So about that "first wedding" thing (with images :)

divamum

I think it went pretty well - the things I wish had gone differently were mostly things outside my control, but we were easily able to roll with the punches. I was beyond grateful to have Nicole :bow with me - not only was she a tremendous asset and covered a zillion things I missed, but she is an uebercool person who is awesome fun to hang out with. As well as a ninja.

I must say, I have NO IDEA how those of you who shoot weddings solo do it. This was a small and pretty laid-back event and I can't even imagine doing this one alone. My hat is definitely off to those of you who do this by yourselves!

So, without further ado.... a few to share. C&C always welcome!

-1 (added). The girls used the choir room to dress. The bride and many of the guests and wedding party are singers, several of whom are past and present soloists at the church, so the space is meaningful to them



1. Just starting going through them so still haven't decided on a consistent processing style yet, but I do like this one in this red-toned sepia



2.


3. I'd love to do the whole thing in black and white, but I guess I can't, huh? :giggle



4. The Cave. High ISO, hold your breath, and hope that IS worked sufficiently.




5. Thanks to all who chimed in, the formals were easy peasy! I've never in my life been so happy to be able to turn on my flash :rofl This was one 42" umbrella up high. Thanks for the tip - I never would have thought of that independently! I had stand/trigger/brolly all set up and waiting beforehand so all I had to do was grab it and turn it on - so glad I'd thought to do that because even though we were running on time, the bride's sister started getting antsy and was pushing really hard to get it done fast. We did all groupings in about 20 minutes! I've never shot so quickly in my life...



6. the two kids were SO stinkin' cute!


7. The pop of colour from the flowers is cool, but I adore this shot in bw too...



8.


9.



9a. Totally didn't see until I uploaded that the names were those of the couple! Serendipity, as I only got one shot from this angle



9b.



9c



10.


11. LOL



Jury's out on whether or not weddings will ever become my strength or my passion, but I think it went pretty well, and enjoyed being part of what was a very happy day for the couple!

BreakALeg

You absolutely should do weddings! Great shots. And don't even consider going B&W only. You've got a real eye for color composition.

Moogle Pepper

I would honestly consider only two post processing looks- one for color and one for BW and stick with it. Though for now, it is good to experiment to find that look that you are going for.

Maybe it is just me, or the ones you posted, but it appears you do a lot of close ups to the couple and details that you are shooting. I'd reckon you should post in some wider shots so it gives a stronger set of stories about this couple's wedding. How are the guests reacting, what is the hidden moment that is least expected during the couple's moments? Sure the emphasis is placed heavily on couples, but, the guests and family are also an important part of the day.

Anyway, seems like you had a good time.

Dcmack

Looks like you did a great job to me.

Moogle Pepper wrote: »

I would honestly consider only two post processing looks- one for color and one for BW and stick with it. Though for now, it is good to experiment to find that look that you are going for.

I am learning this too. Although I've only shot a couple of weddings, I like to separate the B&W and colour images into separate collections/folders. Inconsistent conversions really tend to stand out (not it in a good way).

Gaby617

First off congratulations on accomplishing your frst wedding? Pictures do look good considerng your out of your element. What lenses where used? I just viewed a cousins wedding photo gallery and the finals had atleast 3 different prcessing styles for each color and b&w and just scrolling through them bothered me for some reason. I agree w/ the above statement on keeping a consistant processing style for both color and b&w.

Qarik

so far so good..I kinda expected it though!

nicoleshilliday

She was a total rock star! Fantastic Job so far. I agree. Stick with one post processing and add a few Black and Whites in along the way. Getting your "style" down takes many weddings. And don't worry, I am drop boxing you lots of pics right now and have a few more of the bride and grooms named candies

Really, she did not give herself enough credit for this one! Fantastic job running around!

divamum

Y'all are way too kind. Thank you!

I am definitely pleased - I guess taking all those "don't shoot a wedding" horror stories I've read online to heart meant I was prepared for the worst... which never happened! And for the next one (yes, there is a next one - ANOTHER friend-who-begged, and especially since I'd said "yes" to this one I couldn't really say "no" to the second) I at least have a better sense of where I can be a little less fanatical both in preparation and on the day. Experience is always the best teacher...

