Engagement Session for a friend :)

Shima · January 20, 2008

My "big sister" in my sorority (which we're both alumna of) recently got engaged, so she got me to do her engagement photos. I was really pleased with how they came out for the most part... so here are a few of my favorites!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Thanks for looking

More here:
http://shima.smugmug.com/gallery/4190186

Shima · January 20, 2008

no feedback?

Agnieszka · January 20, 2008

Hi there. I think you got some nice photos there. The only thing I think is too bad is the time of the day & weather (which I guess is hard to control ...). I think I would try to ad some color to the photos (just spot saturate them a bit) & I think #2 would look great in b&w too.
Love the piano one, #5

Looks like a gorgeous & sweet couple

jeffreaux2 · January 20, 2008

I find his shoes to be a distraction in the photos that they show in. BW conversions would cure this. Otherwise, nice shots!!!

leaforte · January 20, 2008

#5 and #8 really capture their going forward as a team...friends...unity. Nice.

Shima · January 20, 2008

Thanks for all the quick feedback after I bumped this

Agnieszka - the weather was HORRID and yeah I agree about the saturating, I did a little, they were actually worse than this when I started if you can believe that, maybe I'll do more later, lol. But yeah it was ridiculously cold so we didn't stay anywhere too long and it kept lightly snowing in between... I was really happy when we moved indoors for the other half, lol.

jeffreaux2 - wow I hadn't even realized how distracting his shoes were until you pointed that out, will try a couple b&w conversions later and see how they look

leaforte - yeah they're a great pair and I think they'll go far... funny thing about the last one it was a last minute idea I had since Sharon and my husband used to play pool together, and we were picking my husband up from the billiards location on campus where he was killing time while I shot them, so that was one of the few things that was my idea and not theirs

Seneca · January 21, 2008

Ok since you asked I'll give you my opinion. I belong to another forum (a paid forum) in which we all give each other brutually honest opinions...but from there we learn. So I'll tell you what I think.

1 & 2 are the only good ones I see.

3 - they should've been looking at you...with his hand on top of hers.

4 - she is leaning into him too much and his face is covered with her hair.

5 - huge shadow on the piano plus he doesn't look comfortable with this shot.

6 - Her hand up his leg looks awkward - again JMHO

7 the claw hand over his doesn't look sensuous, it looks like she is about to claw him too.

8 I gather from this picture that they both like to shoot pool...so why not have them look at the camera.

Those are my comments. Again...1 & 2 are good.

Scott_Quier · January 21, 2008

Shima wrote:

no feedback?

You asked for feedback, so here it is ... The following is a little harsh, but I try to call 'em as I see 'em and hope others do the same for/to me.

In general, they are all pretty well centered. Consider widening the shots to show some context and get the couple out of the very center of the shot (specific comments on this below).

The couple is dead center in the photo. Suggest moving camera to either the left or right (doesn't matter) to include more of the bench. Shoot in landscape orientation to allow more of the bench to be in the shot. You can use the bench to help lead the viewer's eyes to the couple. Flash - over flashed just a touch. Might thing about slowing down the shutter a bit more to get more ambient light and use the flash for fill rather than main light.
Again, shoot in landscape orientation to get more of the bridge. You can use the rail to lead the viewer's eye to the couple and place the couple in the left upper third of the photo. Oh, and watch the background - you've got a tree growing out of his head.
Flash very evident here - you have side-shadows from her head/face - distracting. Keeping the flash head above the lens tend to reduce/mitigate this problem. Did you think about getting the camera a bit lower for a better perspective?
Clone out "STOP". Slow the shutter for more ambient and allow the flash to be your fill. Not real sure about the pose either. It appears he has her bent over in an uncomfortable position.
I like this concept. You have side shadows from the flash on the keyboard. I think, maybe, a slight lower perspective and keeping the flash above the lens will/would have eliminated this problem. I do think they look like they are enjoying themselves here...
I like the concept of this photo as well and I like the way she is holding his leg (though I think getting her other hand involved would improve it a bit). A couple of things to think about here (1) his hand looks like a claw on her shoulder and not a comfortable embrace. You have some flash light fall-off; she's well light, but he's a touch under-exposed. This could have been corrected by either moving him closer to her or you moving a bit further away (though this would have cost more flash power to cover the distance). Oh, and side-shadows again.
I like the concept of this photo, but a woman's hand deserves to look elegant. Close her fingers and lower the camera perspective to get a more edge-on view of her hand. Much better/flattering.
Very nice idea. Get them look and smiling at the camera to better pull this one off.

