October Wedding @ an Art Gallery! (loads of images)

[amykarp]

I haven't posted in a while and wanted to for some feedback. I see improvement from my very first post here, but still have tons of room to improve and coming here for C&C is great! All C&C welcome! Thanks for looking! Justin second shot with me (where are your pictures???)

[JenJohnson79]

great series. . . really like it!

[JMI]

Wow, there's a bunch of shots in there I don't think I'd have ever thought of. Good ideas!

[HotHolly]

Hey! Looks like you had a lot of fun. Did the bride change into a reception dress or are these twins? ;o) Just checking. Long day, but you never know.

[amykarp]

she not only had a wardrobe change, but also a hair-do change :) It was an action-packed day. Traffic made the groom and his guys an hour late (which made for some fly by the seat of your pants pictures) and then I lost control of the spectators during the formals after the ceremony....the location stayed the same, so everyone was a photographer sort of thing. I needed my red velvet rope to keep them back, but alas, I left that at home.

She was a lot of fun and the groom was a hoot also. One of the bridesmaids fell down an entire flight of stairs close to the second dress and got banged up pretty bad....I was terrified of tumbling down them with my gear during the rush, but managed to grip the railing tightly.

[OTRphoto]

They're all great - but I just LOVE #3 of the lil boy playing with the makeup brushes

[PictureCow]

I'm sorry please take this critque as it is intended to be helpful and since you asked for it I will give you my honest opinion.

These are not great. Some of these just look out of focus. The biggest issue I have with these images is the on camera flash especially when you're verticle it is making some bad shadows. If you learn to bounce your flash you can help eliminate that problem otherwise your photos will have the "snapshot" look to them. You need some work on your composition I see lots of bad crops and tangent cut off body parts. Because your flash seems to be used head on the light is weird and heavy in different places with bad shadows. There seem to be a lot of "accidental" things and people etc in the shots. Some of these are also over processed... like you're trying to "save" the image in photoshop. The processing is not complimentary.

[amykarp]

thanks for the comments -

**laura - I thought I did know how to bounce my flash, but I was in the art gallery with ceiling so high I was getting dark bottom halfs on the subjects and didn't think I could "save" those. I read later (after this wedding) tall ceilings and dark colored ceilings limit the ability to bounce. Any suggestions you have are greatly appreciated. I had to use the direct flash and then got the dark shadows behind the subjects. As for cutting folks off (if you are referring to the MOH on the dance bar) she was in a mirror and that was a crop in PP I can put all the limbs back in from the original capture. I was able to "see" all the limbs in the reflection, so I was unsure if cutting them off was technically wrong. All the images posted here don't look out of focus on my laptop (unless my internal dioptric in out of wack again!), these images were uploaded to online image hosting site and might have lost some quality during the upload. As for "saving" images in PS, the few images edited in PS are actions and can be toned down. Also, "accidents"....huge accident in the girl and woman dancing shot (the videographer's camera!) I most certianly will take this constructively to improve (hence the first part of the post - "I see improvement from my very first post here, but still have tons of room to improve and coming here for C&C is great!")

[okcwannabe]

Wow, if I got that kind of critique I probably would have cried...I actually liked a lot of these. #8 I noticed the shadows and the flash. I too am just learning so I have no clue on lighting or how to fix it...that type of thing, but just something I noticed. I like #19...very cute and great job of catching such a sweet moment. Overall you have some great ideas for photos which I feel is one of the toughest parts of photography. You can be the best photographer in the world but if you don't have cool ideas of what to shoot or know where to be when, then you will get no where! As you said you are still learning as we ALL are, and as long as you keep working to improve and seek C&C, it shows you really care about your pictures and clients.

[OTRphoto]

I've had instances where i've had to use the flash and there just isn't anything above me to help out... I've started using the "a better bounce card". It's just a simple white foam piece (I got mine from michaels) cut in a trapizoid and rubber-banded onto the flash. It helps by allowing you to aim your flash straight up (avoiding the straight on flash effect) and still throw a good amount of diffused light towards the subjects. Sometimes you still get shadows - but they are usually less harsh. Works wonders on dance floors.

I'm still learning too, and I know there are other more "professional" ways to do this better.. but in a pinch... it works. It's not perfect - but helps.

[iCe]

Wow, if I got that kind of critique I probably would have cried...

It's not easy to hear, but when a Professional Photographer takes the time to post something more than "wow those are great", I listen. Sometimes I save their critique to a Word doc. There are, IMHO, two ways to become a Professional Photographer. (1) Buy a camera, blast away, fix it in CS, get some cards, takes some pictures, tell people your a pro, charge them money (often times it's too little) or (2) Pay attention to what the Pro's tell you. 99.9% of them want you to succeed. Practice what they preach. Don't steal their ideas. It's fine to use them (sometimes) but don't claim them as yours. (not related to this post btw... just a general comment). Get good at what you love to do and don't apologize for it by under-pricing your work. After you get good at it, get better, forever.

[Shelby Lane]

Originally Posted by okcwannabe

Wow, if I got that kind of critique I probably would have cried...I actually liked a lot of these. #8 I noticed the shadows and the flash. I too am just learning so I have no clue on lighting or how to fix it...that type of thing, but just something I noticed.

Well, here's the deal. Shooting weddings is not like portfolio building with portrait sessions, because you have a one time shot to capture some of someone's most important memories. It is not a time when you can skate by. So while I understand that critique can hurt, it's so important in learning what to do differently, so you can practice and get it down before the next wedding. I think that so often all people get here is "pat on the back" comments and that is not helping anyone. When you see something that could be improved, call it. When you see something that you have a question on (why did you choose to do that?) ask. You will grow by leaps and bounds.

Amy, kudos to you for taking critique so well. :)

Mike, I love your line about "get good at what you do and don't apologize for it by under-pricing your work."

[iCe]

cutting folks off

I might be wrong but I think she's talking about

(7) 4th guy from the left is blocked by the guy in front of him

(11) Second from the left, back row, someone is there but he's blocked

[PictureCow]

Originally Posted by iCe

I might be wrong but I think she's talking about

(7) 4th guy from the left is blocked by the guy in front of him

(11) Second from the left, back row, someone is there but he's blocked

There were lots of tangent "cut offs"

2. hand is cut off at wrist
6. Tanget head cut off (sometimes cutting heads works in this case it doesn't it look accidental and not intentional.
13. Headless bridesmaids- flower girl with no face....( if you're going to focus on a detail then focus on the details)
14. Bridesmaid is cut off... this photo needs cropped. I'd retouch the celing fan out too.
15. tangent finger tip... good concept bad execution.
16. Again headless groomsmen on right... tangent chin and no feet on bottom
17. missing arm... and leg which is too bad cause this was a fun shot
23. the video camera... bad bad no amount of cropping can fix this shot. Needs to be trashed. ( I make a point to always meet the videographer at a wedding and try to be friendly. most of the time you can work together instead of against each other and competing for the same shots)
24. Great moment but again... someone on the right's arm at it's uber hot because of your flash. This photo should be cropped.
26. Can't do much about arms.... in this shot that's the nature of send offs but if your flash had been bounced correctly then the arms would not be so "hot" and dominating the shot.
27. brides fingertips cut off on right very tangent. I'd probably retouch those gone.

[Collins]

Love the honest critique--it makes us all keep striving for excellence.