I do love that sepia (I think because the red makes the wood beams almost the colour they are in real life), but since SO many of these look great in a straight-up bw I'll probably go with that for most of it. Great advice to keep it simple!

Maybe it is just me, or the ones you posted, but it appears you do a lot of close ups to the couple and details that you are shooting. I'd reckon you should post in some wider shots so it gives a stronger set of stories about this couple's wedding. How are the guests reacting, what is the hidden moment that is least expected during the couple's moments? Sure the emphasis is placed heavily on couples, but, the guests and family are also an important part of the day.

Excellent point, Ted, and a fair crit: I DO tend to shoot close rather than wide by instinct. Fortunately, I'm sure Nicole's set will have better reaction ceremony shots than I got since she was in a better position for that; we were fairly restricted both by BG request (no shooting from the front, which effectively meant balcony plus halfway down the sides). I also do have more guest/wider shots; I'll bear your excellent point in mind as I compile the set for them.

First off congratulations on accomplishing your frst wedding? Pictures do look good considerng your out of your element. What lenses where used?

Gaby, for the ceremony, I had the 70-200L 2.8 IS II on my 5dII, and used my7d with the Tamron 24-70is (the new one - very capable 3rd party lens and I was so glad to have the IS which I REALLY needed). I'd have liked the effect of 24mm on full frame, but there was never any time to swap it over during the ceremony and I needed to put the longer lens on the body with better high ISO. Even using 3200 on the 5dii I was often shooting wide open and only getting about 1/125s. That church is much darker than it looks in photos!

May post some more as I work through them! Thanks again for all the advice, hand-holding and kind words!

Gaby617

Was that the Tamron you where having problems w/? I thought I read that in a prior thread.

divamum

Yes, Gaby - the first copy I had front-focused badly, but I decided I'd try a second one and am very glad I did. It's not in the league of the 70-200 II (is anything?!) but it's a very decent standard zoom, and the IS was incredibly helpful!

NagoC50

Well done, Diva! The formal shot that you were so concerned about came out super.

divamum

Ironically, it turned out to be one of the easiest parts of the whole thing That said, if I hadn't asked I wouldn't have had a clue how to light it for this result, so I'm really glad I did my homework!!

Sam

I think you did pretty good. Sure there are lots of things that could be better, but it looks like they have some nice images that captured the day. You will develop your style naturally.

My thought are to put it away for a few days then go back and look at the set and see what your thoughts are. The idea is to ALWAYS improve.

I think the trick is to balance your internal thoughts of what went well and the nice images with the desire to improve and the critique.

Also remember we are much more critical than most clients.

Sam

kdotaylor

All wonderful shots; but #3--oh my!

Matthew Saville

I think that considering the setting, lighting, and subjects, you did as well as could be expected for a first try! My first try certainly wasn't this good.

Having said that, my rule of thumb before I get too pleased with myself is to take a deep breath and revisit the images a week or two later, after the wedding day is no longer so fresh in my mind.

I find that this "waiting period" gives me a clearer mind to see things like distractions in backgrounds, or to identify how angles and compositions could have been slightly better, or how poses could have been improved.

For example the two main subjects in photo -1 are a little too close to the edges; I wish it had been framed a little more loose, while photos 1 and 2 are a little busy around the edges...

The formals look perfectly lit, however whatever focal length and angle you used is giving them a little bit of a midget-y look, but maybe that's just the fact that their heads are framed below the 1/2 mark. I'm a fan of vertical shots with lots of space up top, but for that to work it has to be clearly the intention, IE the faces need to be at the lower 1/3 line or below. When faces are just below the 1/2 mark, it just gives a shrinking effect. I'm sure you shot other options though, so I'm just pointing out a tip, not really a fatal flaw.

Anyways, what's the best thing you can do? Get right back out there and shoot again! Since it probably isn't feasible to be a lead shooter again within the next few weeks out of the blue, just try and 2nd shoot again soon. Shooting again while mistakes and self-critiques are fresh in your mind is BY FAR the best thing you can do to improve your craft. I took forever to improve my images at first simply because I only shot 2-3 weddings per year for my first 2-3 years. But once I found myself shooting 20+ weddings per year, I saw dramatic improvements in my work almost overnight.

