Post-Wedding "Engagement" Session (C&C Please)

VadimOlen · July 5, 2012

So, a few weeks ago, I posted asking for critique about my website and images. The feedback I got was largely (and deservedly!) negative, but candid and helpful. There were a lot of comments, but mostly I think I was being told I wasn't being creative and adventurous enough, and in hindsight I agree.

So, let's see if I've learned anything. I had photographed my friends' wedding (no money changed hands), but they never did an engagement session. Now, they're back from their honeymoon, and mostly for fun and practice, I went out and spent an hour or so taking Engagement-Session-like photos.

Your positive thoughts are encouraging, but your negative thoughts are what's most helpful!

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By the way, while I have all of the experts here: how many is a good number of photos to deliver to a couple from their engagement session? I gave them a total of... I think... 14? These 10 and another few. This was just for fun and practice, so I don't feel like I've short-changed them, but how would most of your customers feel about getting these 10 images back as the output of an engagement session?

insanefred · July 5, 2012

I like the lack of post processing and the couple have good chemistry and you seemed to have captured that. I also like that you had them look at each other, but some people might not like that.
I don't care for her dress is too saturated (distracting), but I guess you really don't have much control of that now.

mjoshi123 · July 5, 2012

Thing that I dont like is in #5 the way light filters thru leaves and falling on groom's face makes it look bit odd. They have good chemistry but the lack of processing is not adding anything extra to this frames. Atleast bit more contrast would have helped few of this images as they look bit dull.

VadimOlen · July 5, 2012

insanefred wrote: »

I like the lack of post processing and the couple have good chemistry and you seemed to have captured that. I also like that you had them look at each other, but some people might not like that.
I don't care for her dress is too saturated (distracting), but I guess you really don't have much control of that now.

mjoshi123 wrote: »

Thing that I dont like is in #5 the way light filters thru leaves and falling on groom's face makes it look bit odd. They have good chemistry but the lack of processing is not adding anything extra to this frames. Atleast bit more contrast would have helped few of this images as they look bit dull.

Thanks for the replies so far.

It's funny you both mention lack of processing because, while I've been trying to use a light touch, these aren't straight out of the camera or anything. Most of them have contrast increased for sure from the default value of 25 to 35-45. Those are the "units" Lightroom uses.

So, I'll look into adding a bit more still. Other thoughts?

insanefred · July 5, 2012

VadimOlen wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far.

It's funny you both mention lack of processing because, while I've been trying to use a light touch, these aren't straight out of the camera or anything. Most of them have contrast increased for sure from the default value of 25 to 35-45. Those are the "units" Lightroom uses.

So, I'll look into adding a bit more still. Other thoughts?

I have no idea what LR units are.

Foques · July 5, 2012

the gal is gorgeous.. can do a lot of different portraiture with her.

Don't know about others, but a lot of shots seem crooked to me. Track shots are a bright example of that.
Backgrounds are busy for my liking as well. Processing, in my opinion, is lacking..

Poses the lad has in these pictures look.. feminine to me.

I think #1 is the strongest one of all.
#10 I like as well.

VadimOlen · July 5, 2012

Foques wrote: »

Processing, in my opinion, is lacking..

Can you go into a little more detail?

I'm looking for information I can incorporate into future work (if it's lighting and composition) or try to use to improve these images (if it's processing).

Thanks.

Qarik · July 5, 2012

#2 remove yourslef as the one that took this shot. Take out all emotion and view it like someone else looking at the image. What do you see that jumps out? What I see is harsh shadows everywhere..her face is dark but her chest is almost blown out, his neck is dark and the tones on his face are all over the place, look at the wrinkles on his pants, on her dress...just not faltterin gin any way. This is a tosser.

#4 this alomost works but the choice of background is killing it. Our eyes are drawn to brightest part of the image which is the ugly building in the background. I think you could bump the exposre 1/2 stop at least and bring down the highlights from building, Put a vignette on it as well.

Lastly look at the focus on shots 5 and 6. Everything is in focus. This is great for a landscape shot but not so good in portaiture. The object is to focus on the couple...and the a way to do this is to open up that aperture and get that background blurred out.Bokeh is your friend.

Foques · July 10, 2012

VadimOlen wrote: »

Can you go into a little more detail?

I'm looking for information I can incorporate into future work (if it's lighting and composition) or try to use to improve these images (if it's processing).

Thanks.

ok..

1.
Is good, but flat. Could use blacks to be bumped a wee, pony tail is cut off ever so slightly.. either cut it off nicely, or don't at all, imo. a slight sharpen wouldn't hurt.

2.
they have harsh shadows on them, but that I can deal with easily. what bugs me most is the centered subject, and busy background. Background seems to be leaning to the right a bit
On the bright side, a BW treatment works for the shot.

3.
beautiful light. the shot itself looks odd.. I feel like it was cropped from a larger image, and someone else's body part starts right by the crop line on the left.
I wish this shot was in a landscape position, showing the gal completely.

4.
Her buttocks are cropped off. it doesn't add anything to a shot, especially, seeing how much room there is on the right side of the shot. The lad sits in a feminine position. The shot is leaning to the right.
I wish she was looking at him in this shot. Specifically, keeping her head as it is now, and just looking up.

5.
shot is leaning to the left a couple of degrees.
This could be a really fun shot if it was taken from the lower position. Perhaps, get more sky, overpowering it with a flash?

6.
needs to be cropped on the right, imo.
shallower dof would make it pop, i think.

7.
lad's hand is cut off; it nearly dupes the #3. Focus seems soft. shot is leaning to the left.

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I think this one is asking for a closer crop, and exposure bump

9.
IMO a shot like that needs to be taken either from a higher vantage point, and place the couple in one of the cop corners, and showing a good amount of train tracks, or from the very low vantage point, showing a lot of sky. as it is currently, I find the BG too busy. And the lad looks... unhappy.

10.
I like; I do wish it was cropped off center.. I also think it would be better if it was shot from a higher perspective, filling the shot with the ground (tough one given the area), or a bit from a side, to fill the bg with the tree on the right.
the iron fence needs to go;the wall doesn't add much either.

In all the images I find myself looking for a shallower DOF; like the acutally smart man above mentioned, aperture choice/resulting dof is not bad for a landscape. but for people shots of that nature.. I don't think it works well.
but again, these are my thoughts only. Whether they are right or not.. not for me to decide.

Post-Wedding "Engagement" Session (C&C Please)

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