will be on two pedestals attached to the back wall made to look like beam sections. This is plywood with barnwood layed flat and then the outside rim is raised to allow the glass top to drop in.

mmmatt · October 31, 2011

Ordering prints today... Any coment onb this one?

StueveShots · October 31, 2011

Kinkajou wrote: »

Can I say that I love how we all have different images that stand out to us? I think that's pretty neat.

I know I am late to this process--sorry!--but I was fascinated by this, Kinkajou. The pictures that stood out to me were not really consistent with other people's choices. I wonder why? Maybe because I'm not a professional photographer? I don't know, but I'll share my favorites just in case it is helfpul. For me, the top picks were:

2 (although please clone out the little bit of lint on her sweater), 3, 9, 11, 26 and 34. Why did I choose these? Each one of these, for me, had just the right balance of beauty, creativity and joy. Each one of these evokes the same emotion I had at my wedding...as if I know exactly how blissful the woman in the photograph feels.

At my wedding, I had plenty of shots of my gorgeous wedding dress, the beautiful church, the lovely flowers. Boring. I wish I had some shots that made me feel the way I felt that day. (Actually, I do...a shot taken by a friend looking down the aisle as I walked. The camera pointed not at me, but at my husband. I'm so glad someone was looking the other direction! My husband's eyes are shining blue and he looks as if he's just seen the most wonderful thing--which, I like to believe, he had!

)

All this to say...these are beautiful shots. Well done. Your showing should be well received.

mmmatt · October 31, 2011

StueveShots wrote: »

I know I am late to this process--sorry!--but I was fascinated by this, Kinkajou. The pictures that stood out to me were not really consistent with other people's choices. I wonder why? Maybe because I'm not a professional photographer? I don't know, but I'll share my favorites just in case it is helfpul. For me, the top picks were:

2 (although please clone out the little bit of lint on her sweater), 3, 9, 11, 26 and 34. Why did I choose these? Each one of these, for me, had just the right balance of beauty, creativity and joy. Each one of these evokes the same emotion I had at my wedding...as if I know exactly how blissful the woman in the photograph feels.

At my wedding, I had plenty of shots of my gorgeous wedding dress, the beautiful church, the lovely flowers. Boring. I wish I had some shots that made me feel the way I felt that day. (Actually, I do...a shot taken by a friend looking down the aisle as I walked. The camera pointed not at me, but at my husband. I'm so glad someone was looking the other direction! My husband's eyes are shining blue and he looks as if he's just seen the most wonderful thing--which, I like to believe, he had! )

All this to say...these are beautiful shots. Well done. Your showing should be well received.

Thank you for your comments! And I agree with your sentiment about seeing in the images how you felt. I hope my clients get that from my work. At the end of the day, that really is my only goal.

Best to print?

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