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



## tirediron (Jul 3, 2019)

Today's ceremony was a very casual wedding at a local park (And by casual, I mean:  The bride picked her bouquet in the garden of their B&B on their way to the park, I was one witness, and they grabbed a lady from a big family picnic to be the other...).  They were a great couple and a ton of fun to work with.  This image caught my eye as I was transferring the files... is it just me, or does she have a little Goldie Hawn thing going on? 







More to follow when I get to actually processing them.  As always, comments, critique and suggestions always appreciated.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Jul 4, 2019)

A low maintenance bride! That's awesome! Nice pic. I kinda, sorta see GH since you mentioned it, but never would have on my own.


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## edsland (Jul 4, 2019)

Pretty bride, nice photo as always.....


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## smoke665 (Jul 4, 2019)

No Goldie Hawn, but I definitely see a Lauren Hutton thing! I like the shot, the way the ropes create a frame within a frame, of the face.  Not sure about the hand holding the bouquet, doesn't quite look right hanging, but don't have an alternative either. It may just be the image resolution, but there's a softness on the face overall, like the DOF may have been a tad shallow, but I'm an eye fanatic who counts every eyelash. As always a solid shot, that I'm sure the bride will be thrilled with.

Since I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow evening myself, some of which will be outside, would you mind sharing your lighting on this? Flash, Reflectors, other background on the shot? I pretty much have it planned out already, but it never hurts to hear others experiences.


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## tirediron (Jul 4, 2019)

Dean_Gretsch said:


> A low maintenance bride! That's awesome! Nice pic. I kinda, sorta see GH since you mentioned it, but never would have on my own.


Thanks! 



edsland said:


> Pretty bride, nice photo as always.....


Thank-you, sir!



smoke665 said:


> No Goldie Hawn, but I definitely see a Lauren Hutton thing! I like the shot, the way the ropes create a frame within a frame, of the face.  Not sure about the hand holding the bouquet, doesn't quite look right hanging, but don't have an alternative either. It may just be the image resolution, but there's a softness on the face overall, like the DOF may have been a tad shallow, but I'm an eye fanatic who counts every eyelash. As always a solid shot, that I'm sure the bride will be thrilled with.
> 
> Since I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow evening myself, some of which will be outside, would you mind sharing your lighting on this? Flash, Reflectors, other background on the shot? I pretty much have it planned out already, but it never hurts to hear others experiences.


Nope, focus is good; you're seeing the result of a quick & dirty exposure increase on the face followed by a somewhat ham-fisted noise reduction.  You might be right on the Lauren Hutton thing...  

Lighting is 100% ambient - I had lots of stuff  with me, but never got a chance to use it.


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## smoke665 (Jul 4, 2019)

tirediron said:


> Lighting is 100% ambient - I had lots of stuff with me, but never got a chance to use it.



Really, you lucked out with some great light.

In the process of packing my stuff, for tomorrow. Have some shots outside under a big tree. Taking reflectors and speedlights, flags......maybe the kitchen sink. LOL


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## jcdeboever (Jul 4, 2019)

Nice image, she doesn't look scared at all...


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## tirediron (Jul 4, 2019)

smoke665 said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > Lighting is 100% ambient - I had lots of stuff with me, but never got a chance to use it.
> ...


You wouldn't buy "skill"???? 

Yes, I did luck out.  Good luck with your shoot!



jcdeboever said:


> Nice image, she doesn't look scared at all...


I hope not!


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## smoke665 (Jul 4, 2019)

tirediron said:


> You wouldn't buy "skill"????
> 
> Yes, I did luck out. Good luck with your shoot!



In your case I'd attribute at least 99% skill. LOL As to my shoot, I won't lie I'm wound tighter then a two dollar watch, as it's been 45 years since I've done anything like this.


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## tirediron (Jul 4, 2019)

smoke665 said:


> In your case I'd attribute at least 99% skill. LOL As to my shoot, I won't lie I'm wound tighter then a two dollar watch, as it's been 45 years since I've done anything like this.


Mehhh, you got this dude.  Just visualize the bride as Little Bit, and you'll knock it out of the park!


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## TheCameraDos (Jul 5, 2019)

Yes lightening is perfect in this case. You have captured a happy bride in a shoot. You can find little lightning issues by zooming through the face of the bride. But overall you have done a great job.


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## tirediron (Jul 5, 2019)

TheCameraDos said:


> Yes lightening is perfect in this case. You have captured a happy bride in a shoot. You can find little lightning issues by zooming through the face of the bride. But overall you have done a great job.


Cheers!


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## Parker219 (Jul 5, 2019)

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

What aperture was this shot at?


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 5, 2019)

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. 

Smoke I'd try to not get too caught up in using props etc.; as a teacher it's better to have more than you need and don't need to use it all. Breathe... I find you can do more in 2-3 seconds than you'd think (try counting it, there's time in a couple of seconds to make an adjustment). And - keep breathing! lol that supposedly helps you get focused on what you're doing if you take a breath, seriously! I found it helps if doing a presentation, etc. 

And think about this - at least you aren't walking out on ice before a game hoping to not fall on your a$& in front of thousands of people! lol I was nuts enough to not really care if I did (I didn't) I was too excited and wouldn't have missed it for the world. Have fun!


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## Derrel (Jul 5, 2019)

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


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## CherylL (Jul 5, 2019)

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


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## danbob6 (Jul 5, 2019)

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.


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


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## tirediron (Jul 5, 2019)

Parker219 said:


> 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....  



vintagesnaps said:


> 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.



Derrel said:


> 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.



CherylL said:


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


Thank-you Cheryl.



danbob6 said:


> 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.


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## Derrel (Jul 5, 2019)

"..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.


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## Parker219 (Jul 5, 2019)

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.


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## tirediron (Jul 6, 2019)

Parker219 said:


> 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...


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 6, 2019)

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.


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## Parker219 (Jul 6, 2019)

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.


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## tirediron (Jul 6, 2019)

Parker219 said:


> 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.


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## dennybeall (Jul 10, 2019)

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?)


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## tirediron (Jul 10, 2019)

dennybeall said:


> 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.


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## Derrel (Jul 10, 2019)

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


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## oldhippy (Jul 10, 2019)

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


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## tirediron (Jul 10, 2019)

Derrel said:


> 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!



oldhippy said:


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


Thanks, Ed!


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## smoke665 (Jul 10, 2019)

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


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