Help me improve

[Glen King]

Ok, this is the 2nd wedding I've shot. It was done at the Special Moments Chapel in Lewisville. How about some comment & critique please.

Thanks

Glen

[Michelle Allmon]

Pictures?

[Paulo]

Congratulations on your 2nd wedding Glen. Can you share some more data on the images?
Camera:
Lens:
Flash:
ISO:
Aperture:
Shutter:
WB:
Processing software:

1st image:
too much contrast for me
too much head on flash (hard shadows/ her dress is blown out)
since cross was in background, would have preferred it was fully visible
a lot of noise in the image

2nd image:
colors looks washed out/ foggy
is the groom's suit suppose to be blue or black?
a lot of noise in the image

3rd image:
camera shake...increase shutter speed
colors looks washed out/foggy
a lot of noise in the image

4th image:
nice candid
hand blocking bride's face
appears overexposed
a lot of noise in the image

Keep it up Glen. It takes practice. The first three images has completely different tones to them. Was your camera & wb set to "Auto"? Outdoor images can be difficult in properly capturing well when dealing with strong, direct sunlight. In a similar condition in the future, consider having the bride/subject turn away from the sun and use it as 'backlighting' instead. This will require you to switch you camera's metering mode to "spot" and will likely have to use some sort of fill flash.

[sordjes]

Hi Glen,
I'm not the best about commenting on photos as I need plenty more experience myself. I do however enjoy practicing my Photoshop. I did about ten minutes of PP with two of you pictures. I hope you like them.

[Glen King]

Paulo, Thanks for the response. I'm shooting a Sony D-alpha 100 in jpeg format. I'm not equipped to handle RAW. Using Photoshop 7 and a Huey color system, for post processing. I shot this wedding mostly in Aperture mode with natural lighting. I did try adjusting the wb ahead of time but still had a hard time getting all the inside photos to 'match' tones etc.

#1 had no flash used @ 28 mm focal length. I agree about the dress being blown out, I had that problem in almost every picture. I use a small adjustment in 'curves' to get what detail is there. Further adjustment introduced too much noise into the picture.

#2 seems washed out to me also. The grooms suit is a very dark blue, the preacher's suit is black. Again I think there is more problem in the post processing. Here's the original with only re-sizing.

#3 is basically a candid, The bride stuck the pose and I was hard pressed to capture it. The couple liked it at least.

#4 is the wrong photo. try this one instead.

[Glen King]

Originally Posted by sordjes

Hi Glen,
I'm not the best about commenting on photos as I need plenty more experience myself. I do however enjoy practicing my Photoshop. I did about ten minutes of PP with two of you pictures. I hope you like them.

Thanks. Sometimes it feels as if I'm trying to learn everything at once.

Glen

[Paulo]

Originally Posted by Glen King

Paulo, Thanks for the response. I'm shooting a Sony D-alpha 100 in jpeg format. I'm not equipped to handle RAW. Using Photoshop 7 and a Huey color system, for post processing. I shot this wedding mostly in Aperture mode with natural lighting. I did try adjusting the wb ahead of time but still had a hard time getting all the inside photos to 'match' tones etc.

#1 had no flash used @ 28 mm focal length. I agree about the dress being blown out, I had that problem in almost every picture. I use a small adjustment in 'curves' to get what detail is there. Further adjustment introduced too much noise into the picture.

#2 seems washed out to me also. The grooms suit is a very dark blue, the preacher's suit is black. Again I think there is more problem in the post processing. Here's the original with only re-sizing.

#3 is basically a candid, The bride stuck the pose and I was hard pressed to capture it. The couple liked it at least.

#4 is the wrong photo. try this one instead.

I like the last two images you just posted over the first set.

On the first image, there's a pretty distinct shadow behind the groom but since you didn't shoot flash, it's probably from a guest's camera going off.

What ISO did you shoot these and what's the widest aperture capability of your lens(F1.8, 2.8, 4)? JPEG allows a person, more memory space but it's less forgiving if your exposure settings are off. These images appear underexposed. When that happens and post processing is applied on top of it, it tends to bring out noise and shifts colors even more.

When I first started, I shot Aperture Priority (Nikon) alot so I wouldn't have to worry/think about shutter speed I'm using. The problem with that is you end up with image tones that are not consistent. Because even if you're generally shooting in the same general area and same general scene, the camera's meter can get tricked simply from shooting from a different angle or a different part of the subjects body. Play around with your gear's manual mode and I think you'll find it's not much harder. For me, I actually find 'Manual', quicker to adjust on the move if I don't like the result I'm seeing in the viewfinder regarding the over all image brightness/color. The trick is establishing what your base setting is going to be before the event ever starts. So you know which direction to adjust to get what you want. Even in Aperture mode, set the aperture you want to use and take a picture, notice what the camera chose for shutter speed. View the images and if it's too dark or too light, you have various options: adjust ISO + or - OR adjust aperture size + or -.

[ngoduyviet]

Originally Posted by Glen King

Thanks. Sometimes it feels as if I'm trying to learn everything at once.

