My first attempt at wedding photography

busterboy · 07-08-2005, 10:36

Had a brilliant day until my 20D decided to lock-up leaving me looking a right plonker in front of everyone..

I took out the battery then replaced it again.. It then functioned without any more problems for the remainder of the day..

That is the first trouble I have ever had with it...Typical..

Having only just finished proccessing some of the hundreds I took here is a selection from yesterday..

1.. Sign on the dotted line please

2.. A lovely setting

3.. The best man and groom. He was a big guy.. :icon_eek:

4.. The lucky garter

5.. The bride groom & best man

6.. The happy couple

07-08-2005, 10:51

Some lovely shots there, which I honestly cannot critique, as to do so would be out of my league

That said, I love the second one, and I think it's pretty much 'bob on', even though the title is spelt wrong

(Lovely)

The last one I can see he's going at it with emotion, and the bride looks like she's posing for a photo, to me that looks like two different emotions in the picture, nice one for capturing that, and effectively portraying it.

The only two critical comments I can offer are, in the first one, the flowers on the desk, out of focus. And the ones in the garden...the ones that give the groom big spikey green hair

Seriously though, they are quite impressive.

I'm sure Steve will be along with some good comments and advice

I think he's done a couple of these before IIRC.

busterboy · 07-08-2005, 10:57

Spelling corrected thanks...

Yes the flowers were slightly out of focus as I tried to focus on their faces, Also this was about 2 minutes after the

camera locked up..

I was still getting my act together after the breakdown and not concentrating fully..

Thanks for the comments though..

Steep · 07-08-2005, 11:06

The groom certainly is a happy chap isn't he?

Some very well set up shots there, I agree with Marcel about the spikey thing in the second and fourth shots, it's a little too much in focus but a bit of shoppery should fix that.

The last shot doesn't really work for me, the groom does not look comfortable and the pose for him is not natural even if he is enjoying himself!

***Steve*** · 07-08-2005, 11:09

Good pictures especially as it is your first wedding, the ones outside are all nicely balanced and beautifully exposed. The shot of the happy couple signing is a “statutory shot” and unfortunately the weakest that you have shown here. The focus is soft on the couple, they are not looking at the camera nor at the wedding certificate, nor is either of them holding the pen as though signing. The colour is also off, very warm and a tad orange overall. All these are important points (some more than others) and no doubt the minor issue with the camera did nothing to help your composure at a difficult time.

May I ask what you back up equipment was and if you where doing this as a favour or a paid job? If the latter, you really need some backup equipment and some strong insurance in case everything goes really wrong.

One last thing that you may like to take to your next wedding? When the bridge and groom are posing together, on just one or two of the photos it might be worth instructing them both to slightly tilt their heads towards each other, this is a very good way of showing to the camera and thus the viewer that they are close and in love. Don’t do it on all the shots though as it can become very “mushy” but throwing a couple into the final wedding album are usually very well received.

***Steve*** · 07-08-2005, 11:11

The last shot also has a handle of a basket of flowers? showing in the bottom of the frame. With weddings the attention to detail has to be perfect, miss something small and it can ruin a potential excellent shot.

CT · 07-08-2005, 12:21

Good job for a first wedding.

I'd echo what Steve said about the 'signing the register' shot, that's the event you need to be recording for posterity. I'd usually take one of the bride signing (or pretending to) and the groom looking on, and one of the happy couple looking straight at the camera. There are a few shots you can do around this theme - one with the witnesses looking on and one with immediate family gathered around behind the couple etc etc. For the shot you've shown there I'd have taken it from a lower viewpoint too which is far more intimate, and you'd have avoided those crazy verticals. Just bending your knees where necessary and looking for a different angle is often the difference between an amateur and a pro looking shot. Don't be self conscious about kneeling, sitting on the floor, standing on a chair, or whatever else it takes to get the shot you want.

The shots outside with the house in the background seems a bad choice of location when it seems you have far nicer backgrounds available looking at some of the other shots.

That apart it's a good job well done, but you shouldn't really contemplate these jobs unless you have two compatible camera bodies, and two flashguns as an absolute minimum, and loads of spare charged batteries. This is complicated electronic kit and if it goes wrong, people expect you to have spare gear. They wont thank you for flying by the seat of your pants on their big day. :icon_eek:

busterboy · 07-08-2005, 13:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT

Good job for a first wedding.

I'd echo what Steve said about the 'signing the register' shot

Yes I know what you are saying but after a short delay it was requested that the signings continued then when I got my camera going again we could come back and pretend to sign a blank page (A farce I know but needs must)

This was an un-paid job as I knew the couple very well and both parties accepted that this would be a free learning curve for me, And they accepted if it all went belly up they would be without any pictures..

As for back-up I had spare CF cards... Spare batteries... Spare lenses all in my kit bag with me... I also had a spare Canon 20D which was left in the car quite a walk away thinking I would never use it...

How wrong I was..

CT · 07-08-2005, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by busterboy

Yes I know what you are saying but after a short delay it was requested that the signings continued then when I got my camera going again we could come back and pretend to sign a blank page (A farce I know but needs must)

This was an un-paid job as I knew the couple very well and both parties accepted that this would be a free learning curve for me, And they accepted if it all went belly up they would be without any pictures..

As for back-up I had spare CF cards... Spare batteries... Spare lenses all in my kit bag with me... I also had a spare Canon 20D which was left in the car quite a walk away thinking I would never use it...

How wrong I was..

You've done great anyway... well done! You never stop learning how ever long you do it, and it's your mistakes which really drive the lessons home every time.

I had the shutter contacts burn out once during a wedding - it woudn't fire the flash. A simple repair.... but not at that moment.

Another time I had my most useful lens stick shut on f22.

busterboy · 07-08-2005, 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT

Another time I had my most useful lens stick shut on f22.

Hope you had your tripod... :lol:

CT · 07-08-2005, 13:37

:lol: I ended up using a 24mmm wide angle and a short telephoto.

Matty · 07-08-2005, 22:20

ive no experience of wedding photos, but these look nice to me and i would be pleased to get them in an album.

IanC_UK · 07-08-2005, 22:24

Nice shots, i am not qualified enough to make critique on them though, will leave that to Steve and CT !

Also is good you know them, i wouldnt want to upset any of them !

dazzajl · 08-08-2005, 12:44

Good comments and good work. Weddings will give almost all snappers palpertaions and I think it's worked out pretty well that you've got away with learning the backup lesson without disaster.

The only specific comment I would add is that I was a bit put off by the squinting expressions in shot 5.

I'm sure you'll be able to put a good album together for them.

busterboy · 08-08-2005, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazzajl

The only specific comment I would add is that I was a bit put off by the squinting expressions in shot 5.

I'm sure you'll be able to put a good album together for them.

Thanks for the comments..

Yes these are just a handful of the hundreds I took, If you guys had a look at the complete folder you would have chosen to post some different ones maybe..

I am very critical of my own work and personally think they could have been better but that only comes with practice.

Other than posting a handful on here and receiving feedback I am still scratching my head thinking they could be better but friends at home here think the full size versions are fantastic so maybe I should listen to who knows best..

The feedback means a lot so thanks guy's..

One from the reception..

08-08-2005, 17:58	#16 (permalink)
CT Feet under the table Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Mids UK Posts: 3,500