damn good shot. If this was posed shot i might have opned the door more and have them kissing on the steps. Otherwise crop off some of the sapce on the right..
Matthew SavilleRegistered Users, Retired ModPosts: 3,352Major grins
edited October 14, 2012
What was this shot on, a 50? 35? It looks like a weird angle + disance combo that often comes with shooting 50mm and shallow... If the wide angle scene is what you were going for, I wish it had been shot even wider and closer, or if shallow DOF is what you were going for then I wish you had shot it on an 85.
I mean this shot is gorgeous and has nothing really wrong with it, but I feel like there could be just slightly more "wow" factor by picking one of the two above options.
But that's just me, I do post-production for a living so I spend all day looking at 50mm images shot wide open...
Composition: If it was posed, swapping the positions of the bride and groom. Bride in white on the right, groom in black holding the door, white car on left. Exploits the color contrasts - there is very little contrast between her dress and the white car.
Borrowed your image...
I think it could benefit form a little warmth...the colors are a little cool and the skin tones are to pinky...at least that's the way the numbers fall out in CS.
So, I took the liberty of borrowing your image so that I could show you what I was talking about.
Your original image.
A little warmer.
Just for illustrative purposes. BTW...I think the image is good as is...no cropping...I like the look and feel of it. I always say, include enough of the surroundings to make it interesting...crop too much and you have a car somewhere...and a lack of ambiance. Just my two cents...others obviously feel differently. I'm still not happy with the skin tones...but it's all I could do without the original file...
Remember, no one may want you to take pictures, but they all want to see them. Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
There's a lot to like in this image, and only a few "issues" to address, and then a couple of things to suggest to hopefully improve the image.
Starting with color; yes, I agree that the image is a little cool. First, I brought the image through ACR and into PS CS4. I reduced the Contrast and increased the Clarity in ACR. In PS I started by separating the couple from the background so that I could work on each component separately. For the bride and groom I used iCorrect Portrait to select and neutralize the bride's dress and the groom's tuxedo. Then I used a custom Memory Color to correct the skin tone. For the scene I neutralized the automobile white and the dark door to the right of the groom.
I used Lens Blur (Accurate) on the scene layer, but I kept the sharpness of the chrome trim on the door by the bride, as well as the door edge where it meets the bride. I used a technique to reduce the overall scene contrast (mostly to lighten the shadows and darks).
The bride and groom have been sharpened to taste, the bride's gown maybe a bit too much at the bottom.
Notice above the car, there's something funky going on; maybe some lens flare. I did not try to correct this but I did keep it in mind when cropping.
For cropping, I tried several aspect ratios, with a 16:9 ratio looking best, cropping out much of the right, as well as some top and bottom. I wanted to keep the full-length bride and groom and keep the dark door and potted plant. This necessitated digitally removing the remaining bit of tire and wheel-well.
The bride and groom have been sharpened to taste, the bride's gown maybe a bit too much at the bottom.
The resulting composite:
This image is way over sharpened...I can see a halo around the arm of husband and down his pant leg...a sure sign of over sharpening. And, your right, the dress is, at least at the bottom, not good.
I am thinking bride and groom before...and now husband and wife.
Remember, no one may want you to take pictures, but they all want to see them. Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
ignore most of the edits suggested, except *maybe* a touch of warm. Literally about 10 degrees. Lens, DOF, exposure all look great.
Some posing suggestions are helpful: switching B+G (although I like the groom where he is really, as a bookend to the dark tire which I would compose to include.. more later), and maybe putting her hand right on the door instead of her forearm (makes arm look shortened). I usually like to keep her bouquet included in stuff like this, unless it's ginormous.
The main suggestion would be composition, shifting view to the left to put the couple to the right of the frame, about the 1/3 mark. This will show a bit more of the car, probably that front wheel or the hood ornament, which completes the frame in my opinion.
