My first big wedding

[mridenour]

This was my first big wedding. I've done a couple of smaller, second marriage ones, but never anything on this scale. My niece trusted me though, and she seemed to be quite pleased with the results. The church was rather dark even though I had every possible light turned on. I tend to be more of an art or sport photographer, so this was quite a challenge. Let me know what you think....

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11.

 

[JaimeGibb]

Very nice!! She looks young

 

[mridenour]

Very nice!! She looks young

She turned 21 just days before the wedding. And thank you for your compliment.

 

[AprilRamone]

I like #4. It seems the most creative. I think it would have been cool if you had taken the shot more from the side and got some of the words in focus and some out though. A lot of the shots seem really dark. I wonder if you could lighten them up a bit more in ps?
Also in #3, I would have had her turn into more of a 3/4 pose. It's much more flattering.
They look really happy in #10 I like it!

 

[EOS_JD]

I'm kind of guessing these were taken with either a digital P&S or a small film camera. The quality of the images to be honest is pretty low and the flash looks pretty harsh. Also the flash power is causing the backgrounds to look very dark (seems as though it's a very small on-camera low powered flash unit) The colours don't really pop at all and there's a huge depth of field with every shot (something that is difficulty to control with a P&S).

Here's some comment on each - Sorry for being quite harsh on these.if you were THE photographer then they don't work in my opinion. You don't have the creative skill or equipment required to do the job. You may be cheap though and if your client was happy then that is all that counts. I'd not have charged if this is all I had though. if you were doing this as a guest then the images are not quite so bad as this is propbably what you would expect of a normal guests images.

I don't mean to sound harsh but wedding photography is a one-off event and the bride should be able to look back and be delighted at the quality of her shots. I think the images fail in most departments.... Here's some comments on each and some tips.

1. the angle doesn't work for me. She is too square on in the mirror and smiling gives a feeling of a posed snapshot. A much more personal moment is a candid moment of contemplation - Perhaps the bride out of focus in the mirror or an image from above looking down... there's many good examples posted here by wedding pros.

2. Best not to pose people sraight on. The poses here are very rigid and unflattering.

3. Another unflattering pose. She looks to have very broad shoulders. If she was turned at an angle and turning her head towards the camera, it would give a much more pleasing view - effectively a much slimmer look to the pose.

4. Putting the rings on a crossover point (see the "Rule of Thirds") might have helped but it doesn't work for me. Llighting isn't great and you can't really make the rings out too well. Again use of more creative depth of field and a much lower (more acute) angle would have helped.

5. Colour is really off (I wonder are these scans from small prints?) Doesn't really work for me. Flash wasn't powerful enough or the image is just underexposed.

6. Looks like a wedding snap shot. No creative composition.

7. Looks very dark

8. Again looks very dark - Lighting the candles in the background and less use of flash I think was needed.

9. Again just a snapshot of the bride kissing a girl.

10. The flash isn't strong enough to light up the backgrounds which again makes the image therefore looks very dark however flash was too bright on the white dress causing it to look burnt out.

11. The best of your images but the flash still ruins it in my opinion.

I'm being harsh to show you what in my opinion are basic errors you are making. If you are charging for weddings, or are the only photographer taking images, I'd actually advise stopping doing weddings until you can learn more of what is required of a wedding photographer and get the equipment you need to do the job.

Again sorry to be so harsh.

Regards
Jim

 

[NJMAN]

I have to agree with JD. I'm no expert by any means, but my main gripes would be with all of the images in general:

Blasted with head on flash
Dark background
No depth of field
Harsh shadows
Very grainy
No atmosphere

On the brighter side, #1 is a neat idea, you captured a sweet moment in #8, and good composition in #11.

I am not trying to sound harsh either, but there are certain elements you should have and not have in wedding photos. If the couple are happy with these, thats all that counts.

 

[elsaspet]

Can you tell us more about the camera you used?

I have to agree with both of the above. I understand these are for your cousin, and you said she was happy, so all fine I guess.

In the future, shoot manual or at least Ap Priority. It looks to me like you were on Program Mode. Also, get that flash up in the air and away from your camera.

Your DOF is waaaaaay to thick. Kick it back to no more than 2.8.

All is not lost though. You can work wonders with some TLC in cropping and photoshop. Learn what you can about levels and exposures.

But honestly, I would hold off on other weddings until you work out the kinks. Keep at it, but as a second.........for a while longer.
Hugs,
Cindy

 

[Chris SWF]

I agree with my fellow WPJA member above. The replies would be doing you a dis-service if they didn't give you honest feedback. Direct flash does have its uses but these images are not the time to use it. Your shots have to be that much better than the guests there. These replies sound negative but I amsure that if you have any specific questions or need good advice then everyone including myself will be only too happy to help.
Regards
Chris