My First Wedding...

dawssvt

I just finished up shooting my first wedding by myself. The last wedding my dad (joshhuntnm) and I did together, I took some shots, but I was mostly doing video for the entire day. Today I photographed my first wedding by myself. It was a blast. I just got the Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS and I am already in love with this lens.

The pictures are still uploading, but I couldn't stop myself from sharing a few shots I liked. These shots are straight out of the camera. More to come after all the PS is done. C&C welcome :thumb

Photosbychuck

Congrat's they look GREAT so far!

Take Care,
Chuck

nicoleshilliday

Welcome to the wedding world! I do it part time and LOVE it, hope to start full time within the next year or so.

#3 is fantastic. Composition, DOF all great! Did you do any post processing on it, or was it straight out of the camera?

geospatial_junkie

Great job for your first time!

Scott_Quier

I really, really like what I see here. Looking forward to seeing what you do with these (and others) after post. Thanks for sharing.

jayegirl

looks like a beautiful location, love the last shot.

heatherfeather

#2 does it for me! I love the clouds. Great job! We will have to see some more! Congratulations!!!!!

tinfish

Great shots, and what a great backdrop!

Rhinotherunt

What a beautiful venue!!! Images look good from the three you posted.

Shima

dawssvt wrote:

I just finished up shooting my first wedding by myself. The last wedding my dad (joshhuntnm) and I did together, I took some shots, but I was mostly doing video for the entire day. Today I photographed my first wedding by myself. It was a blast. I just got the Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS and I am already in love with this lens.

Gotta love the 17-55!!! Glad you got it, great shots!

joshhuntnm

That's my boy!

Great job, Dawson, I am proud of you.

and isn't it great you have the 17 - 55 for me to borrow!

mmroden

This may sound harsh...
This may sound harsh, so please take what I'm about to say not as an insult or anything (I know you didn't post at the whipping post), but as the kind of criticism I got when I first started shooting weddings. I think it made me a better wedding and event photographer; but, like all unsolicited advice, feel free to ignore-- I won't be offended, and I hope you won't be either. You may also completely disagree, as there may have been stylistic choices to which I'm not privy, or I may be missing the point.

That having been said, I like them, but I have to say this about #2. I really wish you had gotten in closer and cut out the spectators. It's a different shot, with a different idea, but by getting closer and zooming out, you still get the big sky effect, and the attention is on the couple and their attendants. At the moment, you've got the sky, the building, the couple, but instead of the attendants, I see the guests, who are all dressed like it's Casual Friday. For me, I'd try to get closer, and then widen out, so that I can get a shot without them (I don't know what your rules of motion were, so maybe you weren't allowed to get that close).

It's just that my eye is first drawn, rather than to the couple, to the dude with the little point-and-shoot on the lower left. His shirt is brighter than the bridesmaids, so they're definitely overshadowed. As such, to me, the ideal left hand side of the image would be the corner of that glass building (which can give you some cool reflections of the sky), and the right hand side would be just a bit past the fifth groomsman.

Also, for this kind of shot, I'd like to be a bit lower to the ground, just as a perspective thing. As it is, when shot from standing up, the horizon line is dead center. You've got a really interesting potential landscape thing going on here, and could even do a 2x1 panoramic crop; getting a bit lower may emphasize the couple more than the mountains.

I think #3 is definitely a keeper, and would be proud to show that off as a representative image. #1 is a good moment; stylistically, I would have cropped it closer to their faces (where the action is), and left out the bridesmaid's shoulder and the back of her dress-- but it's an excellent capture of a moment, which makes for a priceless photo for the bride.

joshhuntnm

This is one of my favorites and symbolizes the goal of wedding photography--capturing the emotion of the day.

joshhuntnm

mmroden wrote:

This
That having been said, I like them, but I have to say this about #2. I really wish you had gotten in closer and cut out the spectators.

I see the guests, who are all dressed like it's Casual Friday. For me, I'd try to get closer, and then widen out,

In another thread we discussed how intrusive to be in a wedding. To my way of thinking, getting much closer than this during the ceremony is a little intrusive.

As for the casual Friday look, hey that is how we do things here in southern NM

mmroden

joshhuntnm wrote:

In another thread we discussed how intrusive to be in a wedding. To my way of thinking, getting much closer than this during the ceremony is a little intrusive.

As for the casual Friday look, hey that is how we do things here in southern NM

It's interesting-- I think it really depends on the couple. I always ask where I'm allowed to go, both from them and from the person performing the ceremony. Usually, in this kind of relaxed atmosphere, they say to go whereever; in which case, I take them at their word. Usually, any irritation they might feel during the event is tempered when they see the shots, and if they say 'go anywhere', I take them at their word.

I have shot a wedding where I wasn't allowed closer than the last pew; that was much more difficult to shoot, of course...

timk519

In terms of 'how close is too close', you can always pose people after the ceremony, and get your "up close" shots then.