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Archive 2014 · A Bad Suit

  
 
ricardovaste
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A Bad Suit


What do you do in such situations?

I mean, if someone has bought the suit and tried it on and knows how it fits then they are happy with it, right? I guess this is sort of like the question on the "over weight people" thread... is there much/anything you can do, or do you just accept that people are aware/happy and get on with it?

I think there are some things you could do... To give you some examples:

- Groom's cuff was like 5 inches off, no exaggeration. He had 5 inches of his shirt cuff showing out of his jacket, really odd. But he's bought it and is wearing it, would it be rude to suggest taking it off for the "shoot" ? (if he feels like it...)
- Other more minor things, where the jacket just doesn't fit too well and so doesn't flatter someone's physique. Take it off and roll up sleeves? ( Assuming his shirt fits... )

Do you have any such examples / experiences? How hands-on are you?



Sep 23, 2014 at 10:41 AM
Ian Ivey
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · A Bad Suit


This depends on how skilled you are at dealing with questions like this with sensitivity, grace, and humor. I suspect many of our members wouldn't say a word about it, fearing it would be taken personally, and in some cases, depending as much on the photographer as on the subject, it probably would.

I might ask whether the fit is intentional or whether it's just how things turned out (being careful not to denigrate the look in case the subject was partial to it, or in case it was all the subject could afford, etc.). I'd want to avoid causing needless self-consciousness about the issue. Offering options in terms of looks and poses is always useful. Offering fashion advice is only useful when there's a suitable opportunity to alter the fashion.



Sep 23, 2014 at 11:26 AM
rondphoto
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · A Bad Suit


I had a situation just like this. The groom was a fitness junkie and was in really good shape. Unfortunately, his suit wasn't. He wanted to show off his physique and thought a tight-fitting suit was the way to go. Same thing with the cuffs.....as soon as he moved, his sport coat was half-way up his arm. I had him take off his coat, but the dress shirt wasn't any better. It was so tight, that it didn't look flattering.

Being that I had very, very little time with the couple, I just did photos of him that were of the tighter headshot variety. I did do some full lengths of him, and reverted to having him lean into a wall with a hand in his pocket. For pics of the both of them, I positioned him with one hand behind the bride and the other in his pocket. As soon as he'd touch the bride or wrap his arms around her, I was dealing with 6" of sleeve.

In situations like that, you can't help a bad suit fitting and just have to work with what you have. I made a mention to him about alot of cuff showing and his response was "Well, I like it like that."



Sep 23, 2014 at 11:30 AM
brianclary
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · A Bad Suit


I'm the exact opposite, lol, and pay no attention to something like that, and here's an example of why. Recently I shot a wedding where the bride told me there was a groomsman meltdown, because one of the groomsmen couldn't afford what he was supposed to wear, and was depressingly bowing out of the wedding, and wouldn't accept $ from anyone. To fix everything, the groom knew he owned a dark blue suit, so all the groomsmen changed the plan so they'd be wearing dark blue suits instead of what they had originally planned. I kinda teared up when the bride was telling me the story, and was thinking what a shame it is that clothing and its perception can ruin moments, make people cry, create stress and go completely against the sentiment of the wedding day.

If there's a stain on a suit or dress, I fix it in PS. But if someone's suit or dress doesn't fit quite right, I smile and am just so glad that the person is wearing it is there, regardless of how their clothing fits. Stay positive, smile, and keep them happy.

Now some people approach weddings as more of a fashion shoot, and that's awesome for those markets and clients, but for me, it's all about the people, the smiles, and being there. I shoot it all, and show it all, and don't for a second consider mentioning the fit of their clothes, because my clients hire me to photograph them, not stress them out by pointing out something that they were or weren't aware of, and can't fix.

On a personal note...if I had an ill-fitting suit, and someone brought it up to me, it would make me feel HORRIBLE. I am not fashion forward, and not a rich person by any means, and it would make me feel cheap and stupid. If the photographer could pose me and everything WITHOUT mentioning it to me, great. But don't mention it to me on my wedding day, please, it's not something I can fix, and you would only be making me feel bad. I'd rather be blissfully happy, happy with myself, happy with my bride, than feeling self-conscious during every moment of my wedding because of something the photographer said. That's just me.



Sep 23, 2014 at 11:56 AM
ricardovaste
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · A Bad Suit


Ian Ivey wrote:
This depends on how skilled you are at dealing with questions like this with sensitivity, grace, and humor. I suspect many of our members wouldn't say a word about it, fearing it would be taken personally, and in some cases, depending as much on the photographer as on the subject, it probably would.

I might ask whether the fit is intentional or whether it's just how things turned out (being careful not to denigrate the look in case the subject was partial to it, or in case it was all the subject could afford, etc.). I'd want to avoid causing
...Show more

Thanks Ian, I agree on sensitivity, grace and humour. Wanting someone to feel self-conscious is obviously the exact opposite of what any of us want - but making people look good, well, that's just expected.

rondphoto wrote:
I had a situation just like this. The groom was a fitness junkie and was in really good shape. Unfortunately, his suit wasn't. He wanted to show off his physique and thought a tight-fitting suit was the way to go. Same thing with the cuffs.....as soon as he moved, his sport coat was half-way up his arm. I had him take off his coat, but the dress shirt wasn't any better. It was so tight, that it didn't look flattering.

