# First wedding.  35 photos - If you enter, please critique :)



## keith204 (Oct 27, 2008)

On Friday at 3pm, somebody asked "hey wanna shoot a wedding tomorrow?"  Having no experience, I accepted the offer to do it for free, for the experience.  I was supposed to be the second photographer, but the main photographer didn't do a whole lot, so I ended up playing a bigger role than intended.  Oh well, it was fun.  Please give some critiques so I can do this better in the future.

If you tell me "it looks good" you'd better tell why it looks good.  Same goes if you hate it.  Been too much "it looks good" crap going on around here lately.

I started by following the bride around while she got her hair and makeup done.  Then, the rest is pretty normal - the ceremony and reception.  I'll try to post some that I like and some that I don't.  It'll be hard selecting a good grab out of 500 shots, so I'll try to split up the groups.  

*Out with the Bride*
Didn't do much post processing on these...she worked well with the camera.

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*The Ceremony & Group shots - my biggest challenge - *please* critique!*
I tried to use a little post-processing to help what was a somewhat unexhilerating room, but would like advice on post processing these, and taking them.

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20. haha





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22. had a hard time getting creative by this point.






*In the little side-room I rigged with alienbees and paper:*

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32. A guy I work with, this was his "getting too grown up" 13-year old daughter.  





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Sorry for so many photos, it was hard to get a good mix for opinions from such a large event.  Let me know what you like, and what you don't.


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## OnlyAGlimmer (Oct 27, 2008)

not much time here but the ring shot!!!  AWESOME idea!  the only thing that would have made it "better" would have been to use the love chapter as the background. 

love #28.. the composition of the picture and it's just a pretty shot in general!

don't like #29.. it's just such a weird idea to me to put a bouquet on someone's dress on the ground (I know it's a common pose though so other people must like it)

#1 is just adorable


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## Sweetsomedays (Oct 27, 2008)

That ring shot is fantastic! 

I love your light work for the portraits. There are a couple blown area's in a few but really over all I think you did great. I like all the variety you have


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## Sweetsomedays (Oct 27, 2008)

Oh, whats your light set up for 29??


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## keith204 (Oct 27, 2008)

OnlyAGlimmer said:


> not much time here but the ring shot!!!  AWESOME idea!  the only thing that would have made it "better" would have been to use the love chapter as the background.
> 
> love #28.. the composition of the picture and it's just a pretty shot in general!
> 
> ...



Well, surprisingly enough, none of the Bibles I could find around the church had 1 Corinthians 13 near the fold, so I settled for 1 Corinthians.  Great point though.  

Thanks about #28.  That shot was very flattering for her.  And for #29, it's good to know some people don't like it.  My wedding photographer did that for a few shots of my wife and we liked it.  



Sweetsomedays said:


> That ring shot is fantastic!
> 
> I love your light work for the portraits. There are a couple blown area's in a few but really over all I think you did great. I like all the variety you have



Good point - I've really gotta watch out for blown out areas, especially with the white dress.  Usually I can correct it pretty well in post-processing since I shoot RAW, but often I pay more attention to faces than dresses.



Sweetsomedays said:


> Oh, whats your light set up for 29??



Surprisingly, #29 wasn't edited at all - the light setup worked pretty well.  I have 2 Alienbee B800s.  One on the left has a Paul C Buff Large softbox, and the one on the right (Bride's face) has a white wescott 43" umbrella, and I am shooting through it.  For this shot, I cranked up the umbrella's power a bit.


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## DRoberts (Oct 27, 2008)

Wow Keith, from the dirt track to the church.
#26 The flower girl, is by far my fav...excellent pose, capture and technical aspects.
Good job overall, nicely done.


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## Village Idiot (Oct 28, 2008)

White Balance on the ceremony shots looks a little warm. The rest are pretty good though.


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## iflynething (Oct 28, 2008)

And you were going to be the SECOND shooter. You BETTER no do that EVER EVER EVER again!

I'll point out my critiques.

1) Great color. i like how it really stands out from the background.

6) That is a REALLY weird looking shot and her face isn't happy looking. I wish she was smiling!

8) Nice. Skin tones look great but I wish you were more in front of her to get the look on her eyes more.

11) Great capture because of the look on the brides face. Crop out the guy on the left. I don't like the ear there.

12) Assuming the dress was supposed to be white (or a shade there of) it looks a little yellow. Could use brightening up too.

13) Too underexposed. Were you trying to capture the minister talking or what?

14) Good in black in white (from not even seeing it in color). First thing I notice is the preacher holding the ring, which I like in this shot. Could be brighter, though.

16) Nice. Good angle. I think its a little weird to have dead straight on shots of the wedding singer. You cut off her pinky finger. (Sorry, but I find the small things to critique about pictures)

19) The expressions on everyone's faces are priceless. Looks really really red though.

