Katie & Cody - Engagement Session

Ajay · Mar 16, 2008

I had a blast with these guys! Our session had two parts - dressy and casual. These are some of my faves from the dressy set. I'm so happy with this shoot! I finally feel like I might possibly slightly know what I'm doing half the time...Rip em up!

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2-

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5- Not a huge fan of selective color, but Katie requested it and I kind of like how this one turned out.

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7-

8-

So, how'd I do?

RowmyF · Mar 17, 2008

Hey- I'm sure the couple was thrilled with the photos but here's my 2 cents..

1- the photo is soft and doesn't do much for me.
2- Great picture...a lot of character, great lines, great composition..really cute.
4- Great capture..very real..but looks like a regular snapshot as opposed to professional photography.
8- seems the couple is lost in the photo. I like the idea just not the execution.

Nice job overall though

Sarah Elizabeth · Mar 17, 2008

Ajay you did so well! I love them. If I am not mistaken wasn't it you wondering what your couple should wear for this shoot? Pardon my ignorance

At any rate the entire package looks wonderful. I am doing my first engagement soon myself so thanks for sharing your work. DO you mind sharing how you pulled it off.. time of day, flash, lens? I hope to take photos as stunning as these.

bellacat · Mar 17, 2008

these came out really nice. Good job

My favs are 2, 4 and 8.

Ajay · Mar 17, 2008

Thanks guys!

Rowmy: I didn't notice #1 being soft - might try to sharpen it and see what happens. I do have some other frames of that same shot so I will have to check those. What makes #4 look like a snapshot to you? Not trying to argue, just curious. I know what you mean about #8 - I tried to use vignetting to keep the focus more on them - maybe something else would help.

Sarah Elizabeth: Thanks so much! We really weren't outside at the best time of day. This part of the session lasted from about 1:30-2:30. I would have definitely preferred later in the day, but the this was the only time the couple could do it. I tried to put them in as many shaded areas as possible and on some shots, like #2 I just waited for cloudcover before taking it. I used my D80 with my 50mm lens for the whole session and for the most part kept it on aperture priority at around f/4 - f/5. I did use an ev of -.7 since for me the D80 tends to overexpose on a regular basis. I didn't use flash on any of these, but I did use some fill flash later in the session at -3 and boy do I wish I had experiemented with that earlier! It made such a difference! Anyway, thanks again and hope the info helps a bit. Oh, and yeah this was the couple that had the clothing question. Thankfully they listened and he didnt show up in all black with a white tie!

bellacat: Many thanks!

Lacey Anne · Mar 17, 2008

I think the selective coloring on this one is really nice. It looks very cool and chic.
#2 is fabulous!!
#6: I love it!
Not crazy about #7 just because I don't like the color of the door, but that's just a personal preference.

The photo itself is great.
All in all, great job!

Richard · Mar 17, 2008

2, 3, and 8 my favs!

2 Love the green door.

3 I love the sharpness and the texture of the rocks.

8 love her expression, just caught the exact moment.

jols · Mar 17, 2008

I think they are a great set.

no-4 is my fave and no way a snapshot.
very very very well done

Ajay · Mar 17, 2008

Thanks Lacey, Richard and jols!

I think #2 is my fave as well. I just love that door.

Funny story on #8 - the streets were fairly empty but we still had to time it during red lights and such. After the first attempt I was going to have him try it again and hold his hands differently when a workout group decided to take up residence on the steps, jogging up and down and stopping on each level to do jumping jacks. Stopped us from several other shots we were going to do on the way up, not to mention all the pointing and pretending to ham it up because I had a camera. :er:

Emerana · Mar 17, 2008

They are very nice.

I really must try shooting subjects that actually can follow direction (instead of 2 year olds). Its got to be alot of fun. Funny about #8. People are so ...funny that way. The shoot I did this weekend I had 2teenage boys riding their bikes behind the family when I was going for the group pic. They were watching...wonder if they thought perhaps it was disrupting the photo process???????

Ajay · Mar 17, 2008

Thanks Emerana! I love photographing couples - there is so much emotion to capture and usually not hard to get genuine smiles. And they actually smile when you ask them to instead of pouting, frowning, sticking out their tongues, or running away like the kids do. :greenpbl:

JenniferLynn84 · Mar 17, 2008

I love these! I completely agree, 2, 4, and 8 are my favorites. The green door is stunning without distracting from the subjects, and the symmetry sets it off. Fantastic work! :thumbup: