Wedding Photography Emergency!!! Please Help!!!

[JustJazzie]

The only wedding I was ever in was one where the brides cousin purchased her FIRST dslr the week before the wedding and was the sole "photographer" the bride has got plenty of those photos hung on her wall.

I had no photographer when I got married (at a courthouse) and had my FIL take "wedding pictures" several months later. 90% of them were pretty terrible, but I cherish the few that DID turn out.

My only point is- not EVERY bride has the funds for a professional photographer and not every bride is so picky about quality. When a bride knowingly requests an amateur photographer to shoot her wedding it's usually because she doesn't have any other options. So don't let all the naysayers get you down. Even if you only get ONE awesome photo, it will be more than they would have without you, and even the bad photos will be cherished because it was their memories you helped capture.
Good luck!

 

[Braineack]

I think what you were able to pull off, considering your plea for help, was decent.

but you REALLY need to watch your focus. Plenty of shots with missed focus on your set.

 

[runnah]

I would soften the black on all of these. Way too dark. But otherwise you well in the given circumstance.

 

[manicmike]

I'd say you did pretty well.

 

[Theantiquetiger]

Where are all the naysayers from the 1st page of this thread? E.rose, Pixmedic, etc?

There is a link to the Flickr set back on page 3, reply #38.

I do agree they need lightened. I have always noticed things appear darker on line than they do in my LR. They are still in my LR and will only take a few seconds to adjust.

I will also admit there are some soft images, but not too bad. Good enough for the layman's eye. They are extremely pleased with what I have given them so far. I have about 50 more images to work. I took little over 300, knocked out about half of them on first glance, and will wind up with about 100 images (66 on Flickr right now).

 

[manicmike]

Where are all the naysayers from the 1st page of this thread? E.rose, Pixmedic, etc?

There is a link to the Flickr set back on page 3, reply #38.

I do agree they need lightened. I have always noticed things appear darker on line than they do in my LR. They are still in my LR and will only take a few seconds to adjust.

I will also admit there are some soft images, but not too bad. Good enough for the layman's eye. They are extremely pleased with what I have given them so far. I have about 50 more images to work. I took little over 300, knocked out about half of them on first glance, and will wind up with about 100 images (66 on Flickr right now).

I think the very first shot posted didn't give many of us high hopes. I think they'd agree that the ones from the wedding look a lot better than that first shot.

 

[lennon33x]

Where are all the naysayers from the 1st page of this thread? E.rose, Pixmedic, etc? There is a link to the Flickr set back on page 3, reply #38. I do agree they need lightened. I have always noticed things appear darker on line than they do in my LR. They are still in my LR and will only take a few seconds to adjust. I will also admit there are some soft images, but not too bad. Good enough for the layman's eye. They are extremely pleased with what I have given them so far. I have about 50 more images to work. I took little over 300, knocked out about half of them on first glance, and will wind up with about 100 images (66 on Flickr right now).

Good for you. I was pleased too. Considering the circumstances, I think they turned out extremely well. One of my close photography buddies once put it to me this way:

"The viewer is seeing an image of their loved one. They don't pixel peep, critique sharpness, and appreciate the bokeh like we do. Produce the image your client desires."

I'm glad your client is happy, and I agree your produced some quality images. Keep it up

 

[e.rose]

Where are all the naysayers from the 1st page of this thread? E.rose, Pixmedic, etc?

There is a link to the Flickr set back on page 3, reply #38.

I do agree they need lightened. I have always noticed things appear darker on line than they do in my LR. They are still in my LR and will only take a few seconds to adjust.

I will also admit there are some soft images, but not too bad. Good enough for the layman's eye. They are extremely pleased with what I have given them so far. I have about 50 more images to work. I took little over 300, knocked out about half of them on first glance, and will wind up with about 100 images (66 on Flickr right now).

Oh, I've been here the whole time, and I saw your Flickr post. You just don't really want to know what I think, so I've elected to keep my opinion to myself :sillysmi:

(And to those of you gasping in shock at the thought of that... I do that MORE OFTEN here than you THINK I do. But if you hit your head on the way down during your feinting spell, don't come find me to pay your medical bills cause I'm flat broke. )

OP, if your bride and the MoTB are happy... that's all that matters. Good for you. :sillysmi:

 

[fokker]

Let's see the photos from your first wedding eroselayball:

 

[e.rose]

Let's see the photos from your first wedding eroselayball:

Why? I already know they suck. I don't need anyone to tell me that.

But my bride was happy. Which is why I said to the OP if his bride is happy, then that's all that matters.

