Laguna Beach Engagement Session

[Restomage]

As a fairly new professional in the industry (2 years as a professional) I'm always looking for C&C and asking around other professional wedding photographers how I can improve my stuff.

This engagement shoot is about 2 months old now but I'm now just getting around to sharing it. I've already been told that some of the poses could be a bit more relaxed, and as you other professionals know sometimes it can be a challenge. Anyway, I took this couple to one of my favorite spots in Laguna Beach for their engagement session. The clients loved the photos and at the end of the day that's the most important thing. I'm shooting their wedding in September, looking forward to that. Enjoy!

As always, feel free to visit my website, Sean Lara Photography and my facebook Sean Lara Photography | Facebook I'll have a couple of weddings to show soon, look forward to sharing that with you guys.

Some infared photos:

 

[Robin Usagani]

Just liked your fb page.

I definitely like the shots with the footprints. I wish you used additional/stronger lighting to expose the sky a bit when you put the sun behind them. Some of the framing are a bit weird. You chopped his fingers and his toes. The IR shots are definitely interesting but I only like the last IR shot. Just not sure with the way the people look on the first 2. I love the silhouette shot. Do you have one with flash also? Keep up the good work!

 

[tirediron]

A nice, solid set; I agree with Schwetty's comments and I like the idea of using IR for some of these. I have to ask though, why the black shirt? Had she worn something closer in tone to the jeans, it could have made them even better.

 

[bennielou]

While I'm not a fan of the b/w, I definately like the rest of the set. I don't think they are too posey posey at all. I LOVE the genuine aspect of them. Well done!

 

[Restomage]

Thanks for the kind words. As far as additional lighting goes, I shoot almost all ambient light on my engagements unless I have an assistant, it's hard enough to carry around four cameras. I may use a little fill here and there with a speedlight but for this particular shoot I didn't see the need for it.

 

[GeneralBenson]

Why the hell do you need 4 cameras?!?

Anyways, I feel that in many of these the B&G blend in too well or are overshadowed by other elements of the images. The stonewall/staircase set feels very cramped/crowded to me, and there isn't a strong pull on my eye to the subjects. The 3 IR shots, are the same way for me, and the subs just disappear into the frame. Giant out of focus flowers in front of them, not really working for me. I think the best ones are the walking on the beach, the piggyback ride, and the foots steps in the sand. IT looks like a great location, but don't forget that the images should still be about your subjects, not the location. Anytime a location overpowers you subjects, that's no good.

Good luck with you upcoming weddings!

 

[Drake]

Stunning shots, especially the last couple ones. And I've never seen IR being used for portraits. It needs a bit more processing though, because as GeneralBenson said, the subjects blend into the background. Other than that, great work, I love it.

 

[vfotog]

I think you need to crop many of these a lot tighter to put more emphasis on your subject. Plus, you'd be able to lose at least some of the REALLY blown out backgrounds (especially the first two.) Don't care for the IR images and the out of focus flora in some of the foregrounds.

 

[bennielou]

Why the hell do you need 4 cameras?!?

Anyways, I feel that in many of these the B&G blend in too well or are overshadowed by other elements of the images. The stonewall/staircase set feels very cramped/crowded to me, and there isn't a strong pull on my eye to the subjects. The 3 IR shots, are the same way for me, and the subs just disappear into the frame. Giant out of focus flowers in front of them, not really working for me. I think the best ones are the walking on the beach, the piggyback ride, and the foots steps in the sand. IT looks like a great location, but don't forget that the images should still be about your subjects, not the location. Anytime a location overpowers you subjects, that's no good.

Good luck with you upcoming weddings!

I've got way more cameras than that, but we are talking about the OP.

I share a fair amount of photos here, and I normally pick my faves when sharing. For an engagement session, I might show around 15 photos max here. Most likely less. The engagement couples normally get around 60-80.
Personally I really love the environment shots. Will they choose them for an enlargement? Prolly not. But they love them, or at least that has been my experience.

It's not so much about what we think as photographers, nit picking every little detail. It's more about trends, client expectation, and the like.

People like David Beckstead, Susan Stripling, and on and on and on, have made a very very nice living shooting in this style. In fact I see some Kevin Kabota in these shots, or Susan Stripling, or David Beckstead. I'm not saying the OP ripped off the shots, but I see a whole lot of influence.

 

[GeneralBenson]

Why the hell do you need 4 cameras?!?

Anyways, I feel that in many of these the B&G blend in too well or are overshadowed by other elements of the images. The stonewall/staircase set feels very cramped/crowded to me, and there isn't a strong pull on my eye to the subjects. The 3 IR shots, are the same way for me, and the subs just disappear into the frame. Giant out of focus flowers in front of them, not really working for me. I think the best ones are the walking on the beach, the piggyback ride, and the foots steps in the sand. IT looks like a great location, but don't forget that the images should still be about your subjects, not the location. Anytime a location overpowers you subjects, that's no good.

Good luck with you upcoming weddings!

I've got way more cameras than that, but we are talking about the OP.

I share a fair amount of photos here, and I normally pick my faves when sharing. For an engagement session, I might show around 15 photos max here. Most likely less. The engagement couples normally get around 60-80.
Personally I really love the environment shots. Will they choose them for an enlargement? Prolly not. But they love them, or at least that has been my experience.

It's not so much about what we think as photographers, nit picking every little detail. It's more about trends, client expectation, and the like.

People like David Beckstead, Susan Stripling, and on and on and on, have made a very very nice living shooting in this style. In fact I see some Kevin Kabota in these shots, or Susan Stripling, or David Beckstead. I'm not saying the OP ripped off the shots, but I see a whole lot of influence.

Oh, I've got way more than that too. But I don't usually bring them all on a shoot. (It's been known to happen...)

I hear you on the stylistic stuff, and the fact that environmental shots are in vogue and what not. But What I'm saying is that, regardless of style, the B&G don't feel prominent to me in many of these images. So unless B&G not being prominent is a new style I haven't heard of, I think that could stand to be worked on in these images. In my opinion, the B&G should almost always be the first thing you see in these kinds of images. Even if it's an environmental shot in a gorgeous location, and it's only a split second ahead, you should still notice them first, then think, "wow, what a beautiful location!". Whether by use of colors, lighting, editing, different crops or whatever, I think a stronger focus on the B&G would go a long way to taking this set to the next level.

Cheerio!