Yes, I do shoot weddings..... occasionally!

[CherylL]

Beautiful bride in a nice setting. I like the casual feel to the photo and the lighting.

 

[danbob6]

I agree with the positive comments about the photo: setting, lighting, beautiful bride. I just wonder why no one has pointed out her choice of wedding shoes.


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[tirediron]

You didn't want to blow out the background more?

What aperture was this shot at?

It was shot at f8. Why? Because the brief from the client was, "We want to have fun, we want to record the scenery (they live in Thailand, had never been to the west coast of Canada before), follow us, shoot what you think looks good..." So, in order to ensure that I wasn't going to miss a shot, and to (some degree) retain the the scenery, I opted for a nice, say f8. Could I have opened up to 2.8 on this, or slapped on the 85 and gone to 1.4? Sure, but I made a deliberate decision not to. Right? Wrong? Dunno....

I think it's a lovely photo. You know what you're doing (as always).

I usually have no critique to speak of and my only nitpick (and what drives me nuts with my photos when I don't catch some little thing in the corner or whatever) is that end of a branch or whatever along the top; a little crop across the top would probably not be a loss and keep the same nice balance you have in the photo.

Thanks! Good catch on the branch. That will definitely get taken care of in the final rendering.

I see a little bit of a Lauren Hutton type of thing going on. Not so much Goldie Hawn in my opinion.

Fair enough! Thanks Derrel.

Beautiful bride in a nice setting. I like the casual feel to the photo and the lighting.

Thank-you Cheryl.

I agree with the positive comments about the photo: setting, lighting, beautiful bride. I just wonder why no one has pointed out her choice of wedding shoes.

Thank-you; not really sure what there is to comment on about the shoes. She brought a fancy pair of pumps with her, but decided she liked the feel of the warm sand of the beach and they stayed in the bag.

 

[Derrel]

"..SNIP> . I just wonder why no one has pointed out her choice of wedding shoes."


At a sandy beach wedding, flip-flops or open sandals make a lot of sense.

 

[Parker219]

No one else mentioned you shooting this at f/8 as a bad thing, so I guess it is just me.

Looking forward to seeing some others from this wedding.

 

[tirediron]

No one else mentioned you shooting this at f/8 as a bad thing, so I guess it is just me.

Looking forward to seeing some others from this wedding.

I'm curious, why do you see it as a bad thing? At a more 'traditional' wedding, yes, I probably would have been down around f4 in many cases, but I felt that this was a legitimate, creative decision...

 

[vintagesnaps]

I can't figure out why people so often shoot so wide open... If the background is part of the scene and helps tell the story - especially if that's what the bride and groom wanted - why would someone want to blur the background? or blow it out? The background is still going to be part of the picture even if it is somewhat out of focus, it's still there.

 

[Parker219]

If the background was the water or even looking down the beach or something better, then I would agree with f/8. I think because the background is...less than nice...and taking away from the bride, thats why I would have gone with f/2.8 ish.

Like you said, personal creative decision.

 

[tirediron]

If the background was the water or even looking down the beach or something better, then I would agree with f/8. I think because the background is...less than nice...and taking away from the bride, ...

Fair comment, but something we as photographers forget is that "nice" is a completely subjective term. For this couple who've lived in Thailand for many years and are returning there, even something as simple as a blackberry thicket may be interesting and attractive.

 

[dennybeall]

Very nice pose and she looks comfortable. The shot is nice in my eyes. I'd want just a tad of fill light to bring up the deep set eyes (perhaps in post?)

 

[tirediron]

Very nice pose and she looks comfortable. The shot is nice in my eyes. I'd want just a tad of fill light to bring up the deep set eyes (perhaps in post?)

Thanks Denny, and good point. It's definitely not a finished image; we'll see if it's one that the couple picks or not.

 

[Derrel]

In my opinion,way too many people worry about the lens opening used rather than the content of the picture. I myself am partial to f/ 5.6, f/6.3 and f/ 7.1 for a lot of people pictures

I really think that F2.8 and shallow depth of field is vastly overrated

 

[oldhippy]

That’s a really nice shot. Beautiful young lady.

 

[tirediron]

In my opinion,way too many people worry about the lens opening used rather than the content of the picture. I myself am partial to f/ 5.6, f/6.3 and f/ 7.1 for a lot of people pictures

I really think that F2.8 and shallow depth of field is vastly overrated

Agree; when things are moving along, and without a fixed plan, my preference is always to err on the side of safety. I know shooting at 5.6 - 11 that I'm unlikely to miss focus, where as at 2.8 or lower, especially on long glass it becomes risky, and a well focused image with an only slightly blurred background is better (IMO) than an image with a soft subject and heavily blurred background!

That’s a really nice shot. Beautiful young lady.

Thanks, Ed!

 

[smoke665]

I like to follow the "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" rule in most decisions. Soft eyes just don't have the impact for me that tack sharp eyes do, regardless of the background. So unless I have the time to compose and focus I'll go f5.6-f8.

FYI: I still say she looks like a young Lauren Hutton. LOL