J + P Engagement Shoot

[Braineack]

One of my project leads is one of the nicest guys I've met; he's been a pleasure to work with. When he learned his daughter was engaged he was gushing and telling the entire office. He reached out to me right away because he knew I do photography on the side and like a big proud dad he's already planning the wedding.

His daughter liked my work and we made arrangements to shoot in Old Town Alexandria. For those of you unfamiliar with the town, it's been basically kept as George Washington left it. Still very colonial with row houses and cobblestone streets and alleys. Very strict guidelines for living there, so all the houses look amazing and gives photographer awesome backdrops to shoot against.

I scouted the area out a weekend beforehand, as I haven't been in the area in a while, and actually came up with a walking plan for the morning. I made myself a pintrest board of shots I know I wanted to get in each loaction and it really panned out.

And boy did we luck out with the weather; dead middle of winter and we had a clear blue day starting at ~45°F at 8:00am. I was really dreading that it would be freezing out like the week before snowing, but you really couldn't have asked for a better day.

Anyway. Enjoy.

Note: I processes these a little different than I normally would, she mentioned she loved the light airy soft images, so I did drop my blacks so strongly as I usually do. I need to reach out to @Vtec44 and see how I can mimic his signature look with my digital files -- I would have loved to processed a few of these more like James would have.


DSC_7005 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7055 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7102 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7114 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7115 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7143 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7158 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7183 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7192 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7208 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7234 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7265 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7276 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7303 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7322 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7335 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7414 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7438 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7471 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7487 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7495 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7538 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7572 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7579 by Braineack, on Flickr


DSC_7600 by Braineack, on Flickr


Full set can be seen here: J + P Jen and Patrick Engagement in Old Town Alexandria

 

[Destin]

Nice set! I particularly love 7276 and 7438!

 

[Braineack]

I like those two. I think 7538 is my fav though.

I wanted to make sure I got more than just portraits and has some detail shots from the day as well. I showed them a shot like the boots and they loved it, this one turned out great.

Nearly cut myself on a broken Yahoo bottle in the middle of the alley though too get it.

 

[Derrel]

Nice set of pics. I especially liked the tunnel shots, and the ring shots. Thank goodness she had a stellar manicure! Those brown boots she's wearing too...nice, very attractive footwear, and you did a good job of highlighting that in several shots. Wow...45 degrees, and blue sky, at this time of year is a good deal,and makes things soooo much easier than freezing temps, or rain, or gray skies.

 

[Vtec44]

You have to shoot film then match the colors. Believe it or not I actually increase the contrast in my photos a lot more than most people think because I like a bit of contrast in my shots. My raw files are very flat

Here are a couple of things I usually do:
1. I shoot very shallow between 1.4-1.6 almost all the time even in full sun.
2. I don't mind mind blown highlights.
3. I try to use empty or patterned background whenever I can.
4. I customize my green, red, and yellow to my own liking mirroring Portra400

I hope that helps a bit. Good set but I try to refrain from critiquing weddings and engagement sessions these days.

 

[Peeb]

I liked many of them, including 7276 (shoes and b00ts), the tunnel silhouettes, and the ring shots. Oh, and the one where she is look over his shoulder showing off her ring.

 

[Vtec44]

Maybe a photo sample would help. Here's my typical before and after.

 

[Black_Square]

Not a bad effort.

To my eyes a few of these appear over exposed eg 7005, 7055, 7183 and 7192. Also, I think the effects on 7102, 7114, 7115 look dated. I also think you need to work a bit more on the location and posing of the subjects. A number of these look as though they are taken on a random street (parked cars, shops etc) which doesn't really create a romantic style. In terms of posing I think it would have worked better if you'd mixed the poses up a bit as there seems to be quite a few where he is kissing the top of her head. The shots of the rings work really well.

Is it just me, or are her eyes in 7471 shouting help?!!

 

[SquarePeg]

7438 is my favorite. What a great variety of backgrounds in that one area! Nice that you’re able to do this for someone you know and like.

 

[Braineack]

Maybe a photo sample would help. Here's my typical before and after.

View attachment 152988

actually it is. thanks.

 

[Donde]

I like Squarepeg's comments and second them.

 

[DarkShadow]

+1 I think you did a terrific job with all kinds of scenes and lighting conditions and the ring placements was really creative thinking brilliant IMO.

 

[Braineack]

thanks, again the planning really helped. I feel like I was a little short of various poses, but that will get better with time.

 

[ronlane]

Wait, I didn't see the comment here...... "Those sure are some nice cameras you have there."

Nicely done @Braineack.

 

[Braineack]

I probably should have used both my cameras. I had my D610 body with me, and I was switching between the 58mm and 85mm quite often -- would have saved some time.