My First Wedding

JDS · Oct 24, 2007

I feel almost unworthy to post anything in here - everything I see from everyone else here is so perfect it seems like.

First off, I swore to myself I would never do a wedding. I knew how stressful it could be, how picky brides can be, and to top it off I had no experience doing weddings. I was approached by the bride's friend saying they were looking for a photog, and would I do it. From the start I stressed I was no professional, so as not to set expectations too high.

I did a little scouting during the rehearsal to check out the lighting and everything. It was horrible, as it is in most churches. All I have is the on-camera flash, so that wasn't an option. I went out and bought the 50mm 1.8 lens to try to combat that. I didn't have a whole lot of time to practice with it, so I'll attribute some of my errors to that.

So anyway, I don't mean to write a whole page before I post the photos. These are the best ones out of the bunch. In some of the others, I made some obvious mistakes - focus issues mostly. Camera shake was also an issue in some, due to low light. (Need a nice flash if I do another wedding!)

So for these that I post, I'd like any and all C&C I can get. (WB may be an issue in some - I don't have a calibrated monitor, and have to start printing to get the fine adjustments) I wasn't let down in my expectations that it would be stressful, but it was enjoyable at the same time. I just want to get better.

1:

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5:

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8:

9:

10: (This is her father - this was as he was telling the groom "I got her back!")

Johnboy2978 · Oct 24, 2007

Overall, I think you did a very nice job with these and should be proud of yourself. You captured some nice moments here.

(1) I really like the first one as is.
(2) Second one is nice as well. She could've benefitted from some fill flash or reflector and seems to be leaning a little to far back IMO.
(3) Nice. Could use a little bit of curves in photoshop to lighten it a bit as it looks a tad underexposed. Pose is slightly awkward.
(4) Again, maybe some fill flash but still nice.
(5) A nice moment captured well.
(6) Slight camera shake and could go for a tighter crop
(7) Looks like the focus is on the wall instead of the couple, but it may be the web size too. Still good shot. Maybe crop out the lights at the top.
(8) A really nice shot. Only nit would be portrait view instead of landscape. May have been unavoidable though.
(9) Perfect. Portait view would've been nice here too.
(10) Nice candid.

Again, these are all really nice. I think you did a great job and the B/G will be pleased w/ these.

NJMAN · Oct 24, 2007

This is not bad for a first wedding! Better than what I did on my first wedding shoot.

As you said, there are some white balance issues on the indoor pictures. But if you shot in RAW, you can set the white balance to flourescent or tungsten, depending on the type of light source, to get rid of the yellow/orange/green cast. Focus and depth of field is pretty good. A little post processing could be done to make them pop.

Some particular crits... in #2, there is noticable blowout on the dress due to sunlight hitting it. Stopping down the exposure and using a fill flash would have helped in that case.

My favorites are #5 and #8. You captured some special moments there. Nice job! #10 is a fun shot. If you correct the white balance and crop it down to focus on the bride and father, I think that would greatly improve it. Just my opinion.

#9 is spectacular IMO!! Great job composing that one.

Im glad you shared these.

NJ

JDS · Oct 24, 2007

Thanks for the comments! Some of the things I can correct in PS now, but the fill flash, etc., I can't quite go back and do.

I'm working towards getting a nice flash I can take with me so that I can fill-in where needed.

I did shoot in RAW, but the WB is still tough to figure out as there are different light sources/temperatures in a lot of the shots. I'll definitely get it right before I give the bride any prints.

I'm making notes of these comments for when I have another chance to do a wedding, so they're greatly appreciated. If anyone else wants to weigh in as well, you're more than welcome! Please do, in fact!

elsaspet · Oct 24, 2007

I think you did well too. There are a few little problems, but you've already stated them.
Also, there are hardly any problems that you can't overcome in Photoshop.
For instance, you can get rid of the blown out parts on #2 with a little clever cloning.
Keep at it. You have some really wonderful shots in there!

Big Mike · Oct 24, 2007

I agree with the other, you did a pretty good job for a first wedding with limited equipment.

One tip that I will give, is that when shooting in low light, watch your shutter speed. You probably knew this, that's not the tip. The tips is that you shouldn't be afraid to crank up the ISO. This will add noise...but noise can be dealt with, blurry photos are good for nothing. Also, learn to 'expose to the right' because this will really help to control noise. I 'know' several wedding photographers who don't hesitate to shoot at ISO 1600 when needed.

On a side note, it's good that you seemed to have learned that you need to have proper equipment to shoot a wedding. If you don't have a (flash, fast lens etc) then you need to buy / rent / borrow / steal something before the wedding. (and don't forget to have backup equipment).