Being that I had very, very little time with the couple, I just did photos of him that were of
...Show more

Thanks Ron, sounds sort of a similar situation. There are lots of different body types of course, and how you wear something like this can disguise your more sensitive areas or draw attention to them. Or just make you look a bit odd.

L-O-L at him "liking" the 6" of cuff :o)

brianclary wrote:
I'm the exact opposite, lol, and pay no attention to something like that, and here's an example of why. Recently I shot a wedding where the bride told me there was a groomsman meltdown, because one of the groomsmen couldn't afford what he was supposed to wear, and was depressingly bowing out of the wedding, and wouldn't accept $ from anyone. To fix everything, the groom knew he owned a dark blue suit, so all the groomsmen changed the plan so they'd be wearing dark blue suits instead of what they had originally planned. I kinda teared up when the
...Show more

Thanks Brian. You may have taken this the wrong way though. I am 100% NOT saying you should bring attention to something and make someone feel terrible... on their wedding day or in any situation. That is just basic personal skills, I am not a sociopath believe it or not . What I am saying is there is a grey area, where you can suggest something, like removing a jacket, or obscuring an odd fit, that will actually make someone look better.

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, but a bit unfair of you to skew this out of proportion here.

And for what it's worth, I am also not speaking about being fashion forward either . I don't usually list all the different things I'm not speaking about in order to cover my behind though... hopefully everyone else will get what I'm on about here.



Sep 23, 2014 at 02:50 PM
sherijohnson
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · A Bad Suit


sometimes clothes are not perfect, but many times there is nothing that can be done, so we just have to do our jobs and make the best of it. I was thinking about when the girls are getting dressed and one girl pulls out her bridesmaid dress that is all wrinkly because she obviously packed it in her luggage to travel to the wedding and didn't think to have it de-wrinkled and of course it is last minute and there is no time to fix it, stuff like that just looks horrendous when everyone else has wrinkle free clothes. I don't say anything.... let them deal with stuff if they need to, but I don't want to make anyone feel bad about their clothes.


Sep 24, 2014 at 06:32 AM
glort
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · A Bad Suit



I know beans about fashion and when I try to correct something at home with my kids or even friends, I'm usualy laughed at and told that's the fashion these days and told to get with the times.
I have seen lots of clothing that to me looks so bad it has to be fashion because no one in their right minds could wear something that obviously bad.
And that's about it. 9 times out of 10 I assume that it's the way its supposed to be and don't risk embarrasing myself saying something.

The one thing I am a stickler for is guys doing their ties up right. I have undone so many ties and re done them it isn't funny. Sometimes I feel like i'm being a bit gay fussing around but I have to say I have always got thank yous from the people I have fussed over and generally a comment to the fact they never wear ties so didn't really have a clue what they were doing with them.
A lot of the time they just don't have them up tight enough so I fix that and tell them they can wear it round their knees for all I care when I'm not taking pics but when I am please make sure it's right without a 2 inch gap to their collar.

As to the rest, If they are wearing it like that and other people can see it as well and haven't said anything, I just assume it's the fashion and shoot what's in front of me.

For my wedding I had my suit Tailor made by a very exclusive tailor. He was my best man's Dad but the materials still cost a bomb. Still, I paid like a quarter of what I knew he charged other people. His wife made me bring the shirt I was wearing over as well and try that on then she literally ripped all the buttons off and moved them so the thing did up right for my shape.... which was stick like back then.... wish it was now!

I had the suit altered some time back to fit my present shape as my mates Dad knew what would happen so allowed for it. The suit still looks great 20+ years later and I still get comments due to the classic style and quality of the material.
When I wear that, I know I'm not going to be underdressed no matter where I go.



Sep 24, 2014 at 11:32 AM
glort
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · A Bad Suit


sherijohnson wrote:
I was thinking about when the girls are getting dressed and one girl pulls out her bridesmaid dress that is all wrinkly because she obviously packed it in her luggage to travel to the wedding and didn't think to have it de-wrinkled and of course it is last minute and there is no time to fix it, stuff like that just looks horrendous when everyone else has wrinkle free clothes.


Reminds me of the wedding I just did on Monday.
The girls were wearing I think what you call halterneck dresses. Looped round the back of the neck and left bare shoulders. One of the well endowed girls had these bright pink bra straps. I was like WTF

Even as a bloke I knew that was just a shocker. I hate seeing any bra straps at all but with a lime green dress, hot pink bra straps couldn't have been worse. My daughter was at the wedding so I consulted her and she went and had a chat to the girl but there was nothing that could be done. She had forgot all about the dresses and only had that bra with her. She couldn't wear the dress without one and had already tried pinning it to the dress straps but that only made the dress look stupid as well and was putting a strain on things that could have meant calamity.

So, every pic of this girl the straps are there like Hi vis rescue beacons or something.
I WON"T be retouching them all out. I might for the main pics but I'm not doing them all. I hate doing straps, they can be so much harder than you would think and often makes the overall look worse.

That was probably the biggest fashion Pho par I have seen in a long time.




Sep 24, 2014 at 11:43 AM





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