Need some advice on recent wedding shots.

Nein-reis · Sep 27, 2008

I'm not sure why, but I will help.

Overcast days are my favorite time to shoot, but white balance usually gets thrown into the blue and gray like yours above if you do not correct the white balance in camera first.

So for correcting the color, if you shoot RAW then it is very easy in CS2/CS3 or canons software supplied with the camera. Just adjust the sliders till it reaches a point you like, I usually shoot for 5800K.

If you do not shoot raw then you need to fix it in photoshop. First use levels to adjust it to a brightness you like. Then use curves, pull blue down at the center to warm the image. Watch the dress or whites to make sure they are not turing blue/yellow.

Sharpening:
You can use unsharp mask and get pretty good results, however I prefer using highpass filter. create a duplicate layer>set to overlay>fliter>highpass>adjust the filter till it looks as sharp as you like. then drop it just a bit. merge to new layer>create duplicate layer again>filter>highpass and sharpen again looking at only smaller details like the eyes and lips. Then add a quick mask and invert it to black. Paint over the eyes and lips with white. Over sharpening smaller details like this will make the entire image appear sharper with out over sharpening every thing.

Hope this helps, and people are not trying to put you down. Critique helps us grow into better photographers.

bace · Sep 28, 2008

Nein-reis said:
I'm not sure why, but I will help.

Overcast days are my favorite time to shoot, but white balance usually gets thrown into the blue and gray like yours above if you do not correct the white balance in camera first.

So for correcting the color, if you shoot RAW then it is very easy in CS2/CS3 or canons software supplied with the camera. Just adjust the sliders till it reaches a point you like, I usually shoot for 5800K.

If you do not shoot raw then you need to fix it in photoshop. First use levels to adjust it to a brightness you like. Then use curves, pull blue down at the center to warm the image. Watch the dress or whites to make sure they are not turing blue/yellow.

Sharpening:
You can use unsharp mask and get pretty good results, however I prefer using highpass filter. create a duplicate layer>set to overlay>fliter>highpass>adjust the filter till it looks as sharp as you like. then drop it just a bit. merge to new layer>create duplicate layer again>filter>highpass and sharpen again looking at only smaller details like the eyes and lips. Then add a quick mask and invert it to black. Paint over the eyes and lips with white. Over sharpening smaller details like this will make the entire image appear sharper with out over sharpening every thing.

Hope this helps, and people are not trying to put you down. Critique helps us grow into better photographers.

THANKYOU. Seriously. Thank you very much.

As much as "Critique" is supposed to help, believe me when I say I'm my own worst critic. As it stands this is my 6th wedding. I'm not charging much (but more than enough) and I will grow. But as I mentioned right away, I wasn't asking for C&C. Mostly because when people give it, it's based on their opinion of what they think is good. And I'm sorry, when people are saying that "my pictures aren't level" (if you don't like it that's cool...i do, my customers do...piss off) or that "the heater is in the shot" (wow ya think? really? Sorry I didn't notice it at the time, but thanks I already know it's there I can't very well go back and change it. Thanks for pointing out the obvious though!!!), I mean I could go on, but believe me, these are all things I thought about myself after the fact.

Which again, is why I was asking a different question. With THOSE particular pictures. How can I improve sharpness and color. It's like I'm speaking greek.

Nein-reis, thank you. This was truly helpful!!!

Nein-reis · Sep 28, 2008

I'm glad I could be helpful. Really I am, thats why we are all here.

A quick word of advice then I will drop the subject. When members tell you that there is a heater in your photo, its not to tell you that you should go back in time. Everyone has perfect 20/20 hindsight, its to invoke a higher sense of awareness when shooting. By telling you about it in this photo the next time you run into the same situation maybe you will remember to handle it a bit differently and grow as a photographer.

Critique is not there to tell you your photos are junk, just to educate. I would never be where I am at now without some harsh critique. Just a thought.

I'm sorry your question wasn't answered the first time, from now on it will get answered faster if you take what people say with a grain of salt and ignore the critique if you don't want it. But I do honestly believe listening to it will help a lot.

In the professional world its all about capturing a image the client will love, and since you did that you should give yourself a big pat on the back. Well done.

Flash Harry · Sep 28, 2008

On dull days try using fill flash to have the pics "pop" a little more then boost the saturation in PP, although overcast days will give very even lighting its pretty flat so needs flash really. I also agree with the previous poster with his/her PP tips, the shots are good but need photoshop to help them out. H

bace · Sep 28, 2008

Nein-reis said:
I'm glad I could be helpful. Really I am, thats why we are all here.

A quick word of advice then I will drop the subject. When members tell you that there is a heater in your photo, its not to tell you that you should go back in time. Everyone has perfect 20/20 hindsight, its to invoke a higher sense of awareness when shooting. By telling you about it in this photo the next time you run into the same situation maybe you will remember to handle it a bit differently and grow as a photographer.

Critique is not there to tell you your photos are junk, just to educate. I would never be where I am at now without some harsh critique. Just a thought.

I'm sorry your question wasn't answered the first time, from now on it will get answered faster if you take what people say with a grain of salt and ignore the critique if you don't want it. But I do honestly believe listening to it will help a lot.

In the professional world its all about capturing a image the client will love, and since you did that you should give yourself a big pat on the back. Well done.

Like I said sir, I'm my own worst critic. The things that are obvious, are obvious to everyone. Especially me. Having some nincompoop point them out, while skirting the real question asked, is just pouring salt into the wound.

Think about it this way; If you got into a fender bender because you were fiddling with the radio station, do you really need everyone to tell you that you should have been paying attention?

Arch · Sep 28, 2008

Ummm... yea a little less swearing in this thread please.

As for the pics, you will find ALOT of wedding photographers use actions on thier pics (some to save time, others becuase they don't really know anything about PP)... they are useful tho and there are a few around which give an instant colour pop... have a look for a few free ones and try them out.

As for sharpening, you can use smart sharpen or USM in PS... for web use, after you have re-sized them RE-SHARPEN them also... just a touch more not alot... this will make them look dead sharp online... but you probably wouldn't want to print with this much sharpening applied.
All my shots displayed online would have been sharpened twice.

manaheim · Sep 28, 2008

hoo boy.

BTW, something else probably worth mentioning is that being aware of where your lenses "sweet spot" can be a big help in getting images sharp right out of the camera. I haven't yet looked up the 50mm 1.8 (I assume it was a 1.8...), but I've found a lot of lenses work best about 1-2 stops down from their largest, and 1/3 of the way in from their widest (obviously doesn't apply in your case).

bace · Sep 28, 2008

Just wanted to say again, Nein Reis, I actually got some time this after noon to go over one of these shots with you technique, and it has improved the shot exactly how I needed it too. Thanks again.