Cause that is legitimately all that matters at this point.

I didn't comment on the images, because he wasn't asking for critique. So I didn't give it. Seems fair enough to me.

Had I posted my first wedding way back when, and asked for critique, as I did with nearly every single shoot I've ever done, it would have been ripped to shreds, and rightly so. And I would have taken that critique and learned from it and tried to improve, like I did with every CC post I ever did.

I don't care how new or how experienced (general) you are, people are going to have an opinion of (general) your work, just like I have my opinion.

I wasn't ever out to start a fight with this one. I'm not one for sugar coating as you well know, haha. So yes, I said my opinion of taking on a project like this, with the expressed level of experience and the photographic evidence to go along with it in the OP, but if you notice, while probably not as light and fluffy as everyone else, I *did* try to help.

My first post suggested there had to be some light somewhere. My second post I suggested how I would probably try to achieve focus to avoid any strange shadows coming from LEDs on the ground. My third post I agreed with Schwetty, because... sh*t, that's how I shoot a ton of lowlight weddings I second shoot. He's right about that. He's experienced enough to know. After that I stopped any real contributions, because I have a job, and I've been at it for the majority of the going-ons of this thread and didn't really have time to think through anything else. Plus... I'm pretty sure the wedding was over by that point anyway, so what was the point of contributing any further?

Then the images were posted, I had a look, I gathered my opinion of them, and I moved on.

Would you *rather* I had come back guns-a-blazing? :lmao:

 

[fokker]

My point was simply that the guy did a pretty good job all things considered.

 

[pixmedic]

Naysayers eh?
You asked for opinions. The pictures are ok. I didn't care much for most of the B&W conversions. Plus, you posted a pic here asking someone to fix it...so you could give it to a client. What is it you are looking for from us "naysayers"? A congratulations for not ruining the wedding photos? Fine. Congratulations, your pictures were pretty decent. Don't get me wrong though, I can totally relate. I will freely admit that I have also shot under adverse conditions in the past and given the client mediocre pictures. My battle cry is the same as all the rest....As long as the client is happy.

 

[o hey tyler]

A 70-200 2.8 and doesn't have a SB800 that assistant could hold and he can shoot wireless?

How would he be able to shoot wireless with an SB-800. They shoot canon.

 

[JoeW]

First, thanks for posting results. I can't tell you how many times on photography forums someone has said "what would you advise?" or just "help me with this" and then they disappear in to the night and folks are left wondering...."did we make a difference? how did it turn out?".

Second, you had a very tough shooting environment and you got some good results. Kudos to you.

Third, I agree with the comments about softening the black background. I think you've also got a number of instances where you'd going to want to remove some white highlights that distract (the young boy with the table full of objects for instance) or at least burn them a bit. But that's always the challenge of shooting in a tough setting with bad light--it requires a lot more post production.

BTW, I think this is a great thread for now discussing "lessons learned" or "important lessons." For instance, a real obvious one that jumps out at me is that you took the opportunity to scout the place out during the same time you'd be shooting the next day (rather than just walking around during daylight or just getting there a couple of hours early). You had a pretty clear idea (not conceptual but fricking realistic idea) of how challenging it would be. You tested the environment and looked at the results and played with options. For anyone who is new to wedding photography or shooting in an environment you don't typically shoot a wedding at (such as your first wedding on the beach or at a waterfall or in a small dimly lit chapel), I can't emphasize enough the importance of scouting the place out, testing with your gear and then looking at the results on a monitor. Kudos to you for doing this and it's a lesson to anyone else who is considering shooting a wedding for free to build their portfolio but b/c it's free, doesn't want to invest the time to go there the day before and shoot some test shots--you can't skimp the prep work if you're going to have anything to hand over to the bride afterwards.

 

[manaheim]

Where are all the naysayers from the 1st page of this thread? E.rose, Pixmedic, etc?<BR>

This was pretty obnoxious.

I saw your pictures. You should be congratulated that your shots weren't utter garbage, but they were honestly not much&nbsp;better than "Oh my god, those actually aren't the worst wedding pictures I've seen!"

You have demonstrated, in this thread, an ignorance of how lighting works in open situations. You have shown us that you either do not know about, or have not bothered with, or have not SUCCESSFULLY implemented color/brightness calibration. There are a few other things, too, but I'm not gonna bother rattling them off.

Suffice to say, you're new at this. If I were you I'd spend more time thanking my lucky stars that this went as well as it did, and far less time thumbing your nose at your detractors.