20-22) Great lighting. I have nothing to say bad about these. Colors look great. Sharp image.

23) The hangar!! I wish it wasn't there. Great lighting on this one though, but that hangar really bugs me. I guess it had to have been hung up somehow. I would suggest using a wire hangar so it's not AS visible and could even be cloned out

25) My favorite one. If I were the bride and groom, a large print of this would be up on my wall. The hearts created by the rings are great. I would like to know why it's on Corinthians?

32) Great pose and look on her face. 

Great job. I expect you to be paid for you work next time, because these are awesome

~Michael~


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## keith204 (Oct 28, 2008)

iflynething said:


> And you were going to be the SECOND shooter. You BETTER no do that EVER EVER EVER again!
> 
> I'll point out my critiques.
> 
> ...



It's on Corinthians, since 1 Corinthians 13 is the "love" chapter... "Love is patient, love is kind, does not envy, does not boast....."  None of the Bibles that I could find around there had the chapter 13 near the center, so I opted for the head of the chapter. 

Also, I'm kicking myself for not getting the bride's ring straight...

Thanks for the input, it is great advice, all accurate, and I will work on these things for sure.  A lot of these are "doh!" mishaps, so I'll have to take more time and pay more attention to detail in the future.  Thanks again.


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## a_spaceman (Oct 29, 2008)

absolutely like the use of light in the portraits.
during the ceremony as a second photographer i would have focused much more on details: facial expressions, hand positions etc, anything that could reveal the emotions around the room. but as you pointed out the situation got weird with the main photographer it might have been a good idea to cover the whole thing more overally 

oh! and i would have removed the body in number 20!


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## clbowie (Oct 29, 2008)

I too love the ring shot!  Why hasn't anyone asked what's up w/ the flower girl in #20?  :lmao:


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## NateWagner (Oct 29, 2008)

I like the ring shot... I have been meaning to try that one ever since I saw it on another forum... nicely used though. 

As has already been mentioned I agree with the others that the white balance is a bit off with the ceremony shots (in my opinion the best ones are the B&W) particularly 13 and 17...

I like 14 and 15 a lot better than 18, because the church just isn't that pretty, and getting rid of the distracting stuff like the chairs, doors, etc. helps the focus be on the bride and groom. 

I also think the background is what's killing the portraits with the family and flower girls etc. for me. 

Also, is it just me or are 30 and 31 identical?

overall,I would say good job.


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## a_spaceman (Oct 29, 2008)

NateWagner said:


> Also, is it just me or are 30 and 31 identical?
> 
> overall,I would say good job.


what i too thought but after a second look 31 looks brighter to me.
either the same shoot took at different settings or the same photo pre and post edit.


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## NateWagner (Oct 29, 2008)

yeah... I dunno, I think he just accidentally posted them both, I know I've done that before. because I can't really make out a difference...


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## a_spaceman (Oct 29, 2008)

yes, likely to be accidental.
but now it'll be just interesting to know what's the difference


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## keith204 (Oct 29, 2008)

NateWagner said:


> I like the ring shot... I have been meaning to try that one ever since I saw it on another forum... nicely used though.
> 
> As has already been mentioned I agree with the others that the white balance is a bit off with the ceremony shots (in my opinion the best ones are the B&W) particularly 13 and 17...
> 
> ...





a_spaceman said:


> what i too thought but after a second look 31 looks brighter to me.
> either the same shoot took at different settings or the same photo pre and post edit.





NateWagner said:


> yeah... I dunno, I think he just accidentally posted them both, I know I've done that before. because I can't really make out a difference...





a_spaceman said:


> yes, likely to be accidental.
> but now it'll be just interesting to know what's the difference



Whoops   Yep that was an accident.   Also, I am glad you guys caught the flower girl shot.  Hahaha that turned out to be one of my favorites.


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## v8toytruck (Oct 29, 2008)

First wedding..no experience...you did fantastic

I've seen people pay thousands for much worse

Last photo looks a little weird with the kid appearing out of no where


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## keith204 (Oct 30, 2008)

v8toytruck said:


> First wedding..no experience...you did fantastic
> 
> I've seen people pay thousands for much worse
> 
> Last photo looks a little weird with the kid appearing out of no where



Yeah that pic worked very well for the situation.  The kid was often hiding from the camera and was pretty shy.  The dad and sister were the outgoing ones.


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## pm63 (Oct 30, 2008)

I'm no wedding photographer, but the ring shot is amazing. Very nice lighting on all of them, and amazing for your first time.


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## TWoods450 (Nov 12, 2008)

I'm not pro, but they all look amazing I LOVE #25 though, that is pure genius!


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