First wedding shoot C&C please

jhodges10 · Oct 18, 2012

These are a few of the photos I felt were the best of the bunch. I have my own thoughts as to what I did wrong but I'd like to get some other opinions to get a better picture (pun intended) of where I need improvement. These are all SOOC but I will be editing them so suggestions on edits are welcome as well. Thanks!

1. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmhodges/8098536799/" title="Untitled by jason m hodges, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8098536799_d9e470ab6a_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Untitled"></a>

2. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmhodges/8098544488/" title="Untitled by jason m hodges, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8098544488_dd83fd226e_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Untitled"></a>

3. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmhodges/8098546392/" title="Untitled by jason m hodges, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8098546392_5e07dc07ea_c.jpg" width="534" height="800" alt="Untitled"></a>

4. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmhodges/8098537043/" title="Untitled by jason m hodges, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8473/8098537043_3c4f4258c0_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Untitled"></a>

kathyt · Oct 18, 2012

The second one seems to be the best of the four. They seem like they were very unplanned with multiple people in the backround and distracting elements throughout. You really have to take control and guide them into poses without them looking too "posed." They are going to be looking to you for direction and ideas and you have to be ready to knock those shots out quickly. You've got multiple limb and hand chops in a few of them. I hate to say this but they come across as snapshots to me.

jhodges10 · Oct 18, 2012

No need for the frowny face, the more I've looked at them the last couple of days the more I've felt the same about the snapshot look. In my defense the plan had been to shoot in a nearby park beforehand. I had everything scouted out and a pretty clear vision of what I wanted to do. Showed up a half hour early but nobody was there. They didn't even have everything set up so when the wedding party showed up an hour later than the agreed upon time I ended up helping them set up otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten any shots. The other odd thing, at least to me, was how little anybody was smiling. Any time we were doing a shot with multiple people I'd practically have to beg them to come together and then smile. The important part is that the bride is happy and while me and most of the people on this forum can see that I have work to do IMO she got more than she paid for ( freebie for a friend ). Thanks for your response.

kevirose · Oct 19, 2012

Faster lenses would help and shallower depths of field to better isolate your subjects.

Ok, they look like snapshots but you know what, you nailed the joy of the bride!

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JSER · Oct 19, 2012

all i get are links that go nowhere

grapnell · Oct 19, 2012

What kind of camera did you shoot with? You have too much distracting background in your pics, and they are mostly underexposed. Did you use any flash? I find that a little bit of flash with a diffuser on it works well for softening skin tones, and brightening faces. Try a wider aperture, or telephoto lens, to help diffuse the background. I was really disappointed with my first wedding pics I took using a kit lens and no flash. Although I am still not ready to start charging people money, I am getting better, and it takes practice, so keep working at it.

grapnell · Oct 19, 2012

I would add one more thing. I agree the bride looks happy and relaxed, but the groom, and others not so much. Part of the job of the photographer is to make your clients feel relaxed... like you're not even there. They have so much to worry about on that day, and the photography should NOT be one of them.

jhodges10 · Oct 19, 2012

JSER said:
all i get are links that go nowhere

Not sure why it's doing that. I checked them when I posted and they were working came back and they weren't and now they're working again. ?

kathyt · Oct 19, 2012

JSER said:
all i get are links that go nowhere

Click on the bottom part of each of the link and it will work. I had the same problem.

MLeeK · Oct 19, 2012

Be aware of your backgrounds and use a shallower DOF
Don't cut off limbs and be aware of your compositions

jhodges10 · Oct 19, 2012

grapnell said:
What kind of camera did you shoot with? You have too much distracting background in your pics, and they are mostly underexposed. Did you use any flash? I find that a little bit of flash with a diffuser on it works well for softening skin tones, and brightening faces. Try a wider aperture, or telephoto lens, to help diffuse the background. I was really disappointed with my first wedding pics I took using a kit lens and no flash. Although I am still not ready to start charging people money, I am getting better, and it takes practice, so keep working at it.

Shot with a D800 24-70 2.8. On the indoor shots I used a flash mostly bounced off the ceiling but no flash on any outdoor shots. I just started using lash so I didnt want to blow everything out with it, definitely need practice with lighting. The DoF is one of the things I felt I could have done better. My concern was making sure I got everyone in focus instead of 1 in 1 out but obviously it was a bit too deep and flat. As far as distracting backgrounds go the DoF is about the only thing I could have changed to fix that. It was a very small venue with "stuff" everywhere. Oh and the grooms expression, yeah that was his happy relaxed face. There's a lot of stuff I need to work on but I'm pretty funny and willing to do just about anything to get a laugh and a smile, the groom was like a brick wall. Thanks for your feedback.

jhodges10 · Oct 19, 2012

MLeeK said:
Be aware of your backgrounds and use a shallower DOF
Don't cut off limbs and be aware of your compositions

Thanks MLeek, the background is definitely something to work on. Thought I was doing pretty good while shooting but after I saw a lot of small things that I missed while shooting i.e. historical landmark sign, tower that looked like a giant dunce cap on the groom (that one wasn't so little). As for cutting off limbs I was very conscious of it before the ceremony and I guess in the heat of the moment I lost my focus on that.

amolitor · Oct 19, 2012

The first one would be improved by cropping a little tighter.

The first two would be improved by pushing the contrast up a bit, and warming the colors up a bit.

A very light edge burn (vignette) also tightens these up (indeed, most photographs):

jhodges10 · Oct 19, 2012

amolitor said:
The first one would be improved by cropping a little tighter.

The first two would be improved by pushing the contrast up a bit, and warming the colors up a bit.

A very light edge burn (vignette) also tightens these up (indeed, most photographs):

Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a try when I do the post work. Couldn't decide if I liked the guitar player in the background of #1 or if he was just a distraction.