Some shots from wedding this past weekend...

[billydoo73]

Feel free to throw in your 2 cents. My style has a vintage feel the way i like to process. The day was the most challenging light I have ever had to deal with. The alter was built near a pond with no shade on a hot sunny day with the ceremony at 3:30pm. The poor bride was sweating and squinting. The officiant had to wear sunglasses. yea.

...I cannot post attachments yet

If you be so kind you can go to my site and click on "galleries" then "Dawn and Jeremy"

Chris Bilodeau Photography


Thanks...

 

[bennielou]

Hi Chris,

While there are some pretty shots here, I feel like there are also a lot of avoidable mistakes, or things that could have been tweaked prior to upload to your site.

The first shot, the ring shot, has nice toning, but the ladies ring is out of focus. The dress placement in the second shot could have had more uniform light. Many of the shots seem underexposed to me.

The shot of the bride by the window is gorgeous. Well done on that one.

Many of the shots though, you are not giving enough room. Maybe that is just the template of your website cutting stuff off? I'm not sure.

I'm seeing some VERY low dof on a lot of these. You have to be careful about that. Bride's do not always understand it is intentional, and they will think you just missed focus.

Watch your crop lines. Some lines seem very tilted and it's completely avoidable with a new crop.

The groom watching the bride come down the aisle is gorgeous.

The couple shot is super pretty, but you caught him buttoning his jacket.

The bride's shot is very nicely lit. Well done.

The Yay shot of the bride and groom is spontaneous and super cute.

Tilted cake shots: While the colors are spectacular, David Williams, and every bride's mom on the planet will tell you that's a no no.

Overall, I think some things you need to consider more is: Crops and Exposure.

Your stong point to me is that you capture some really terrific real moments.

I'm sure the bride likes these very much and overall she should be pleased. Just some things to think about for future shoots.

Happy Shooting!

 

[billydoo73]

thank you SO much. i love quality constructive criticism. I agree with a lot of your points. it was my first wedding. i learned a ton and i was very happy with my overall performance.

i am very comfortable using "studio lighting" and i brought my soft box and strobe. this made the family formals (most important part) come out nice. the challenge for me was ever-changing and harsh light, combined with getting the feel and flow of a wedding day shoot.



the bride wanted a photojournalistic approach and i was given a lot of freedom.

i have more "well-exposed" shots, and maybe i need to back off a little pushing my art. i have to find that fine line between what i like versus what the client wants. i made sure my formals of the family were all perfectly lit and "normal" so they can be appreciated by the moms and dads and end up in a frame on a table.

all in all, i now know why they call wedding photography the Mt. Everest of photography. i played that camera like a fiddle from 11am to 8 pm!!!

i love the compliment about capturing moments because that is actually what i wrote in my website BIO. i have a knack for anticipating a scene and i don't mind hiding in a shrub to get a shot. LOL. i have many cake shots and maybe i should swap it out for a better one.

the exposures look great on my Apple iMac, but not as good here at work on my lenovo LCD monitor. those Apple monitors make colors jump and are super bright.

thanks again.

EDIT: i have to admit i am a big fan of cliff mautner and while i do not ever want to "be" like another photographer, his exposure style has rubbed off on me. his shots are dark and moody. i like that. i can see that others may not. i tend to underexpose a lot on purpose.

 

[Diddy2theJJ]

One thing that has helped me tremendously is this color calibration tool:

Datacolor - Global Leader in Color Management Solutions
I work on a mac as well and yes, the colors jump right out of the screen at you. This will adjust your monitor brightness to compensate for how bright or dark your room is. It will also help you out with white balance and color tones as well.

Good luck with weddings!

 

[KmH]

And then you disrespect the professional help by posting a reply in all lowercase letters. Wow!

 

[billydoo73]

And then you disrespect the professional help by posting a reply in all lowercase letters. Wow!

...i assume you are completely joking, correct?

 

[billydoo73]

One thing that has helped me tremendously is this color calibration tool:

Datacolor - Global Leader in Color Management Solutions
I work on a mac as well and yes, the colors jump right out of the screen at you. This will adjust your monitor brightness to compensate for how bright or dark your room is. It will also help you out with white balance and color tones as well.

