# First wedding, please C & C



## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

I took these for my sister in law's wedding, it was my first gig as an official wedding photographer lol. I hope I did okay.

Okay guys I disappeared for a while. I was spending every possible moment outside of work(my paying job) processing the images. 

After all was said and done I shot for 16 hours non stop. I captured 800 images and kept 500. 


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www.ernestochavezphoto.com
What do you guys think?


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## Jaemie (Jun 19, 2012)

I would not include these in a professional portfolio. 

#1: On-camera flash? Whatever you used, it's too harsh.

#2: Table is tilted. Signature is too big (and an inconsistently-sized distraction throughout the set).

#3: meh...  looks painful

#4: Nice color contrast. Signature ruins it.

#5: Dress appears overexposed, funny angle.

#6: Can't see any faces

#7: Tilted. Man appears quite disturbed..

#8: Wow - she has three hands. And someone in background.

#9: Kinda cute. Head cut off, though..

#10: meh..  I know it's hard to control backgrounds, but the switches and other people are a distraction. Maybe crop?

#11: Cute, but tilted.

#12: Tree directly behind subject. If this was staged, you could have controlled the background (which is also blown out).

#13: Who died?

I'll stop there.


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## pisicel (Jun 19, 2012)

for your first wedding these look awesome.
Not anybody can do it so good.
Professionally considered, they look like a starter's imitations. But you have lots of potential.


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## rexbobcat (Jun 19, 2012)

...selective...color...


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## Jaemie (Jun 19, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> ...selective...color...



shhhh....  They'll hear you!


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## jowensphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

Holy photobomb, Batman!

Not the worst "first wedding," but you have a lot of room for improvement.

#2- Did you bump up the red channel in this? The napkins seem unnaturally bright.

#4 - Cute idea, but my eye goes to the bright tiles in the background. Also, what ever the water is falling off of is an eyesore; a different angle or pano would have fixed this.

#5 - not the typical dress shot, think it would have worked better with the top of the dress on the arm of the couch. Less angle too.

#9- Pretty shot of the bride, needs framing work. What shutter speed were you shooting at? There's a blur around her hand.

It looks like you were having a lot of technical issues and tried to save these in post. The best use of selective color is almost always in product photography; I can't say I've ever seen it in a wedding album.

If you keep shooting and practicing, you'll look back on this in a few years and realize how far you've come.


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## The_Traveler (Jun 19, 2012)

#18 what is interesting about the back of his head?

these ae so many styles that they don't fit together. Why not pick one or even two (just not the selective color)?


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## jaomul (Jun 19, 2012)

Some nice shots there. I would imagine the couple being happy enough. It is great that others can point out ways to improve. A point to note though is from talking to a few ladies about their wedding photos, most had asked for some kind of selective colouring on some photo. I am not a major fan of it but done subtly it can be nice. I think for pro photographers to be so down on it is a little bit of a lemmings attitude because a lot of the non photographer public seem to like it.


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## Haya.H (Jun 19, 2012)

I cant get past your post proccessing. It takes away SO much from the actual image. Sometimes less is more. But on the other hand for your first wedding these arent bad at all.


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## Robin Usagani (Jun 19, 2012)

Yeah.. sorry man.. not digging it... even with different processing.  Most of your shots are too tight.  You are not telling a story.


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## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

The couple loved them and so did the rest of the inlaws. I'm not entirely happy with all of my results, but I did better than the photography student that did their engagement shoot. I offered to do their wedding free because said student was going to charge a lot for worse results than mine.

I used a 550d, a 50 dollar bower flash, an old laptop, and no fast glass. I could have rented some equipment but it wasn't a paying gig lol. I did it for the experience.

I was having issues with brightness because of my laptop screen. I was relying heavily on the histogram.

I appreciate everyone's input, I really want to do better. I'm thinking of re-processing everything.

sent from mobile


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## fjrabon (Jun 19, 2012)

Almost everything is tilted.  Some seem to be purposefully tilted, which I guess is an artistic choice, but I personally don't like it.  However several seem to be 'accidentally tilted' to the point of making the viewer feel slightly uneasy.  

You have the exact opposite problem of most people starting out, most of these pictures are way too tight.  

Usually brides like for their albums to have a consistent style.  You bounced from black and white photojournalistic, to selective color, to traditional color constantly.  A lot of the images worked okay by themselves, but taken as a whole it seems a bit disjointed.  You even mixed sepia and monochrome, which should pretty much never happen in the same set unless you have a very good reason for it.  

You need a stronger diffuser, or umbrella, or something.  Probably just need to turn your flash strength down a few notches.  Most of your lighting was way too harsh.  

That all being said, I think you have a pretty good eye for 'the right moment' which is the most important thing.