Glen

I've shot quite a few African American weddings, I gotta tell you that is one of the most challenging part of my wedding "hobby". You'll need to learn to balance your flash & shoot in complete manual to get the dress & the skin tone correctly. Sometime you have to sacrifice the details of the dress just to get the correct exposure for the face. The meter Will get fooled, so you'll have to compensate 99% of the time if you shoot anything other than manual. And you are right, shooting weddings (especially all manual) you'll feel like you are learning everything all at once

Having said that, I'm not familiar with the Sony system, but it seems to me that in your shots the WB was off, metering/exposure was very inconsistent, focusing & DoF needed to be utilized more to clean up the clutter surroundings, posing & placing of the bodies were not very flattering either. Do a search here on posing & maybe check Monte's website for some more ideas. Not to disappoint you, but something to keep in mind. Keep shooting and posting, you'll get a lot of good help here in this forum. I know I did

[Glen King]

Having said that, I'm not familiar with the Sony system, but it seems to me that in your shots the WB was off, metering/exposure was very inconsistent, focusing & DoF needed to be utilized more to clean up the clutter surroundings, posing & placing of the bodies were not very flattering either. Do a search here on posing & maybe check Monte's website for some more ideas. Not to disappoint you, but something to keep in mind. Keep shooting and posting, you'll get a lot of good help here in this forum. I know I did [/quote]


The Sony is my first SLR of any sort and I'm still learning. I know that I've improved from when I started, but I 've got a long way to go.


Thanks I will keep trying.

Glen

[Glen King]

Thanks all for the advice & critiques. I really appreciate it. Since everyone is so willing, would you mind taking a look at my portfolio on this site? I'm working towards being a professional(and no I'm nowhere near there yet) as a retirement business in about a decade. I'll try to respond one for one to any comments etc.


Thanks in advance.

Glen

[MicWayWal]

Originally Posted by Glen King

Since everyone is so willing, would you mind taking a look at my portfolio on this site

Glen,

I and others would be happy to help you in any way we can. Post away.

I like the candid capture in image #4. Good peak action grab. But the others leave me wanting. I hate to be brutal Glen but there is not anything in the first three images that excites me.

[Glen King]

Originally Posted by MicWayWal

Glen,

I and others would be happy to help you in any way we can. Post away.

I like the candid capture in image #4. Good peak action grab. But the others leave me wanting. I hate to be brutal Glen but there is not anything in the first three images that excites me.

Not a problem. I'm trying to learn and I've already learned a lot with just this thread.

Thanks

Glen

[Gateruner]

Here is what I see. Apart fron composition you really need to understand your exposure. It is really trick especially with darker skinned people.(this isnt just for African Americans) I would say you are better off shooting in manual, metering the face and setting your exposure. This probably going to cause you to blow out the dress so you have to close the lens a stop. Hopefully that will give you a balance that allows you to keep the detail in the darks and the dress. It is a challenge when you cant use fill flash. You can shoot AV but you have to understand how to lock exposure on what you want. Easier to switch to manual.

[CFord]

Originally Posted by Glen King

Having said that, I'm not familiar with the Sony system, but it seems to me that in your shots the WB was off, metering/exposure was very inconsistent, focusing & DoF needed to be utilized more to clean up the clutter surroundings, posing & placing of the bodies were not very flattering either. Do a search here on posing & maybe check Monte's website for some more ideas. Not to disappoint you, but something to keep in mind. Keep shooting and posting, you'll get a lot of good help here in this forum. I know I did

The Sony is my first SLR of any sort and I'm still learning. I know that I've improved from when I started, but I 've got a long way to go.


Thanks I will keep trying.

Glen[/quote]

I think everyone else is more capable to comment on the professional aspects of the pictures, but I shoot the Minolta/Sony system and would add a couple of things from the equipment side.

First, if you are still trying to learn the system and what it can do take a look at the book on the A100 by Gary Friedman. It is way better than the manual or the magic lantern guides and will shorten the learning curve for you. http://www.friedmanarchives.com/ebooks/index.htm

The second thing is that if you are bound to Jpegs for now then work with the DRO function in your camera. It will help save the highlights when exposing on a darker subject. If you move up to RAW then do not use DRO as it will underexpose your pictures without getting any benefit from the in camera processing.

There are several shooters on here who use the amount system and are much better than me who can give you better and more definite advice on your system.

[Glen King]

Originally Posted by CFord

First, if you are still trying to learn the system and what it can do take a look at the book on the A100 by Gary Friedman. It is way better than the manual or the magic lantern guides and will shorten the learning curve for you. http://www.friedmanarchives.com/ebooks/index.htm

The second thing is that if you are bound to Jpegs for now then work with the DRO function in your camera. It will help save the highlights when exposing on a darker subject. If you move up to RAW then do not use DRO as it will underexpose your pictures without getting any benefit from the in camera processing.

There are several shooters on here who use the amount system and are much better than me who can give you better and more definite advice on your system.

Now that's some advice I can really use. I looked at my book on the DA100 and still don't understand the DRO function. Can you explain about it some more?


Thanks

Glen