Something else, that I'm trying to work on as well, is include more options besides kissing in set-up shots like this one. Get them in the right place and have everything figured out, then CREATE a moment (other than kissing). Takes more rapport and dialogue, but heads-together or laughing or one looking at camera and other not, etc. Inject some life into what you've already worked hard to create time/space to set up Easier said than done, and it's always easier to fallback on the 'stand over there and kiss' option... but after a while you have way too many kissing shots. *points finger at himself*
That last edit by Pandaghost is actually one of my fave styles (a bit of 'cross processing') that includes warmer whites/yellows but bluer shadows ... BUT you have to be careful when doing this for weddings (VSCO users listen up). This changes blues and greens so much that brides will notice that 'their colors' are no longer 'their colors'. You should hopefully notice before they do! Notice his cummerbund and tie in that edit.
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I mean this shot is gorgeous and has nothing really wrong with it, but I feel like there could be just slightly more "wow" factor by picking one of the two above options.
But that's just me, I do post-production for a living so I spend all day looking at 50mm images shot wide open...
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
I think it could benefit form a little warmth...the colors are a little cool and the skin tones are to pinky...at least that's the way the numbers fall out in CS.
So, I took the liberty of borrowing your image so that I could show you what I was talking about.
Your original image.
A little warmer.
Just for illustrative purposes. BTW...I think the image is good as is...no cropping...I like the look and feel of it. I always say, include enough of the surroundings to make it interesting...crop too much and you have a car somewhere...and a lack of ambiance. Just my two cents...others obviously feel differently. I'm still not happy with the skin tones...but it's all I could do without the original file...
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
Ed - you're right - its looks better when is a bit warmer - good job !
kind of vintage style
or :
the quality here is not too good cos I didn have a RAW file ...
or :
Sorry for my bad English
I think it would help if you would crop the bright spot on top right out.
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coolpinsky, what software did you use for edits? I want to learn how to do editing in that style. Unique, same question goes for you as well
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any specific presets or just doing it "by eye"?
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Starting with color; yes, I agree that the image is a little cool. First, I brought the image through ACR and into PS CS4. I reduced the Contrast and increased the Clarity in ACR. In PS I started by separating the couple from the background so that I could work on each component separately. For the bride and groom I used iCorrect Portrait to select and neutralize the bride's dress and the groom's tuxedo. Then I used a custom Memory Color to correct the skin tone. For the scene I neutralized the automobile white and the dark door to the right of the groom.
I used Lens Blur (Accurate) on the scene layer, but I kept the sharpness of the chrome trim on the door by the bride, as well as the door edge where it meets the bride. I used a technique to reduce the overall scene contrast (mostly to lighten the shadows and darks).
The bride and groom have been sharpened to taste, the bride's gown maybe a bit too much at the bottom.
Notice above the car, there's something funky going on; maybe some lens flare. I did not try to correct this but I did keep it in mind when cropping.
For cropping, I tried several aspect ratios, with a 16:9 ratio looking best, cropping out much of the right, as well as some top and bottom. I wanted to keep the full-length bride and groom and keep the dark door and potted plant. This necessitated digitally removing the remaining bit of tire and wheel-well.
The resulting composite:
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Did I do that?
Perhaps a less "crunchy" version?
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This image is way over sharpened...I can see a halo around the arm of husband and down his pant leg...a sure sign of over sharpening. And, your right, the dress is, at least at the bottom, not good.
I am thinking bride and groom before...and now husband and wife.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
steps taken?
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Some posing suggestions are helpful: switching B+G (although I like the groom where he is really, as a bookend to the dark tire which I would compose to include.. more later), and maybe putting her hand right on the door instead of her forearm (makes arm look shortened). I usually like to keep her bouquet included in stuff like this, unless it's ginormous.
The main suggestion would be composition, shifting view to the left to put the couple to the right of the frame, about the 1/3 mark. This will show a bit more of the car, probably that front wheel or the hood ornament, which completes the frame in my opinion.
Something else, that I'm trying to work on as well, is include more options besides kissing in set-up shots like this one. Get them in the right place and have everything figured out, then CREATE a moment (other than kissing). Takes more rapport and dialogue, but heads-together or laughing or one looking at camera and other not, etc. Inject some life into what you've already worked hard to create time/space to set up
After all that, it's still a great image