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## Jaemie (Jun 19, 2012)

jaomul said:


> A point to note though is from talking to a few ladies about their wedding photos, most had asked for some kind of selective colouring on some photo. I am not a major fan of it but done subtly it can be nice. I think for pro photographers to be so down on it is a little bit of a lemmings attitude because a lot of the non photographer public seem to like it.



That non-photographers might like selective coloring, and/or that clients might ask for or expect it, does not make it any less of a weak photographic gimmick and is a poor reason to indulge in its practice. In many ways, selective coloring is to photography what the McMansion is to architecture; both are rather tasteless and lacking in artistic merit, yet persist at the fancy of a pedestrian market. Photographers can be, indeed should be, more proactive in educating their clients and steering them towards photographic themes that won't appear dated or cheap when viewed in future years.


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## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

Jaemie said:


> jaomul said:
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> > A point to note though is from talking to a few ladies about their wedding photos, most had asked for some kind of selective colouring on some photo. I am not a major fan of it but done subtly it can be nice. I think for pro photographers to be so down on it is a little bit of a lemmings attitude because a lot of the non photographer public seem to like it.
> ...


 
If an architect decided to get on the proverbial high horse about what he/she is willing to do for the client he/she would be a very poor architect. I may have some learning to do about wedding photography, but I know that being a photo snob won't get me any clients. At the end of the day, your client pays your bills! 

sent from mobile


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## davisphotos (Jun 19, 2012)

I have never had a client ask for selective color. And I recently met with a couple that mentioned that their photographer for their e-session gave them every photo in color, B&W and sepia. I politely but firmly explained that I will convert some photos to B&W when it is appropriate for the image, but that I don't deliver multiple versions of images.

These images are all over the place, bad flash technique, strange crops, crazy post processing, a number of blurry and out of focus images. For 16 hours of shooting, 800 images doesn't seem like very much to shoot. I will typically take over 2000 photos in an 8 hour wedding. I'm not really advocating a spray and pray approach, but shooting more will allow you to have more images to choose from and give you a better chance of capturing the right moment.


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## Jaemie (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> If an architect decided to get on the proverbial high horse about what he/she is willing to do for the client he/she would be a very poor architect. I may have some learning to do about wedding photography, but I know that being a photo snob won't get me any clients. At the end of the day, your client pays your bills!
> 
> sent from mobile



It has nothing to do with snobbery and everything to do with being a professional. Your client is relying on you to guide him/her to what works and to avoid what does not. The role is much more than just taking technically brilliant photos. The client is not paying you to simply follow orders and do A, B, and C. As mentioned above, it's about using your skill and knowledge and artistry to tell a story, and in the process you have a professional obligation to steer your client towards good photography.


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## OrionsByte (Jun 19, 2012)

If I were you I would definitely make a second pass at these with a less aggressive processing strategy.  I'm not, nor will I ever be, a wedding photographer, but it seems to me that this is one situation where you definitely don't want your photography to distract from the subject - do you know what I mean?  

There are times when, as a photographer, your artistic vision supersedes the subject matter, and suddenly an otherwise boring shot of a landmark or whatever that thousands of people have taken shots of turns in to something that stands out and gets people's attention.  For a wedding though, you're there to record an event.  Yes, your artistic vision and experience with other subjects will influence the shots you take and the direction your processing goes, but the bride and groom aren't going to open their wedding album in 20  years to admire your photography - they want to remember the day.  I have certainly seen some amazing artistically shot weddings, but those are from seasoned pros, and their talent enhances the record rather than getting in the way.

Just my opinion.  If these were my wedding photos, I would feel like the photographer took artistic license with my memories, and that would make me a little sad.  They're certainly not the worst I've seen though, and I do think they're salvageable with less heavy-handed processing.


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## rexbobcat (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> Jaemie said:
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But then without the architect the client doesn't have a structure built especially if they're under contract. How is refusing to do something because it looks bad getting on a high horse? I can almost promise you that the consensus on this forum is that clients should not pick their own poses for example, and in the same way they should not tell you what kind of style you should process in.

If your photos are good, then there's no need to be a snob. The client will hire you for the photos on your portfolio, not to squish you into their little box of what they think is a good photograph. Some people just aren't to that point yet.


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## BlueMeanieTSi (Jun 19, 2012)

Jaemie said:


> jaomul said:
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> > steering them towards photographic themes that won't appear dated or cheap when viewed in future years.
> ...


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## o hey tyler (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> *The couple loved them and so did the rest of the inlaws.* I'm not entirely happy with all of my results, but I did better than the photography student that did their engagement shoot.



The question is, do you want to consistently live up to the expectations of the bride, groom, and inlaws? Or do you want to live up to the expectations of seasoned photographers so that you can improve your craft? 

I would suggest the latter.


