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Minnesota Wedding (My First Shoot) 24 images
Pixel Popper
Registered Users Posts: 280 Major grins
Last week I went to visit my brother, Gregori, who is a professional photographer in Wisconsin. As it turns out, he had to work one of the days I was in town. He was the second photographer for a wedding in Minnesota. I asked if I could go along to the shoot and work for free, just to be able to have some images to start my portfolio. A quick phone call to the lead photographer on the gig assured me a place, as one of his assistants had bailed out at the last minute.
I was excited for the opportunity to learn, but mainly wanted to stay out of the way of the professionals. Barclay, the lead photographer, asked me to catch details and candids.
Here are a few of my favorites from the day. To see the entire gallery of my shots, click here.
#1.
#2.
#3.
#4.
#5.
#6.
#7.
#8.
#9.
#10.
#11.
#12.
#13.
#14.
#15. I had to throw this one in, just for good measure. This is Barclay, the lead photographer who allowed me to join his shoot!
#16.
#17.
#18.
#19.
#20.
#21.
#22.
#23.
#24.
I was excited for the opportunity to learn, but mainly wanted to stay out of the way of the professionals. Barclay, the lead photographer, asked me to catch details and candids.
Here are a few of my favorites from the day. To see the entire gallery of my shots, click here.
#1.
#2.
#3.
#4.
#5.
#6.
#7.
#8.
#9.
#10.
#11.
#12.
#13.
#14.
#15. I had to throw this one in, just for good measure. This is Barclay, the lead photographer who allowed me to join his shoot!
#16.
#17.
#18.
#19.
#20.
#21.
#22.
#23.
#24.
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Comments
One thing that did not look so great is the angles you cought the bride at. One rule of thumb is to not shoot "up" on the bride. This is especially true when you are working with larger framed people. I have worked with bigger brides, and am a full figured woman myself, so I feel good in giving you that one pointer I have to offer. Good luck in the future, and keep up the good work.
PS.....I hate it when my threads go un-answered as well. :cry
Canon Digital Rebel XTI, 430ex, sigma 24-70 f2.8 macro, a crummy kit lens, 4gb cf, and tons of batteries.
www.heatonphotography.net
http://picasaweb.google.com/heatonphotography
www.myspace.com/heatonphotography
As for the lack of response, I'd venture to say that 24 images is a little overwhelming. I probably wouldn't have responded if you hadn't prompted for it (not that there is anything wrong with that:D). I would say maybe pick 5 or so of your best ones to share.
On the other hand, my last post contained 1 shot, and I only got a response from one person, and she's a friend of mine. That's the way it is sometimes I guess!
Ah, yes, ShannonHeat, you are correct. I noticed that when I started working on the images at home. Of course, these are things you'll never have the chance to re-shoot. The funny thing is, the reason the bride was shot at that low angle was partly because the lead photographer was behind me and I was trying to stay out of his way, and partly because their invited guests were also behind me and I was trying to be courteous to all by not blocking their view of their friends and loved ones.
Oh well, I know the other two photographers on the shoot caught this moment from a MUCH more flattering angle!
Anyway, thanks for your kind words and encouragement. I appreciate that!
-Howard
Thanks so much, rustic. That's good advice. I'll whittle down my future threads so as not to overwhelm. Rookie mistake, I guess.
I was just all excited about having my first opportunity to shoot a wedding and to get some images I can use to start my business portfolio. I started off with nearly 700 images, so I thought getting it down to 24 was pretty good. My philosophy sometimes seems to be, "anything worth doing is worth over-doing!"
And I think you have good taste. #3 immediately jumped out at me as one to keep, as well.
Thanks for your comments and advice!
-Howard
Canon Digital Rebel XTI, 430ex, sigma 24-70 f2.8 macro, a crummy kit lens, 4gb cf, and tons of batteries.
www.heatonphotography.net
http://picasaweb.google.com/heatonphotography
www.myspace.com/heatonphotography
www.davidsnookphotography.com
www.davidsnookphotography.com/blog
Either that or upload compression got 'ya.
However shot composition I really like. Contrary to the first poster I like the 'toward the sky' view, even though the lady is full figured. And I LOVE the short depth of field given the shots containing 1-2 people.
And the flash is a little harsh on a couple of them, but for a first time out I won't have anything else than the body flash either. I just hope I bring home shots that good when I'm out at at a wedding for the first time... GREAT WORK!
"Your decisions on whether to buy, when to buy and what to buy should depend on careful consideration of your needs primarily, with a little of your wants thrown in for enjoyment, After all photography is a hobby, even for pros."
~Herbert Keppler
Hey, thanks so much. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Yeah, there are some definite flaws to some of these images, and to be perfectly honest, it's all because of the Rookie Mistakes I made on my first time out. In fact, most of these shots required some serious rescue work before they could be shown in public. The post processing that was required to bring them to the point you see now is where all the noise is coming from.
As to the rookie mistakes I made:
1. Rather early in the day - I'm not sure exactly when - some unknown, rather sticky substance made its way to my lens and smudged the lower portion. I did not notice this looking through the view finder. In fact, I wasn't aware of the problem until almost the end of the shoot at the reception. The consequence of this was a much softer focus in the images than I would have prefered, especially those shots where the subject is farther away from me. Close shots weren't that badly rendered.
(Rookie Mistake 1-A) Was too excited about the first gig and far too anxious to shoot to slow down, prepare properly, and do continuous checks on the gear to make sure everything was in good working order. I won't make THAT mistake again!!!
2. The speedlight I used was brand new. I just bought it a few days before and hadn't had the chance to really experiment with it for best results. In the beginning of the day in particular, I had the flash aimed directly at the subject as opposed to doing it indirectly through bouncing the flash. This is particularly evident in the pre-ceremony shots.
3. I made the very bad mistake of relying on what was showing up in my LCD screen as image previews to help determine camera settings. What I did not realize at the time was that the display had been set to "extra bright." Consequently, I would do a shot which was more or less properly exposed, but the image in the "extra bright" monitor made the image look over exposed and blown out. Based on what I saw on the screen, I would make adjustments to the exposure and flash values until what I saw in the monitor had a pleasing balance. I did this rather early in the day, as well, and consequently, almost every image I shot was under exposed.
D'oh!!!!
So, I had to spend a lot of time on each image after I looked at them at home to try and compensate for the dreadfully soft focus and the terribly under exposed shots. It was all this monkey business after the fact that brought forth the artifacts you noticed.
Fortunately for all involved, there was a lead photographer on the gig, as well as his second (my brother, the pro) and I was just lucky enough to be there at the right time with my gear in hand. I was working for free just to have the experience of doing it, and the lead was kind enough to indulge me. I have definitely learned from my mistakes, so that is a win for me. And if the lead is able to use any of the images I shot, then that is a win for him. If not, no loss to him, as I didn't charge a penny for this work.
Anyway, aside from the obvious issues, I do appreciate your comments about the composition. I think my eye is my strongest asset. I'm still pushing hard to get my technical skills to catch up with my creative side!!!