Anyways, take care,
=Matt=

divamum

Thanks, KD, Sam and Matt

Totally agree on the "wish I had...." stuff. Including the edges of the frame in two - I tried to include the whole wedding party, but the wide shots just aren't so good (not helped because I had the 24-70 on 7d, on the grounds I could get away with slower shutter speed and thus lower ISO. I probably could have used the extra reach of the 70-200 on the crop if I'd reversed the lenses and put the 24-70 on the 5dII and the 70-200 on the 7d. ISO was so high and shutter speeds so slow it probably wouldn't have made that much difference )

I did indeed take plenty of formals with different comp from this, including them up on the steps and framed closer (the ones I prefer, in fact); I just shared this one because it was a great example of how effective the lighting had been. While I realise that single-umbrella approach is totally "all in a day's work" ho-hum to those of you who use it, it was revelatory to single-subject, portrait-shooting me!

Matt, believe it or not I DO have another wedding as lead, in November. Another friend-who-begged, and having said "yes" to this one, I felt like I had to say "yes" to the second. Very, very different type of event, however - casual (at a brewery!) and much less wedding-y. But have already started thinking about how to improve the things I don't like about this one, so we're on the same page there

Thanks%2

divamum

PS Here are some of the other formals. One of the reasons I took the wide shot you're not crazy about above was to get rid of the candles growing out of their heads! Plus, working around the font. These were the solutions I came up with on the fly (and we are talking FLY - we got all the formals done in under 20 minutes) - are there other ways of working with these things? By all means throw 'em at me - always keen to learn!

Leaving them very loose to allow for cropping (yes?)





(glasses reflections are a pain, but not sure what I could have done about that, either, especially since they're on either side........... His jacket annoys me too - wish I'd spotted that.)

Sam

Eyeglass reflections are tough to deal with. When shooting Candid on the fly there isn't anything you can do.

Of course if you could have the principals wear a second pair of glasses with the lenses removed.

If your dealing with a small number of people that you have time to pose its is pretty easy. Just have them push the rear of the glasses up at the rear by the ears. This will tilt the glasses and send the reflection in a different direction as opposed to straight back to the lens. Try and have them tilt their heads down, EVER SO SLIGHTLY.

With larger groups this doesn't seem to work too well.

As for the jacket and other issues, I think the best way to deal with this is to have an assistant to pose the group and straighten out wardrobe, posing, arms, etc.

Please note I am still working on actually doing all this on the fly.

Hopefully Matt will have some better ideas.

Sam

divamum

Well, I can clean that jacket up with some warping and cloning, it's just a pain to have to do it :-/

Yeah, Nicole was posing them for me, but they were SO DESPERATE to keep moving that it was hard to direct them - they were placing and posing themselves almost faster than we could keep up! We had no trouble rounding people up (the party bus left with guests while wedding party and immediate family stayed behind, so they were captive clientele lol), we just had trouble keeping them standing still long enough for us to get the pictures lol Seriously - I think we took maybe 2-3 minutes per group, with just a couple minutes in between to swap everybody over. I've done grab-shots at speed, but never where I've been expected to direct and pose! Still, I think they're ok; not exactly creative or "glamourous", but I think they're a representative document of who was there and what the church looked like

Sam

divamum wrote: »

Well, I can clean that jacket up with some warping and cloning, it's just a pain to have to do it :-/

Yeah, Nicole was posing them for me, but they were SO DESPERATE to keep moving that it was hard to direct them - they were placing and posing themselves almost faster than we could keep up! We had no trouble rounding people up (the party bus left with guests while wedding party and immediate family stayed behind, so they were captive clientele lol), we just had trouble keeping them standing still long enough for us to get the pictures lol Seriously - I think we took maybe 2-3 minutes per group, with just a couple minutes in between to swap everybody over. I've done grab-shots at speed, but never where I've been expected to direct and pose! Still, I think they're ok; not exactly creative or "glamourous", but I think they're a representative document of who was there and what the church looked like

Ah yes I had the same issue but with more folks and the church and the church personnel telling me we need to end it and leave. The person who was supposed to direct did little of that.

We do the best we can.................

Wouldn't it be swell if everyone was excited about getting great photos, grandpa was awake, uncle Billy was sober, aunt Martha wasn't loudly complaining about everything and we had plenty of time?

Day dreaming doesn't hurt, right?

All in all though we worry so they don't have to. They will be happy.

