C&C on first wedding

trican

Hi all,

I did my first wedding a couple of weekends ago - it was a small registry office service. It went well, the couple seem very pleased with the images and I learned a LOT! Weather was lovely, but it was very sunny and I was only semi successful with dealing with the harsh mid-day sun (I used fill flash, but clearly not strong enough) and I know I could(/should) have posed the couple much better. They only wanted photos from the ceremony, so I only shot for about 2 hours.

Equipment wise I had a Nikon D600 body and a backup of Nikon D90. I hired a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 and own a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR1. Just in case I had a 50 f1.4 in my bag. I used a Nikon SB600 on the D600 with a diffuser and had a backup Jessops Flash. As it turned out I shot 99% of the images with the D600 and the 24-70 & 70-200.

Here are some samples photos - I'd really welcome any feedback as I'm really hoping to improve much further. I definitely enjoyed it, so I would shoot another wedding if the opportunity came along. Or maybe second shooting (if I could find a suitable opportunity) might be a better next option? thanks!

1.


2.


3.


4. Harsh sun / fill-flash problem


5.


6.


7.


8. Gutted with the posing of the hands



9. Some candid shots after the service


10. Daughter looking at her mother and the bride

pixbyjohn

Nice set of shots. I would like number 2 in colour though. Weddings are not easy!

trican

@pixbyjohn - thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated!

space2ground1

Something I really like about the light and DOF in Number 6. Did you use the flash for that?

AnCatDubh

I think you've done really well. You've nailed the light thing which is all important.

Bright, shiny, happy photographs.

To be critical, in #8 it isn't just a posing of the hands, the composition is a little awkward to my viewing but then again at the moment i'm a 90% candid person. I just think most people can't/won't pose correctly and most photographers can't/won't give instruction to the subjects to create a really natural looking pose which yields some pretty meh results.

#5 is a cliched shot but classic at the same time. I'm guessing that your client will like them.

The crop on #6 is a little odd but the shot itself and detail is great.

The only other thing i'd offer as critique is that as a set they are all very 'safe' which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But i'm just falling short of finding a wow-wow-wooah shot in there. That's possibly only because i'm looking for a wow shot and maybe your clients won't be.

I think you've done a good job.

Well done.

trican

@AnCatDubh - thanks for the really helpful feedback.

I just think most people can't/won't pose correctly and most photographers can't/won't give instruction to the subjects to create a really natural looking pose which yields some pretty meh results.

I'd agree 100% from my limited experience so far - it takes a lot of skill in posing to make it look natural.

The only other thing i'd offer as critique is that as a set they are all very 'safe' which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But i'm just falling short of finding a wow-wow-wooah shot in there. That's possibly only because i'm looking for a wow shot and maybe your clients won't be.

The clients had pretty low exceptions (I did charge, but only 200) It was a conscious decision to get as many nice, safe shots as possible. Maybe spotting the opportunity for the more "wow-wow-wooah" shot comes from experience? Maybe scouting the location and deliberately planning a number of "wow" shots in the absence of experience is something I could try for the next one.

kelly1

For a first wedding, it's a great set! Well done. Onwards and upwards!

Btw, I did my first (paid) wedding in July. Great learning experience. I might post a few shots.

bullpost

I shot a couple of weddings years ago - nerve-wracking.
You did a brilliant job all things considered.

Only suggestion I would make is that it might be worthwhile trying to "soften" some of the shots of the couple through post-processing?

thebaz

yep good job , weddings can be tough - I agree with pix by john , but would go further , I find the b & w completly distracting, and think set would be much better al in colour - well done on the images.

trican

thanks thebaz, kelly1 & bullpost.

I find the b & w completly distracting, and think set would be much better al in colour

That's very interesting, I love b&w in general and I thought it would normal to convert a certain percentage of the images to b&w. I guess its a personal preference thing, but I can see that it could mess with the consistency. And as a matter of interest the only thing the couple asked for when they saw all the images was if I could convert the b&w into colour, so there you go - I know nothing!

thebaz

trican wrote: »

That's very interesting, I love b&w in general and I thought it would normal to convert a certain percentage of the images to b&w.

I know if it was my wedding , I'd want them all in same format - you could probably mix things up for sport or music , but for a wedding you want fomality - getting b& w conversions right, is really difficult - so if it was me i'd stick with colour.

Borderfox

Nice set overall, I would agree about having the set in either colour or b&w

1: nice shot, looks a little bit flat maybe a bump of contrast. I would clone out the alarm thingy above the grooms head

2: Colour would be really nice in this

3: The problem is with his pose, its open as in hes pointing towards you. When he turns toward the bride it looks more natural and he will hold her hand just under the flowers

4: Similar to 3

5: Lovely shot

6: I would have dropped a bit lower to catch more of the brides hands

7: Lovely shot again, might be a little crooked

8: Same as 3 & 4 try to mirror the brides pose in the groom and they look great

9: Colour better?

10: Nice catch of the daughter

The more you do the more you know the set list of pictures to get and the more creative you can be in between these set pictures (the nerves never go but it does become manageable)

For the future become your worst critic (really harsh) and get a woman to have a look over your pictures when you are editing (my partner can spot small details that only women can pick out and either change or another picture) For charging, to prevent yourself getting caught in a race to the bottom each third wedding booked put you price up by €200-€300 (I know this sounds strange but it does work, only heard this at the end of my photography career)

Hope this helps

trican

@Borderfox - wow thanks so much for the really detailed feedback, that's incredibly useful