Still trying to get a good "kiss" shot

urbanaries

After seeing such awesome results from Scott in this thread I've been trying to incorporate the tips (in post #4) into wedding and engagement sessions. I've failed miserably up to now, but think I may be getting closer. Here are a few from Monday. C&C welcome.

(i have a thing for wrought iron lately:scratch)

1.


2.


A few more, non kiss shots

3. (I hate that I cut off his head, but still love the shot!!!)


4. the steam clock where they got engaged


5. I love silhouettes! (in the finished version I'd edit out that black pole)

Scott_Quier

#3 is very cool - I'm with you; I also hate that you cut off the top of his head. But, she's have so much fun!

#4 The sense of "The circus is coming to town!" gives this one a much more light-hearted and playful feel that I really like! I'm all about having child-like fun!

#5 This is almost romantic. When you are fixing this one up a bit, I would also loose the gree on the left edge of the frame. I'm slightly bothered by:

• The line going through his head
• I get the sense that they are leaning away from each other. I think it comes from the fact that he's standing very straight (not leaning into her at all) and the two curves (front and back) of her torso make for an optical illusion of "pulling away".

Oh, and you have PM

saurora

Nice set, Lynne! That is an awesome bridge in #1 and #2. I think #1 is pretty darn romantic even if the kiss is not quite there. I love shots that are not totally blackened to silouhette.

#2 Nice...I like the black and white with the detail of the ivy on the bridge and the nice black iron railing.

#3 I really like the spontaneity in this one. Yeah, the crop is a little much, but the viewer is really drawn to her hair swirling about her face, so it still works.

#4 Would you believe my first pass at this one I was so busy checking out the couple and the beautiful clock that I entirely missed the pachyderms???? Quite an interesting shot! It's fun like Scott said.

#5 I agree w/Scott. He looks so stiff and upright that it takes away from the shot somewhat.

Nice set over-all and I think they should be happy with these!

Elaine

That bridge sure makes a nice location! I like the first one of the couple better than the second, as a kissing shot that is. The first one really looks like a kiss is about to happen! For some reason, the second one makes me wonder what it would be like to have the man appear to be "whispering sweet nothings" in her ear and have her face react with a happy expression.
#3 has great colors and action and expression! Really lovely! It's nice that his eyes and smile are in the shot. Would another option be to crop his head completely off and make the shot all about her engaging the camera? Maybe that would be too drastic? Then you'd lose her other hand around his neck too. Hmmm...probably not such a great idea.
Love #4! Everything about it!
#5 is nice, and will be better with the pole and green on the left gone. But their interaction is missing for me. It's hard to know even where his arms are, and their faces are not expressing much. OK, that's sounding a bit harsh. I'm just picking on ya 'cause I know you're so good!!! This is a very nice set!

urbanaries

thanks Scott, Susan and Elaine for your honest feedback. Definitely not my best work, so i was ready for the kill!

I definitely agree the bridge is more appealing than the couple themselves, in 1-2. I think they're romantic and graphic but not really "kiss shots", in the end. I'm glad you liked the "almost" silhouette, Susan! I'm getting better at exposing these so I don't introduce so much grain in the process.

In 3, they caught me a bit off guard, and I knew immediately the error I'd made so i had them do it again. No lost body parts in the 2nd round, but the emotion and expressions were *so* much better that first time. As usual.

In #4, should I clone out the bike racks? They bug me. And it also bugs me that you can't see her face. But I am glad you guys seem to like this shot...it was a request of theirs (he even told me where I could shoot them from above) and i wasn't sure how I felt about it. People were in the way and I had to crop it funny to get them out and keep the clock straight.

#5 is bad for all the reasons you guys say it is, it was the only one that turned out from this series, and I like the colors. It definitely sucks compared to my last attempt at this shot.....

Some people are very comfortable with being photographed in a candid/spontaneous fashion, and some people aren't. It's definitely a challenge to get consistent results with the faux-tojournalistic approach!

Here's a wider shot of that bridge, on the Indianapolis Central Canal. This is a killer venue for outdoor urban photography, the possibilities really are endless.

Elaine

Wow! That is a beautiful bridge!

The bike racks didn't really jump out at me, but I think at least taking out that little sign post, just to the right of his arm, would be nice.

urbanaries

Elaine wrote:

Wow! That is a beautiful bridge!

The bike racks didn't really jump out at me, but I think at least taking out that little sign post, just to the right of his arm, would be nice.

good catch, that would definitely "de clutter" around the subject. I will do that!!!

Scott_Quier

Remove the sign - like you said, a good catch.

The black bike racks - I would keep them. It provides a bit of visual seperation between the people and the parade of elephants. Kind of like a wall between the romatic world and child-like fun - each can see the other, but they are seperate.