Shot my first wedding.

JayClark79 · April 16, 2010

I shot my 1st wedding last weekend and wow what a trip... Tons of fun... but I went from thinking I was just going to help the main photographer who was shooting this wedding as a favor to friends... To being told day of that "your betting at people pictures then me so I want you to be front and center at the wedding, and oh I want you incharge of all the formal shots, you brought your light stands right? :huh .... Ya what fun... keep in mind this is the FIRST time iv ever used my off camera setup in any other place besides my basement studio.:dunno

The groom had a TON of acme that i did my best to touch up, and as you can see in some of the pics was a greasy sweaty mess lol

Here are some of my favs, please C&C

1.

2

3.

4

5.

Darren Troy C · April 16, 2010

Really like 2 and 5. Please take this with a grain of salt because it's going to sound harsh. But seriously, and even though the "other photographer was doing it as a favor for his friends", did he/she REALLY tell you the DAY OF that you "are better at people pictures than me so I want you front and center." ????? Wow, Just W O W.

That one leaves me shaking my head.

Not because of you at all, but that was, in my opinion, very uncalled for. I think the couple came away with the best photographer that day. Kudos to you!

heatherfeather · April 16, 2010

Wow! These are wonderful! I love the first two especially... though each of them is very nice.

The bride is especially stunning with her classic hair and dress... I wish more brides would get out of this "stuck with the same look as everyone else" thing and get creative with it.

JayClark79 · April 17, 2010

Yes! I was definently shocked. I was like umm then what are you gonna do? And he said he wants to consintrate on a photo journalistic style so he stayed at the back of the church and took pics of the back of peoples heads

Thanks you guys for the positive comments I had a blast and hope to start doing more weddings atleast as a 2nd shooter in the near future!

WillCAD · April 17, 2010

I like the whole series. They're solid shots in the traditional style. I think #5, in particular, is going to be one that the couple will keep as "their wedding photo".

Was the primary a pro photog, or just an enthusiast who was shooting the wedding as a favor to his friends?

JayClark79 · April 17, 2010

He is a photographer enthusiast I would say, doenst do it professionally, has 2nd shot a wedding or 2... The bride was his daughters best friend.. He does want to do more weddings though.

Jeremy Winterberg · April 17, 2010

Were you using anything to soften your off camera flash? bouncing it off a wall, umbrella, softbox, ... bed sheet? I think that would've helped with the sweaty looking pictures.

I like #2 (dont care for the expression on the first bm face though, but not much you can do about that), #4, and #5. I think 5 needs a little more contrast, but thats just my opinion.

As for the photographer that threw this all onto you... Very unprofessional. Even though he's an enthusiast that wanted to get a photojournalistic approach, it doesn't allow him to hand the gig to someone else. He should've told the bride and groom a head of time that he would be more comfortable as a 2nd shooter.

For a first wedding and not being prepared 100% to be the main photog. Congratulations, I think you did a wonderful job

EDIT: Its also possible to fix the highlights in PP, here is a quick example.

JayClark79 · April 17, 2010

How did you do this?? I use Lightroom for the most part, just got a new desktop and cant even get a trial of version of photoshop right now with the cs5 just coming out... (laptop with photoshop on it crapped out and is hopefully being repaired)

Jeremy Winterberg · April 17, 2010

JayClark79 wrote:

How did you do this?? I use Lightroom for the most part, just got a new desktop and cant even get a trial of version of photoshop right now with the cs5 just coming out... (laptop with photoshop on it crapped out and is hopefully being repaired)

I use photoshop CS4 (cant wait for CS5 to be released - the new content aware system looks amazing). But, you can do this in lightroom. In photoshop I used the patch tool and healing brush. In Lightroom I would use the spot remover brush in the development tab.

If I had the high res file I could've been more accurate with my edit, but this technique is very easy.

You want to diffuse the highlights, but not get rid of them completely. If you got rid of them completely, the face would look flat and dull. If you want to send me the high res file I can edit it, and make a video on how I did it so you (and others) can learn. I've been wanting to make some video tutorials lately so this will be a great opportunity.

Moogle Pepper · April 17, 2010

While I was 2nding a while ago with a different photographer, he told me a "main" photographer, would hire the "second" to do the "main" photographer's work so that he could do what he enjoyed more. Details and real candids. And he is pretty successful, as I am told. so who knows.

This is a good 1st.

I like #5.

Jeremy Winterberg · April 17, 2010

Moogle Pepper wrote:

While I was 2nding a while ago with a different photographer, he told me a "main" photographer, would hire the "second" to do the "main" photographer's work so that he could do what he enjoyed more. Details and real candids.

aren't the details and candids the second photographer's job? I've never second shot before, but I'm pretty sure thats how it works.

Moogle Pepper · April 17, 2010

Jeremy Winterberg wrote:

aren't the details and candids the second photographer's job? I've never second shot before, but I'm pretty sure thats how it works.

Mostly. But as I was told the photographer hired by the clients, did the "Second shooter's work" and the hired 2nd shooter did the main. Don't ask. Just repeating what I was told.

JayClark79 · April 18, 2010

Moogle Pepper wrote:

the photographer hired by the clients, did the "Second shooter's work" and the hired 2nd shooter did the main. Don't ask. Just repeating what I was told.

This sounds nuts lol

Shot my first wedding.

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