Good luck with weddings!

thank you VERY much! -Chris

 

[bennielou]

thank you SO much. i love quality constructive criticism. I agree with a lot of your points. it was my first wedding. i learned a ton and i was very happy with my overall performance.

i am very comfortable using "studio lighting" and i brought my soft box and strobe. this made the family formals (most important part) come out nice. the challenge for me was ever-changing and harsh light, combined with getting the feel and flow of a wedding day shoot.



the bride wanted a photojournalistic approach and i was given a lot of freedom.

i have more "well-exposed" shots, and maybe i need to back off a little pushing my art. i have to find that fine line between what i like versus what the client wants. i made sure my formals of the family were all perfectly lit and "normal" so they can be appreciated by the moms and dads and end up in a frame on a table.

all in all, i now know why they call wedding photography the Mt. Everest of photography. i played that camera like a fiddle from 11am to 8 pm!!!

i love the compliment about capturing moments because that is actually what i wrote in my website BIO. i have a knack for anticipating a scene and i don't mind hiding in a shrub to get a shot. LOL. i have many cake shots and maybe i should swap it out for a better one.

the exposures look great on my Apple iMac, but not as good here at work on my lenova LCD monitor. those Apple monitors make colors jump and are super bright.

thanks again.

EDIT: i have to admit i am a big fan of cliff mautner and while i do not ever want to "be" like another photographer, his exposure style has rubbed off on me. his shots are dark and moody. i like that. i can see that others may not. i tend to underexpose a lot on purpose.

I love Cliff. He is an amazing photographer. I admire him very much. His lady, Susan, isn't so bad either.

 

[KmH]

And then you disrespect the professional help by posting a reply in all lowercase letters. Wow!

...i assume you are completely joking, correct?

No. I wasn't joking. I was very sincere.

 

[billydoo73]

And then you disrespect the professional help by posting a reply in all lowercase letters. Wow!

...i assume you are completely joking, correct?

No. I wasn't joking. I was very sincere.

i guess i am missing something...or, actually, you are.

 

[billydoo73]

thanks again...

i just love this one, i hope you guys do!

 

[Patrice]

...i assume you are completely joking, correct?

No. I wasn't joking. I was very sincere.

i guess i am missing something...or, actually, you are.

Keith has a point here. You posted on the professional board, not on the 'just for fun' board, and thus we have to assume you are a professional seeking suggestion and advice from your peers. Your post has received responses from knowledgeable people who have put in valuable time and considered thought in their responses. Simple courtesy would be to acknowledge in kind, how hard can it be to use the shift key? It hardly takes any time at all.

We see a large number of posts with no capitalization, no punctuation, atrocious grammar and liberally peppered with 'haha' and 'LOL'. These give the impression of originating from lackadaisical teenagers with their pants down to their knees and big stupid ball caps worn sideways. I would be surprised that as a professional that is the image you want to project of yourself. Your body of work is not the only indicator of your professionalism, so is your written communication.

 

[tirediron]

And then you disrespect the professional help by posting a reply in all lowercase letters. Wow!

Keith, if you're going to play Forum Grammar Cop, please learn the correct use of the noun "disrespect"!

 

[LiquidGrace]

I absolutely agree with bennielou in regards to the comments on your photos. Great capture of the Groom as he watches the bride come down the isle!


Perhaps it's just a personal preference (so please take this with a grain of salt). I find it to be a turn off when I see a wedding dress with the yellow tinge to it. To me i guess it says poor adjustment of WB even if it was an effect you later put in. Mind you others may be smitten with it. For me I like seeing the dress in it's white glory (or ivory).

 

[portermeister]

No. I wasn't joking. I was very sincere.

i guess i am missing something...or, actually, you are.

Keith has a point here. You posted on the professional board, not on the 'just for fun' board, and thus we have to assume you are a professional seeking suggestion and advice from your peers. Your post has received responses from knowledgeable people who have put in valuable time and considered thought in their responses. Simple courtesy would be to acknowledge in kind, how hard can it be to use the shift key? It hardly takes any time at all.

We see a large number of posts with no capitalization, no punctuation, atrocious grammar and liberally peppered with 'haha' and 'LOL'. These give the impression of originating from lackadaisical teenagers with their pants down to their knees and big stupid ball caps worn sideways. I would be surprised that as a professional that is the image you want to project of yourself. Your body of work is not the only indicator of your professionalism, so is your written communication.

Does it have to be so very hard? I agree that we can all be professionals and use our very best grammar and spelling, but our skills at the English language are not what we are highlighting. I think that he was sincere in his response and appreciation of critques, and that is what matters (not his appropriate use of the shift key).