First "Couples" shoot. CC Appreciated!

[cailinp]

Okay so I had my first ever couples shoot where the subjects weren't like real close friends. I did it for free as I am totally learning and love doing it. I'm wondering how some of the shots came out. It was challenging to really find a perfect focus for me when working with 2 people rather than one. Here are a few for cc. Thanks guys!

 

[lunaaa]

3 and 4 are really beautifull,love all of them though.:thumbup:

 

[peterhanowell]

Great job. These look like they would please the couple.

Peter
--
Wedding Photographers Tallahassee, FL

 

[Robin Usagani]

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.
#4.. i love a real lens flare! Do you have similar one with them facing you?

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.

+1.

Really love the first few of them! You did pretty good, imo, keep up the good work...thanks for sharing.

 

[cailinp]

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.
#4.. i love a real lens flare! Do you have similar one with them facing you?

I so wish i had one with them facing me but I only have them facing away.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Good candidate for Photoshop manipulation to make her look your way

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.

+1.

Really love the first few of them! You did pretty good, imo, keep up the good work...thanks for sharing.

 

[cailinp]

Good candidate for Photoshop manipulation to make her look your way

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.

+1.

Really love the first few of them! You did pretty good, imo, keep up the good work...thanks for sharing.

Honestly, I would have no idea how to even go about doing that. I only use Lightroom 3. I'm not very skilled with PS.

 

[shrutebucks]

these are beautiful! i don't like the tilt/angle in the one w/ lens flare, but that's just my preference...i would have kept the image horizontal. either way, it is a beautiful shot

 

[SecondShot]

I looked them over a few times, and while I like them all because they're pleasing to my eye (with exception to #5), they all seem tightly cropped or are close-ups. I have to remind myself of this too, but consider that your clients may want to have these framed, and because there is little breathing room, some of the shot will be further truncated.

I also noticed that with exception to #4, these all look posed with the two of them in the same position: woman in front, man in back. Did you direct them to be positioned this way or did they choose? This isn't really a critique per se, but rather an observation. Is it your style to be a candid photographer, or do you prefer the posed shots?

 

[cailinp]

Good candidate for Photoshop manipulation to make her look your way

#5 is weird because one is looking at the camera and the other isnt.

+1.

Really love the first few of them! You did pretty good, imo, keep up the good work...thanks for sharing.

I looked them over a few times, and while I like them all because they're pleasing to my eye (with exception to #5), they all seem tightly cropped or are close-ups. I have to remind myself of this too, but consider that your clients may want to have these framed, and because there is little breathing room, some of the shot will be further truncated.

I also noticed that with exception to #4, these all look posed with the two of them in the same position: woman in front, man in back. Did you direct them to be positioned this way or did they choose? This isn't really a critique per se, but rather an observation. Is it your style to be a candid photographer, or do you prefer the posed shots?

First off Thanks for a great critique. I always thought I enjoyed more candid photography but I suppose these do seem more posed than usual. I guess its because posing them was sort of a safety net for me. The first were posed but it was quick. We took a walk and if I saw a nice building or steps I had them sit. The last ones were all just candid as we were walking and stopping to look at our surrondings.

Great tip about how tightly cropped they are! That is def. something to keep in mind.

 

[Derrel]

#3 and #4 are good and successful. #3, the hands and ring shot, is simply beautiful. My problem with these shots is that the woman has a beautiful,natural smile, and the man has a very fake-looking, practiced-since-his-mother-demanded-he-smile-smile that is a remnant from childhood admonitions to, "Say cheese!"

The man just ruins the shots where his forced,practiced-since-childhood smile is his expression. His expression looks bad,contrasted with the lovely young woman's very real-looking,easy smile. Like, in shot #2, you have smartly put the woman in front, and her face,hair, and torso are the main subjects---she fills the space, beautifully, and then hubby peeks in over her shoulder...and his expression does not "jibe" with hers...his expression kills the shot, for me at least.

I think he could have pulled off somber or "friendly" expressions, but a forced,practiced smile is perceived by many as a lying smile. He's clearly not at ease--he's not a good picture-taker. He's uptight in front of the camera, and this is the toughest challenge you'll need to learn to overcome, dealing and interacting with non-friends and people who come to you for photography. Many,many times, you will encounter men who are absolutely petrified at being photographed, and this guy is a good example. He's constantly looking at the camera, forcing the smile, as he does in shot #5...she's looking off-camera, he is staring straight in to the lens, waiting for the shutter to trip...

On couples like this, one thing you can do is to allow the woman to "lead" a bit, and flirt with her man, and photograph them interacting with one another,and not looking directly at the camera. Set them in to position in front of a good background, back off, and photograph from a distance with a telephoto or tele-zoom, or whatever. He'll probably smile genuinely for her, when relating to her, but not for the camera eye.

This is a situation that will probably occur as long as there are couples and cameras.