one from the weekend wedding

pixmedic · Jun 9, 2013

Shot a wedding yesterday. No, that's not quite accurate. I SECOND shot a wedding yesterday. Hardly qualifies me as a wedding photographer i know, but its what I do so...it was a long weekend. started shooting at 11am yesterday and didn't stop until Midnight. then had to get up this morning and drive back.
anyway, I have barely even started to do any processing work on what i shot, but this is one I did get finished. The wedding was shot in the big aquarium in Tampa. lighting was practically non existent, and they wanted all their shots in front of the tanks. (the fish weren't exactly cooperative in posing for us though) Aside from the usual WB and color tweaking, I cropped a little off both sides just to cut down on the tank background. glare and reflections were a big concern, but I think i managed to do OK. lighting was a SB700 pointed to the ceiling with a large bounce card with the card in front of the flash instead of behind it to keep the glass background from reflecting a flash spot. Thoughts on this one? (yes, the groom IS always that red)

Aside from getting to take some shots myself, I also doubled as an assistant. Aside from my own camera gear, I carried two camera bags, tripod, lightstand, and umbrella/softbox for the main photographer. I had to set all that stuff down in order to take my own shots. good times.

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leighthal · Jun 9, 2013

What a fun way to spend a wedding day. I think you did a great job on not getting flare on tanks. I wouldn't even know where to start to achieve that. What draws my focus is the sweat shine on her arm. Is there anything you can do about that without making it look cartoonish? The blue on her dress is odd. It doesn't seem consistent with shadows. Finally, I think if you had framed so their reflection wasn't visible (cropped out) but leaving more space on the left would have been more pleasing to me.

esselle · Jun 9, 2013

Nice shot...What a unique venue!
I think you made the most of what you had to work with.

I imagine they will be delighted with your work. :*)

pixmedic · Jun 9, 2013

leighthal said:
What a fun way to spend a wedding day. I think you did a great job on not getting flare on tanks. I wouldn't even know where to start to achieve that. What draws my focus is the sweat shine on her arm. Is there anything you can do about that without making it look cartoonish? The blue on her dress is odd. It doesn't seem consistent with shadows. Finally, I think if you had framed so their reflection wasn't visible (cropped out) but leaving more space on the left would have been more pleasing to me.

There isn't very much space to the left side (another foot and you get a concrete wall), so if i cropped much tighter on the right there wouldn't be much of the tank in the background, which is exactly what they wanted in their backgrounds. the tank backgrounds were challenging all around. (IE: PITA) the blue you are seeing was another major hassle for this shoot. they had "mood" lighting throughout the tunnels. (which is where they wanted a lot of their formals taken) blue and purple spotlights all over the place. when I flashed enough to offset the lights completely, I got glare off the tanks, and blew out the dress. The best I could do was try to position them as far from the spotlights as i could while still getting them the tank background they wanted. move them a foot to the left and maybe two feet to the right and you get concrete walls. I thought it much less appealing for a background. But you are right on both counts. I will go back and take another look at what I can do with the glare off her arm. maybe I can tweak it a little more in PS or something. It was VERY warm in there.

leighthal · Jun 10, 2013

Wow. With all those challenges, my hat is off to you. PITA is right!

pixmedic · Jun 10, 2013

leighthal said:
Wow. With all those challenges, my hat is off to you. PITA is right!

Well, i dont want to make it sound like some kind of better camera techniques wouldnt have helped, or maybe some better processing techniques... It was just the most challenging environment i have personally shot in. The only lights in the tunnels were the blue and purple spotlights. I was really worried the whole time about how the pictures were going to come out.

Thankfully i was just the second shooter, but i am pretty pleased with the results. Hopefully the sentiment is shared by the main photographer and the bride /groom.

Designer · Jun 10, 2013

I LOVE the lines being echoed! Excellent shot!

Granddad · Jun 10, 2013

Given the circumstances I think you can pat yourself on the back! :thumbup:

Being a 2nd shooter sounds like a pretty good way to get some wedding experience.

pixmedic · Jun 10, 2013

Granddad said:
Given the circumstances I think you can pat yourself on the back! :thumbup:

Being a 2nd shooter sounds like a pretty good way to get some wedding experience.

No desire to ever be the main photographer for weddings . Im doing the paramedic to RN program, and thats enough career for me. Second shooting is plenty for me. Great experience, less stress, and less overall responsibility. I can focus on just taking some good pictures and leave the major decisions to the main photog.

For anyone that actually WANTS to shoot weddings, second shooting is the absolute best way to break into the scene. I meet all kinds of people to hand cards out to. Wedding planners, hair and makeup people, DJ's, videographers, and any number of other people involved in the wedding process. Most of these people LOVE to have reliable photographers they can call when they get clients that need one.

frommrstomommy · Jun 10, 2013

really cool venue! id love to see more from this wedding

pixmedic · Jun 10, 2013

frommrstomommy said:
really cool venue! id love to see more from this wedding

It was a REALLY cool venue. They used penguins in the wedding ceremony. Im on shift today but ill be getting some more pictures processed tomorrow. Honestly though, im not sure i would want to shoot there again for a wedding. Conditions are TOUGH!

Granddad · Jun 10, 2013

Don't mention tough conditions! I'll tell you why when I post some photos from my shoot at the weekend... probably asking advice on how to fix them! :lol:

I haven't dared to even look at them yet.

rahimkardashin · Jul 11, 2013

I love such challenges. You did a great job for the wedding couple. My best bet to avoid it would be to just block it with my subject. I know it is a rookie technique and does not work all the time. Learned a new way to shoot. Thanks

Buckster · Jul 11, 2013

Good job working through a challenging environment. Did you try using a CP to cut back on the reflections?

I thought I'd play with it a little to bring down the glare and reflections on her arm, forehead, a spot on her tiara, and the reflections in the glass. Also mitigated a fairly significant CA-type blue halo around her veil and tiara, and then sharpened the couple just a tad. Normally, I'd reduce size to 850 pixels tall to fit well in my browser window, but left if full size this time so you can see the details if you want to:

pixmedic · Jul 11, 2013

nice work Buckster!
If i may ask, how did you get rid of the glare,reflection, and halo?
not that i want to shoot in an aquarium ever again....but you never know.
it was so dark, and the tunnel had blue and purple spotlights as the only light source...the whole shoot scared the hell out of me as far as what results i was going to get.