First Wedding - Bridal Shots

[NateS]

Some of the Bridal Shots from my first wedding to photograph. As you can see by the second shot, I was fighting against a disappearing sun and a very, very short time table which made these kind of difficult.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

 

[dizzyg44]

looks like you images are locked, can't see anything.

 

[NateS]

looks like you images are locked, can't see anything.

Ah crap...I was afraid of that. I locked that gallery so they don't see them until they're all done....figured the links would still work....hold on, I'll fix it.

 

[dizzyg44]

I really like numbers 3 & 5....Very beautiful bride, I like the lighting.

#6, do watch angle as they can exaggerate a persons size. Some people can be overly sensitive to it. Being a fuller figured lady shooting from down low makes her appear bigger.

 

[NateS]

I really like numbers 3 & 5....Very beautiful bride, I like the lighting.

#6, do watch angle as they can exaggerate a persons size. Some people can be overly sensitive to it. Being a fuller figured lady shooting from down low makes her appear bigger.

Thanks. I know what you mean about #6 and I honestly knew that when shooting, but thought I'd give it a shot. She has a full.....um......"upper body.." lol and I thought the shot showing that wasn't necessarily bad. However, I knew that it might come accross like you said which is why I followed up with shot #7 which makes the dress look bigger instead of her (at least in my opinion).

I do appreciate your comments though and #6 is dually noted.

 

[musicaleCA]

Gotta say my favourite is #5. Nice dramatic side(-ish) lighting. Mmm. If you had wanted more ambient, some of these shots could have benefited from just a little longer exposure time, methinks (not number 5 though; I'm digging the dark background contrastyness), but hey, you pulled-off some nice shots which is what counts.

Personally I think 3 was a little unlucky; that lens flare is minimal but right along her face, so it's a bit distracting. :-/ (But that's why you don't dare be frugal and shoot hundreds, not dozens, of shots, right?)

 

[NateS]

Gotta say my favourite is #5. Nice dramatic side(-ish) lighting. Mmm. If you had wanted more ambient, some of these shots could have benefited from just a little longer exposure time, methinks (not number 5 though; I'm digging the dark background contrastyness), but hey, you pulled-off some nice shots which is what counts.

Personally I think 3 was a little unlucky; that lens flare is minimal but right along her face, so it's a bit distracting. :-/ (But that's why you don't dare be frugal and shoot hundreds, not dozens, of shots, right?)

Thank you. I could have done a longer exposure, but with only about 10-15 minutes to get these while the rest of the wedding party waited, I was limited on time as far as playing with my settings and such. I ultimately decided to just work with what I had and be happy.

I agree about #5. I couldn't see that flare on my small 3" LCD otherwise I would have taken a step to the left or right and reshot. Unfortunately all of my attempts to clone that out have been utter failures but still thought it was a shot worth keeping.

 

[musicaleCA]

It's a well-composed shot, so if she and the groom want it, then that's what will really count. Live and learn; you just reminded me that while doing these shots into the sun it's best to take off all filters and do the shot from slightly different angles, to err on the side of caution.

And working with what you have and being happy is a fine call, I think, especially when pressed for time. If you've achieved okay lighting and don't have time, you can sometimes just completely wreck things by fiddling too much and then not get back in time. >.<

As for the lens flare itself; meh. I've never had any success myself getting rid of lens flare. I either live with it, get rid of it when I shoot, or toss the shot. :-/

 

[Yemme]

Number 5 is gorgeous... Good job.

 

[epp_b]

Wow! Lighting info, please!

 

[NateS]

It's a well-composed shot, so if she and the groom want it, then that's what will really count. Live and learn; you just reminded me that while doing these shots into the sun it's best to take off all filters and do the shot from slightly different angles, to err on the side of caution.

And working with what you have and being happy is a fine call, I think, especially when pressed for time. If you've achieved okay lighting and don't have time, you can sometimes just completely wreck things by fiddling too much and then not get back in time. >.<

As for the lens flare itself; meh. I've never had any success myself getting rid of lens flare. I either live with it, get rid of it when I shoot, or toss the shot. :-/

Yeah, I suppose I lucked out by getting shot number two where the only lens flare is not on the bride....I can actually probably clone that one out. I didn't have any filters on the lens which did help....still I'd like to practice these shots with someone when I have 30 minutes or more to play around with settings and angles. Thanks again for all your comments.

Number 5 is gorgeous... Good job.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Wow! Lighting info, please!

Thanks...your "wow" kind of made my morning since my photography doesn't usually get "wows".

Lighting info is pretty basic. On all of these I had a single SB-600 to the camera right firing through a 33" white shoot through umbrella...slightly above head height of the bride. If I could go back, I would have had the flash to the camera left on a few, but being strapped for time...my brain wasn't functioning to it's fullest..lol.

 

[Rich Ardt]

Hey NateS. First wedding? Great job man!

Nice working there with the SB and the ambient. It's been said that you shouldn't shoot the lady from a low angle. Oops said it again .

The more you shoot these things the less you'll be sweating and the more you'll be able to laugh at yourself while working. It's important to have the couple at ease and try working in some different poses. I'm just talking... I really like how you varied the composition, and used the background to your advantage.

A tip when photographing under these lighting conditions: it's handy to have an extra SB, a light stand and an umbrella. It's something that you can set up in less than a minute, and with a bit of beforehand practice you'll have that soft fill to make these pics extra special...

 

[UUilliam]

for a first wedding, this is bloody superb, better than some i have seen people with 10 - 20 years experience doing

 

[NateS]

Hey NateS. First wedding? Great job man!

Nice working there with the SB and the ambient. It's been said that you shouldn't shoot the lady from a low angle. Oops said it again .

The more you shoot these things the less you'll be sweating and the more you'll be able to laugh at yourself while working. It's important to have the couple at ease and try working in some different poses. I'm just talking... I really like how you varied the composition, and used the background to your advantage.

A tip when photographing under these lighting conditions: it's handy to have an extra SB, a light stand and an umbrella. It's something that you can set up in less than a minute, and with a bit of beforehand practice you'll have that soft fill to make these pics extra special...

Thanks. I worked hard to try to vary the composition a bit and guess I should be happy to have gotten what I did with my time constraints. I just hope the bride is happy with the number of shots with these....I know she'll be happy with the quality as she always is when I shoot for her (or her family).

I would have loved to have had another SB-600 and maybe some gels to light the woods behind her with an orange to match the sunset. I really wanted to get a second SB-600, but I had already maxed out my spending by upgrading my D70s to a D90/MB-D80 and "upgrading" my 50mm f1.8 to a Tamron 17-50 f2.8. I did most of that in preparation for this wedding so I just couldn't afford the second SB. I do agree that it would have been handy though.

 

[NateS]

for a first wedding, this is bloody superb, better than some i have seen people with 10 - 20 years experience doing

Thanks. These are the comments that I have been hoping I would be good enough to get when I agreed to take on this job 6 months ago. It is such a relief to see that I did well enough to get good praise from some of the photo forum people (who are always a tougher than the client in my experience).