Sam · January 22, 2008

Seneca, Scott,

This is great C&C! This is what will not only help the photographer submitting the photos, but all the rest of us viewing, and reading your comments.

Thanks for your time, and effort.

Sam

urbanaries · January 22, 2008

Sam wrote:

Seneca, Scott,

This is great C&C! This is what will not only help the photographer submitting the photos, but all the rest of us viewing, and reading your comments.

Thanks for your time, and effort.

Sam

Scott_Quier · January 22, 2008

Sam wrote:

Seneca, Scott,

This is great C&C! This is what will not only help the photographer submitting the photos, but all the rest of us viewing, and reading your comments.

Thanks for your time, and effort.

Sam

Sam,

I have learned so much from other folks her and other forums that I feel it is only right that I "give back". I feel, to do that job right I must not only point out what I FEEL are points for improvement but also suggest ways in which those improvements may be made. I may not be right in my suggestions (in fact the odds are against it), but to say "this fails for this reason" is only half (the easy half) of the obligation. How to fix it - that's often the hard part.

So, thank you for your kind encouragement and for making the effort to provide that encouragement. I really do appreciate it when I get that kind of feedback - makes it all worthwhile!

Shima · January 22, 2008

Yeah the part with the suggestions for how to fix the stuff that is not desired is the most beneficial. If it was just "this looks weird" that wouldn't be anywhere near as helpful as feedback has been here where I have been given guidance on what to do differently next time

Thanks to everyone so far!

Scott_Quier wrote:

Sam,

I have learned so much from other folks her and other forums that I feel it is only right that I "give back". I feel, to do that job right I must not only point out what I FEEL are points for improvement but also suggest ways in which those improvements may be made. I may not be right in my suggestions (in fact the odds are against it), but to say "this fails for this reason" is only half (the easy half) of the obligation. How to fix it - that's often the hard part.

So, thank you for your kind encouragement and for making the effort to provide that encouragement. I really do appreciate it when I get that kind of feedback - makes it all worthwhile!

Cantfeelmyfingers · January 22, 2008

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I find his shoes to be a distraction in the photos that they show in. BW conversions would cure this. Otherwise, nice shots!!!

I'm definitely thinking the same thing!

Seneca · January 23, 2008

Sam wrote:

Seneca, Scott,

This is great C&C! This is what will not only help the photographer submitting the photos, but all the rest of us viewing, and reading your comments.

Thanks for your time, and effort.

Sam

Thanks Sam - I feel the same way. I belong to an private forum where we give each other very good advice. I've learned to look at images a lot different now.

Scott_Quier · January 23, 2008

Seneca wrote:

Thanks Sam - I feel the same way. I belong to an private forum where we give each other very good advice. I've learned to look at images a lot different now.

You can't just drop that bombshell and walk away. How about some details? Is there any chance of others joining in?

If you feel it necessary, please PM me. Thanks

Seneca · January 23, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

You can't just drop that bombshell and walk away. How about some details? Is there any chance of others joining in?

If you feel it necessary, please PM me. Thanks

Silly man...answer your PM.

KED · January 23, 2008

Shima wrote:

My "big sister" in my sorority (which we're both alumna of) recently got engaged, so she got me to do her engagement photos. I was really pleased with how they came out for the most part... so here are a few of my favorites!
4.

If I were she and if I were superstitious, the "STOP" that is so eye-catching in this one would totally freak me out! If you haven't shown it to her, don't!

LCD · January 23, 2008

I really like your concepts and I'm sure your "big sister" is happy with the shots - or will be. The suggestions that you received are very good and I learned from them too. Thanks for the post!
Lisa

Shima · January 24, 2008

KED wrote:

If I were she and if I were superstitious, the "STOP" that is so eye-catching in this one would totally freak me out! If you haven't shown it to her, don't!

Actually I told her about it in the background as soon as I noticed it and she thought it was really funny. We were actually joking around about how it was more like "stop making out at the park!" but yeah I offered to blot it out if she wanted, heh.

LCD- yeah she loves them, she knew she wasn't getting a super pro or anything (as she is my 2nd engagement shoot ever, lol) so her expectations weren't overly high thankfully. I look forward to continually improving w/ each shoot though!

Engagement Session for a friend :)

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