Ready the popcorn, it's a 'first wedding' thread

[fokker]

Congrats, Fokker. Those are pretty great shots and thanks for showing us how to do a wedding shoot. Was it scary having to satisfy the mom of the bride??

The family were lovely actually, and I had told them that it was my first wedding and they were surprisingly supportive and un-pressuring. Nobody here seems to have opened any popcorn yet so I guess that must be a positive thing, and I can only hope that the couple likes the photos.

Not bad man. GJ. Show us more.

A few more here: Anna & Todd's Wedding @ Riva - Caleb's Photos
I only uploaded 20 shots to my website, the rest (about 150 in total) will be sent to the couple on a disc.

I'm with Tyler, love the shot of the ring and glass. I know it's a matter of personal taste, but for me, the other two color shots could use a bit of a bump in contrast. They look a little flat to me, and pssibly a little on the cool side, while the ring shot is perfect contrast wise. Overall, great job.

Interesting that you say that about the contrast - I originally dialled the contrrast down quite a bit in the edits of those particular photos, then after processing them I had a look and decided it needed to go back up. Perhaps I should bump it up a tad more on those ones. It seems I change my mind of processing tastes depending which time of the day I look at them. I think I prefer low contrast at night and high contrast during the day - go figure.

 

[Robin Usagani]

How long was the wedding? IMO 150 photos is not enough. What was the set up on the ceremony shots? What light do I see on the couple?

 

[misstwinklytoes]

I think they look a little cool (the color versions). Maybe try warming them a little? I think you did a great job!

 

[Derrel]

Locking the keys in the car with the engine running!!!!!!!!! A classic Laurel & Hardy move!!! I feel bad for ya' man...I was once contracted to videotape a dual (two young brothers killed in a car crash) funeral ceremony held at a huge Elk's Lodge hall...as I was getting in the car to go to the event, the lens of my right eyeglass popped out, hit the asphalt, and shattered into like 30 pieces...I had to have my wife drive the 50 miles to the event, and when I got there, it was exceedingly difficult to handle the camera with only my one, good "off" eye corrected and the other eye uncorrected...I can imagine being locked out with the engine running gave a similar pit-of-the-stomach nervousness to the pre-event period!

As for your first wedding--not too bad really. I've seen much,much,much worse. You've got some issues with feet being cropped off and such, and a couple have some odd white balance, but by the same token, you seem to have captured pictures that have a respectable, "classy" feel to them. More formal, and more traditional than what many people shoot these days. Fewer people in the shots, bigger heads--kind of an old-school style. Almost retro.

 

[sbakewell1101]

so what were you settings and flash placement for theones by the water fountain it looks like it was pretty dark out! were you using modifier on youur flash? they look very well lit from top to bottom

 

[Shadowbox]

YO FOKKER.

First shot that Shadowbox called "soft" is actually pretty sharp. I'm fairly certain he meant "soft" as the feeling he gets when viewing it. Which is good for a mother/bride at a wedding.

Overall, nice quality control on your shots FTMP. Did you use just the 40D, or did you bring your 5D too? I'm going to be shooting a wedding in June with my 5D. I also find the bokeh in the last shot really pleasing, what lens has that characteristic?

Nice watermark too

Yes that is what I meant lol. Not the technical version meaning out of focus, but soft as in .. warm/pretty what the bride would like as I was a bride, not a groom

My favorite two are of them exchanging rings, you captured such emotion in it, and of the champagne glass and her ring- that photo really stood out to me. I know they will LOVE them! The fountain was such a great place to take photos at too. Good job!

 

[subscuck]

as I was a bride, not a groom

I knew that. The purple font kinda gave it away. Just sayin...

 

[fokker]

YO FOKKER.

First shot that Shadowbox called "soft" is actually pretty sharp. I'm fairly certain he meant "soft" as the feeling he gets when viewing it. Which is good for a mother/bride at a wedding.

