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Archive 2014 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL

  
 
JakeB.
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


It's been a hot minute since I've posted anything to FM, or any forum for that matter. Even my blog and FB page has been seriously neglected. But, I suppose that means I have quite a bit sitting around waiting to be posted.

Laura and Colton were a really great couple; young, beautiful, and in love. We started the day at the home Laura grew up in, bounced to the church in the early afternoon and then headed to the Ritz Carlton for a pretty laid back reception.

1.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/15203666535_fab40309d9_b.jpg

2.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3872/15017098098_1eaf57ba71_b.jpg

3.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5552/15203291632_bea9b36092_b.jpg

4.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/15203665635_e1be88d337_b.jpg

5.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3857/15180643176_c45075dbbc_b.jpg

6.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5594/15017097168_526f5af7a9_b.jpg

7.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3892/15016875929_ae82f4b6e8_b.jpg

8.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3904/15016987060_d48e0f7830_b.jpg

9.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5573/15203288192_40c1685ce0_b.jpg

10.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/15203661675_ba5205bc44_b.jpg

11.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/15203287222_0af245be40_b.jpg

12.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3892/15203286992_7f97ff279a_b.jpg

13.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/15200620531_fcdbf15bc9_b.jpg

14.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5581/15180638546_120a1830c0_b.jpg

15.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/15180636826_07cdbd62c6_b.jpg

There are 10 others on the blog, and some more info on the day for anyone interested.
www.Mavella.com/blog/

Please feel free to C&C if you'd like. I don't think this is my best work, I've actually been a bit of a rut lately, but I figured posting may help jar me out of that.
Thanks for taking a look!



Sep 11, 2014 at 08:54 PM
hardlyboring
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


Straight forward and nicely done.
I don't really have much to offer other than I tend to not like BW and color side by side. The last shot is ok but the kiss shot is kinda weird because they kiss and then bam its like a portrait of them right there.

You said you have been in a bit of a rut. Care to elaborate. Sometimes (at least for me) it helps just to talk through it to see it from different angles etc.



Sep 11, 2014 at 09:22 PM
sherijohnson
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


I like everything you posted in this set, the only thing I might change would be to soften her skin a little in the first one to smooth it out just a little bit. Thank you for stopping by


Sep 11, 2014 at 09:28 PM
JakeB.
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


hardlyboring wrote:
Straight forward and nicely done.
I don't really have much to offer other than I tend to not like BW and color side by side. The last shot is ok but the kiss shot is kinda weird because they kiss and then bam its like a portrait of them right there.

You said you have been in a bit of a rut. Care to elaborate. Sometimes (at least for me) it helps just to talk through it to see it from different angles etc.


I see what you mean with the presentation, I'll keep it in mind for the future.

I suppose my rut is mostly a lack of feeling creative... I feel like my work is solid, but not inspired or inspiring.
Unfortunately booking weddings has been difficult for me the last couple years. I've only shot 4 of my own and maybe 5 as a second shooter this year and there's been pretty big gaps of not shooting them at all. The vast majority of my photography this year has been small/informal corporate events and real estate/lifestyle. It's great money for me and pretty easy work, but again not something that inspires me.


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sherijohnson wrote:
I like everything you posted in this set, the only thing I might change would be to soften her skin a little in the first one to smooth it out just a little bit. Thank you for stopping by


I agree that some skin work could be done there. Thanks a lot for commenting.



Sep 11, 2014 at 10:04 PM
dhp_sf
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


I think it's hard to evolve your craft if you don't do it much. I don't believe there's a fast track to creativity and unfortunately it's just one of those things you have to just invest a lot of time into working through. Shooting more often whether it's paid work or personal work is the only way to evolve.

You do seem to have a really solid grasp on setting people up and you're clearly a good photographer. Do you find yourself getting the shot and then just moving on to something else? Have you done any experimentation as you shoot to see if there's other ways to photograph a given scene? What is your process like throughout the day?



Sep 11, 2014 at 10:19 PM
JakeB.
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


dhp_sf wrote:
I think it's hard to evolve your craft if you don't do it much. I don't believe there's a fast track to creativity and unfortunately it's just one of those things you have to just invest a lot of time into working through. Shooting more often whether it's paid work or personal work is the only way to evolve.


I totally agree, it's the sole reason I've been doing the second shooting... I don't really need the cash flow from that, but I definitely wanted more opportunities to work on my craft.
I could probably second shoot some more, but my family time is pretty valuable right now too. Gotta kind the right balance, nah mean?

dhp_sf wrote:
You do seem to have a really solid grasp on setting people up and you're clearly a good photographer. Do you find yourself getting the shot and then just moving on to something else? Have you done any experimentation as you shoot to see if there's other ways to photograph a given scene? What is your process like throughout the day?


Thanks for that. You bring up a great point, and it reminds me of an art class I took that forced each week to build upon the previous week's projects. I don't ever shoot a lot... through the PJ parts of my day, I tend to wait for the moments. I probably do as much waiting as I do shooting. But, when I feel like I've gotten what I want, I do tend to quickly move on to my next idea.