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## fjrabon (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> Jaemie said:
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well, not really.  True architects uphold their brand, and their work benefits for it.  Frank Lloyd Wright never suffered for lack of work, and he not only didn't listen to the clients wishes as to the house, but he in fact insisted on exactly what furniture should be in the rooms.  You don't have to go to that extreme, but you should develop your style and clients who like your style will gravitate towards you.  I'm not particularly saying anything about selective coloring here, but I will say that if you did this just because that's what the client wanted, you never know how many future clients will see that work and think "man, that's tacky, I'll never hire THAT guy."  

Additionally, clients who are willing to pay more for your services are those that would appreciate YOUR artistic vision.  That is, after all, what they're paying you for.  The types of clients that want you to tailor to their tastes are the clients who view you as 'the guy who owns the camera and pushes the button' and those clients tend to bicker about every little charge, and think you're wildly overpayed.


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## Jaemie (Jun 19, 2012)

BlueMeanieTSi said:


> Jaemie said:
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## BlueMeanieTSi (Jun 19, 2012)

80's hair styles come full circle in 2045.


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## Designer (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> I offered to do their wedding free because said student was going to charge a lot for worse results than mine.



I know you are generous and helpful, Ernesto, but you need to be paid for this.  As you said, the other photog was going to do much worse.


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## Designer (Jun 19, 2012)

Jaemie said:


> ecphoto said:
> 
> 
> > If an architect decided to get on the proverbial high horse about what he/she is willing to do for the client he/she would be a very poor architect. I may have some learning to do about wedding photography, but I know that being a photo snob won't get me any clients. At the end of the day, your client pays your bills!
> ...



O.K., that's two in one thread!  

I think the world would suffer a lot less mediocre and downright awful "art" if artists would strive to educate people more instead of simply being snobbish bores and being offended.

Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt the general populace one bit to become somewhat educated about art.


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## o hey tyler (Jun 19, 2012)

Designer said:


> ecphoto said:
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> > I offered to do their wedding free because said student was going to charge a lot for worse results than mine.
> ...



I don't agree with this. I do not think that Ernesto should be charging at this point in their photographic journey. I think it's great to build experience by shooting events for free, and he won't have to worry about any potential legal repercussions due to money being exchanged. It's happened before to amateurs, and seemingly never ends well.


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## mishele (Jun 19, 2012)

BlueMeanieTSi said:


> 80's hair styles come full circle in 2045.



Don't laugh....neon is in now!!!


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## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

o hey tyler said:


> ecphoto said:
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> > *The couple loved them and so did the rest of the inlaws.* I'm not entirely happy with all of my results, but I did better than the photography student that did their engagement shoot.
> ...




Of course I want the latter Tyler, I want to become a better photographer. If I didn't want to do better I would not have put my self out here like this.


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## Infidel (Jun 19, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> o hey tyler said:
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You received a lot of feedback here, some rather blunt. Kudos for not getting offended. Now, extract some utility from this experience and improve you skills. Let's end this thread on a high note for a change.


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## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

Designer said:


> ecphoto said:
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> > I offered to do their wedding free because said student was going to charge a lot for worse results than mine.
> ...



Well I did it for free because they are broke and I know how that goes, my wife and I are newly weds as well. I was compelled to do it when I saw how bad their engagement pictures turned out lol, not that I have much room to talk.


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## ecphoto (Jun 19, 2012)

o hey  tyler said:


> Designer said:
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You bring up a valuable point, I think I'll follow your advice.



Infidel said:


> ecphoto said:
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I think that's a great idea, lets do that.

On another note, my father in law was so appreciative that he cut me a check for $250 yesterday to show his gratitude. I was able to go upgrade from my cheap 50$ ebay flash to a 430ex II


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## o hey tyler (Jun 20, 2012)

ecphoto said:


> o hey  tyler said:
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Good choice! You'll like the 430EXII. I have a couple and they serve me well.


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## DiskoJoe (Jun 20, 2012)

I dont think there is really anything else to be said. Lots of good advice. Now go use it.


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## ecphoto (Jun 23, 2012)

I cleared all the adjustments in lightroom and started from scratch. I got a lot of helpful advice here 

sent from mobile


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## ListerPhotographic (Aug 6, 2012)

Well done for your first wedding! I'm just in the same boat myself! Stressful isn't it? Hah!

Personally I'm not too keen on the 'selective colour' shots, for me I'd choose one colour to highlight and only one. 

I'd also look at working with ambient light and flash together, even getting a speedlight/off camera flash - it's a pain to start with, but you can get some beautiful results with a bit of research and trial/error.

Composition wise, again needs work, but it comes with time and experience. I studied design for a few years, and always have this natural 'Golden Section' grid built into how I compose shots. Maybe that will help you (see below image).




But overall be proud of them, work on certain aspects and make the next set better!


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Aug 6, 2012)

Holy $%@^! A "first wedding thread" that didn't end in a train wreck. I'm proud of you TPF and OP!


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## geaclaesson (Aug 6, 2012)

Kudos for taking the criticism, really.


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