Overall, nice quality control on your shots FTMP. Did you use just the 40D, or did you bring your 5D too? I'm going to be shooting a wedding in June with my 5D. I also find the bokeh in the last shot really pleasing, what lens has that characteristic?

Nice watermark too

Yes that is what I meant lol. Not the technical version meaning out of focus, but soft as in .. warm/pretty what the bride would like as I was a bride, not a groom

My favorite two are of them exchanging rings, you captured such emotion in it, and of the champagne glass and her ring- that photo really stood out to me. I know they will LOVE them! The fountain was such a great place to take photos at too. Good job!

I see, yeah I guess the lighting could be referred to as quite soft, definitely helps that the bride was very pretty to start with but I guess if the photos make her look pretty then I did a good job

Thanks for the comments, and I will reply to your PM soon.

so what were you settings and flash placement for theones by the water fountain it looks like it was pretty dark out! were you using modifier on youur flash? they look very well lit from top to bottom

I had two lightstands set up with shoot through umbrellas ( basically both at about 45 degrees camera left and right, on similar power settings) with a 430EX in each one. I'm using the cheap Yongnuo radio triggers off eBay and actually had a few troubles with misfires which I've never really experienced before, I think because I was quite far back shooting with my 70-200 so maybe the range was pushing its limits.

Locking the keys in the car with the engine running!!!!!!!!! A classic Laurel & Hardy move!!! I feel bad for ya' man...I was once contracted to videotape a dual (two young brothers killed in a car crash) funeral ceremony held at a huge Elk's Lodge hall...as I was getting in the car to go to the event, the lens of my right eyeglass popped out, hit the asphalt, and shattered into like 30 pieces...I had to have my wife drive the 50 miles to the event, and when I got there, it was exceedingly difficult to handle the camera with only my one, good "off" eye corrected and the other eye uncorrected...I can imagine being locked out with the engine running gave a similar pit-of-the-stomach nervousness to the pre-event period!

As for your first wedding--not too bad really. I've seen much,much,much worse. You've got some issues with feet being cropped off and such, and a couple have some odd white balance, but by the same token, you seem to have captured pictures that have a respectable, "classy" feel to them. More formal, and more traditional than what many people shoot these days. Fewer people in the shots, bigger heads--kind of an old-school style. Almost retro.

Thanks for the comments Derrel. With regards to cutting off feet - I often wonder whether or not it's the right thing to do. In some of the shots I've cropped them down this way, others were shot that way. Sometimes it's a tradeoff for getting rid of other distracting areas from the frame and sometimes it just seems to look better, but maybe I will have a look back over and re-evaluate. Things like that I'm not sure whether the couple will notice or care, but at the same time I'm trying to make the best images possible under the circumstances so if it's not the right thing to do then I will take that on board. Interesting that you say they have a retro look, I can't say I really get what you mean; I don't really have any idea what modern trends in wedding photography are and this early stage of the game for me I was just focused on doing a good job without trying to be too fancy about it. I guess that must just be my style since all I did what take photos the way I know how. I'm actually doing another wedding this weekend (gasp) so maybe I'll try upping the ante slightly. Got any links to some more 'trendy' wedding photography shots I could have a look at for inspiration?

That must have been a nightmare with the glasses! I was literally about to freak out and throw a brick through the window of my car just to get there on time but thankfully managed to coathanger the door lock open just in time.

I think they look a little cool (the color versions). Maybe try warming them a little? I think you did a great job!

That's a good call actually, looking at them again this morning with fresh eyes I think you're right. This is good C&C, thanks!

How long was the wedding? IMO 150 photos is not enough. What was the set up on the ceremony shots? What light do I see on the couple?

It wasn't a particularly long wedding. From start to finish I was there about 3.5 - 4 hours though most of that time was just spent getting shots of guests and family at the reception. I feel like I covered all aspects adequately and would rather hand over 150 good photos than 300 where half of them are basically double-ups or just plain bad photos. Also, 150 shots feels like plenty when you're editing each one individually! Interesting point though and I am somewhat curious as to how many photos pro's would be taking in this situation.