Sep 11, 2014 at 10:40 PM
dhp_sf
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


JakeB. wrote:
Thanks for that. You bring up a great point, and it reminds me of an art class I took that forced each week to build upon the previous week's projects. I don't ever shoot a lot... through the PJ parts of my day, I tend to wait for the moments. I probably do as much waiting as I do shooting. But, when I feel like I've gotten what I want, I do tend to quickly move on to my next idea.


So here's an opportunity for you to take advantage of your fundamental abilities to get a good shot early. You know you got it, so consider spending a little more time seeing if you can do something new or different. Obviously new or different doesn't necessarily equate to better, but if you're not satisfied with what you're getting, it makes sense to do something that you don't normally do...what's that saying about you can't expect different results by doing the same thing every time?



Sep 11, 2014 at 10:44 PM
rondphoto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


Did you shoot all these yourself? They don't look consistent to me. I'm drawn to her hair in #1. Would have been stronger if you moved around to your left for more of the face. you can barely tell she's getting makeup done. Not much going on in #3. #6b you had the right idea, but her right shoulder needed to come around more while she shifted her weight


Sep 12, 2014 at 12:23 AM
BigIronCruiser
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


The ring shot (#14) is very well done.

7B & 9 - why are they off center?

11 - Grooms fingers coming around brides waist look weird. Same in #15 with the brides fingers showing around his neck.

This was a good looking bride with a nice figure that was accentuated by her dress. Hope you got more photos of her for your portfolio.



Sep 12, 2014 at 09:20 AM
JakeB.
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


dhp_sf wrote:
So here's an opportunity for you to take advantage of your fundamental abilities to get a good shot early. You know you got it, so consider spending a little more time seeing if you can do something new or different. Obviously new or different doesn't necessarily equate to better, but if you're not satisfied with what you're getting, it makes sense to do something that you don't normally do...what's that saying about you can't expect different results by doing the same thing every time?


I'll try to force myself to do this over the next few weddings. Thanks again.

---------------------------------------------

rondphoto wrote:
Did you shoot all these yourself? They don't look consistent to me. I'm drawn to her hair in #1. Would have been stronger if you moved around to your left for more of the face. you can barely tell she's getting makeup done. Not much going on in #3. #6b you had the right idea, but her right shoulder needed to come around more while she shifted her weight


Yes, everything here are my shots. The only one that could have not been mine was the kiss shot during the ceremony, it's the only part of the day I had a second. But after checking back, that is mine too.

Thanks for the critiques.

---------------------------------------------

BigIronCruiser wrote:
The ring shot (#14) is very well done.

7B & 9 - why are they off center?

11 - Grooms fingers coming around brides waist look weird. Same in #15 with the brides fingers showing around his neck.

This was a good looking bride with a nice figure that was accentuated by her dress. Hope you got more photos of her for your portfolio.


For the off center shots... why not? I'm not trying to be defensive, but I do like portraits with the subject(s) off center, especially in landscape orientation.

Noted about the fingers. You're right about the bride, she was definitely a great model.

Thanks for the input!



Sep 12, 2014 at 09:41 AM
BigIronCruiser
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


No problem with off-center portraits. Having said that, the empty space is typically in the direction of the nose or chest. In #7, the bride has her head turned to camera right, and the groom's head is pointed straight at the camera. In what appears to be a desire to hide the pews, your empty space is opposite the direction of the brides nose/chest. Moving the bride & groom to the other side of the aisle with empty space to their right would have looked better IMO. One other nit is that the cross is stuck right in the crown of the brides head.

In the case of #9, what's the value of the empty space? The girls are in a straight line perpendicular to the camera, and they're looking right at you. There aren't any leading lines, so a viewers eyes may be distracted by the bright stuff in the background that would have been (mostly) hidden if the group had been centered.

#15 is off center, and I get it because you wanted to crop the brides dress.

No rights or wrongs, just food for thought.



Sep 12, 2014 at 11:08 AM
Prettym1k3
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


These are well done. Light, airy, and I'm sure they'll love them.

Make a run to Walmart, Kmart, Target or Bed Bath and Beyond. Buy a wooden hanger, at least for the bride's dress. It'll totally change your dress shots.



Sep 12, 2014 at 11:55 AM
JakeB.
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Laura & Colton - Sarasota, FL


BigIronCruiser wrote:
No problem with off-center portraits. Having said that, the empty space is typically in the direction of the nose or chest. In #7, the bride has her head turned to camera right, and the groom's head is pointed straight at the camera. In what appears to be a desire to hide the pews, your empty space is opposite the direction of the brides nose/chest. Moving the bride & groom to the other side of the aisle with empty space to their right would have looked better IMO. One other nit is that the cross is stuck right in the crown
...Show more

Word, I'll chew on it. Thanks again.

---------------------------------------------

Prettym1k3 wrote:
These are well done. Light, airy, and I'm sure they'll love them.

Make a run to Walmart, Kmart, Target or Bed Bath and Beyond. Buy a wooden hanger, at least for the bride's dress. It'll totally change your dress shots.


I've been meaning to do this for a while... I'll make sure it happens before the next wedding. Thanks.



Sep 12, 2014 at 12:27 PM





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