Wedding from Yesterday - These Are the "Pre-Proofs"

astrostu · September 19, 2010

Wedding yesterday, 1074 photos, down to 55% after weeding out closed eyes and other unusable shots. I gave the couple these "pre-proofs" today to keep them interested until the proofs are finished. Some have effects to give them an idea of some of the digital manipulation. This was my first paid wedding. These are some of my favorites, not all of them ... want to keep some of the best "in the vest" for later. Lemme know what you think -- note that shadows were an issue during the outside stuff ... any advice on how to deal with that in the future (and in processing?) would be appreciated!

1 - Bride in her room. Small Orton Effect applied.

2 - Groom acting up.

3 - Flower girl. Orton Effect applied.

4 - Bride and groom while a family friend was playing the guitar, officiate (Groom's dad) behind them. Vignette.

5 - Flower girl. Inverse vignette.

6 - Man and wife.

7 - Happy about the recent events.

8 - Tossing the bride. A new Olympic sport in the making?

9 - Bridal party formal. Not a fan of what the best man is doing with his hand...

10 - Bride, one of the formals.

11 - Bride and groom during a dance, showing the wedding ring and band.

12 - Rings in the flowers.

heatherfeather · September 20, 2010

Your links aren't working.

astrostu · September 20, 2010

heatherfeather wrote: »

Your links aren't working.

They aren't? They show up fine for me ...

I guess you could always check out the site, though I know that instantly diminishes the amount of replies I'll get. Or maybe the server was down when you just looked now? It crashed for a few hours a few days ago, so maybe they're still having issues?

marikris · September 20, 2010

I can see the photos. Here's what I think.

My favorites are no. 8 (because of the spontaneity) and no. 12 (I really like the composition of the ring shot).

I think you should work on a couple of things:
1) more dynamic composition. Almost all the shots you posted have the subjects in the center. This can have a very snap-shot effect.
2) Don't be afraid to get closer or zoom closer. You might even try to fill the whole viewfinder with the subject(s).

Shooting at midday has its own problems. If at all possible, try to get them in the shade to shoot. I helped shoot a wedding outside this plantation mansion last year under oak trees. I had to tell the couple and the minister to stand under the shadow of two branches to perform the ceremony, and time my shots for the procession in between branch shades too. If this is not possible, at least for the formals, you can drag them off to some shade.

You can also put their backs to the sun, that will shade their faces and you can get a good exposure on them. Just let the background overexpose or whatever.

Fill flash can help you too.

Also, I'm not sure if you missed the focus on no. 1 or if it's the result of the Orton Effect, but I don't think the effect is helping. She looks like she could have used some flash too. The first two points apply to no. 3 as well.

Hope that helps you

VayCayMom · September 20, 2010

Your blog link works for me, but even after following a trail via Google I cannot see your images

Jeremy Winterberg · September 20, 2010

I'm just viewing these on my droid, I'll come back and make a more "official" comment when I get home later. But, initial comment.. the effects don't work for me, especially the white vignette.

heatherfeather · September 20, 2010

Ok, now for some reason I can see them. Too strange. Did you make any changes to your post or allow sharing since last night?

astrostu · September 20, 2010

Okay, I've NO idea what's going on with why some folks can't or couldn't see the images. I didn't change ANYTHING and I made the exact same post (as in copy-paste) on a few other photo forums to try to maximize feedback. And since I can see them and can't duplicate the problem, I can't go about diagnosing it.

The general feedback I've gotten is that the post-processing effects don't work. It's odd in that many of the lay public love 'em (I sent the photos with and without processing to my parents and my mom's response was that her favorite was the one with the inverse vignette).

Anyway, here are those four without the effects:

Jeremy Winterberg · September 20, 2010

OK.. So, the Orton effect on number 3 with the flower girl works. I hate vignettes so thats still a no go in my books and without the vignette the attention is back on the flower girl who doesn't look too happy...

The other two look much better without the effects.

As for the shadows.. a few ways you can tackle that. My favorite is having an assistant hold a flash on a stand with a shoot through umbrella (strobist setup) triggered wirelessly. Now, a much more cost effective route would to have the assistant hold a big reflector to bounce some light up there to soften the shadows. The free method is to find shade like Kris said.

Instead of shooting the formals in the same spot that they were married in, walk around a bit and find different backgrounds. I noticed in one of them you walked to the other side and used the trees for a background, thats a start. I wasn't there, so I dont know the area you had to work with or the time frame you had, but I can almost guarantee there was more backgrounds to use. (dont get me wrong, the mountains in the distance are amazing, just mix it up a little)

Also, like Kris said, dont be afraid to fill up more of the frame. You seem a little too distant in most of the shots. Get in their personal bubble, they wont care!

I love the ring shot, and also number 8 because its just a fun shot!

My $0.02..

Wedding from Yesterday - These Are the "Pre-Proofs"

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