Sam

Darter02

Moogle Pepper wrote: »

I would honestly consider only two post processing looks- one for color and one for BW and stick with it.

Couldn't have said it better. You've skill and it shows. The different looks take away from the viewer as they can get distracted by the different feel of each shot.

divamum

Aw, thanks!

I'm still "finding" the processing look I want as I work through the set, but will stick with one bw and one unified color (or at least unified for each section of the event). I will probably give her the red toned as a 3rd option for those specific shots simply because she's already seen the teaser, but it will be a two-look set overall

Qarik

need to see more shots divamum!

divamum

Well since you asked, I'll go ahead and picspam Ted, here are some of the more candid moments, too - I need to work on this more, or at least do some more events and get a better sense of where to look for interesting moments

1. I took this, but the idea for it (shooting through the bottles) was TOTALLY Nicole's. I take credit for nothing except having a longer lens on the camera at the time, and pushing the shutter :giggle



2. Uninspired bridesmaid shot, but the best one I got. Struggled finding somewhere in the church to do it, especially after the (much prettier) location I had planned to use was inaccessible due to another group using the space (bride was pretty annoyed by that too - luckily she's a very roll-with-the-punches kinda gal!). The window light coming from camera right makes it a requirement for this to be converted to bw - not-nice stained glass just gave everything an eerie yellow-green glow....



3. This girl is ALWAYS smiling and laughing - glad I caught one. Nicole got the REAL money shot of her seeing herself in the mirror all dressed - enormous excited smile that's just adorable.


4. Possibly only meaningful to those who were there but this man is a VIP musician in town who has been a real mentor to the bride. His reaction to the officiant talking about her was priceless to those of us who know him.



5. This was a pig of a shot to get because of the (non) lighting, but it took pp pretty well. Pleased with this one. Oboist is the groom's brother.



6. I told him to take the bouquet... (gotta love performers - you ALWAYS get a reaction of some kind!)



7. Again, this is thanks to Nicole - she told me to run ahead of them and grab some shots as we walked back to the restaurant. I wish I'd managed to get further in front and frame these up better (lower angle, fewer street signs etc etc), but there are a couple of cute ones which I think they'll like.



8. I truly have no idea what to do with this shot - it's nothing special for the b&g, but the juxtaposition of cultures that happened is pretty cool. I only managed two frames, and the first one is completely oof. The woman in the burkha and her husband came out of another restaurant, didn't even NOTICE the b&g and just walked right into the photo. Wish I'd manage to catch the husband in shot too, for the perfect contrast.

Qarik

these are great diva..the walking shots reminded me of our most excellent eastern european photographer. The behind the bottle shot almost worked..the groom is kinda obscured by a bottle.

divamum

Qarik wrote: »

these are great diva..the walking shots reminded me of our most excellent eastern european photographer. The behind the bottle shot almost worked..the groom is kinda obscured by a bottle.

Thanks!!

Yeah, there's a wall just to the left - I was actually pressed right up against it so couldn't move around further. We both kept hoping they'd look our way, but the party was going on pretty much to their right, so it never quite happened. I still like it, though

I think I've finally managed to look at all of them. What's a decent number for a set - I'm thinking 500-600?

Brett1000

nice set

kdotaylor

Thanks for sharing...these are all really nice! You have a terrific eye.

divamum

Thanks so very much!

jpc

Great job! I enjoyed looking at these.

WillCAD

divamum wrote: »

Y'all are way too kind. Thank you!

I am definitely pleased - I guess taking all those "don't shoot a wedding" horror stories I've read online to heart meant I was prepared for the worst... which never happened! And for the next one (yes, there is a next one - ANOTHER friend-who-begged, and especially since I'd said "yes" to this one I couldn't really say "no" to the second) I at least have a better sense of where I can be a little less fanatical both in preparation and on the day. Experience is always the best teacher...

I do love that sepia (I think because the red makes the wood beams almost the colour they are in real life), but since SO many of these look great in a straight-up bw I'll probably go with that for most of it. Great advice to keep it simple!

Having seen some of your work here, I for one had no doubt whatsoever that you could handle a wedding, even solo. I'm sure youll refine what you learned on this one and be even more pleased with your results on the next one. Maybe you'll wind up shooting weddings full time!