Well

[haleyme]

Against my nervousness of what is to be said, what do you think of this? Taken with a canon EOS film

 

[The_Traveler]

The couple have a mutually adoring looks on their face and this is a nice pose but there are a couple of major problems with this picture.

The first was in its execution; the couple was close to the wall and the shadow from the most-likely on-camera flash is very obvious behind them - two things to avoid. Use an off=camera flash and bounce it off the ceilings or use a diffuser to get away from this harshness.

I don't know what the original looks like but perhaps the conversion to b&w has left a strangely contrasty picture where there is lots of glare but the blacks are blocked up.

You have the situation of a prominent part of the picture, his coat, being without tone or texture.


I would go back to the color original and start from there again - perhaps changing your conversion to get more detail and tones.
If this is full-frame you might be able to extract them from the background , thus getting rid of the shadow,and put another background in there because there is lots of sharp edges to help with extraction.

Lew

 

[haleyme]

Thanks.

The problem I have though with these pictures is the grain in them. Unfortunatly, the film wasn't great. I orded it online in bulk and the shots came to be very disapointing. I had to edit ALOT to get it to not be full of noise. But I understand about his coat. That was one of my concerns. And about changing the backround, how would you suggest doing that?

 

[The_Traveler]

Post a link to a hi-res version, give your permission to edit and I can demonstrate it much more easily than trying to write a how-to.

 

[Alley Cat Images]

Yes, the grain is a problem. Combined with the strong contrast, the image feels more harsh than romantic. The composition is strong, though, with the slight, diagonal line of the bride.

 

[elsaspet]

Grain is never the problem....but noise can be. Grain is Groovy!
The problem here is direct flash, a bad white balance, and some really bad direct flash. I know I said it twice, but flash is BAD. LOL. Ok, not bad, but it has to be done with tender loving care.
I know this sounds crazy, but turn your flash ALL THE WAY AROUND BACKWARDS, get close, and then shoot.
No akward flash, and nothing but yummy ambient light. Try it.

 

[Alley Cat Images]

Oops! Correct you are, elaspet - I slipped back into film lingo for a moment, and used it incorrectly here. Sorry for the confusion!