The bride from this wedding is one of my daughter's dance teachers, so I had a little advantage in personal knowledge. It made for a pretty fun party though. Constructive C&C always welcome.
Abstract shots during the bridal pre-ceremony/get-ready sessions are usually hit or miss in my book. With that being said, your 9 is definitely a hit! Without even reading your caption I got the sense of waiting/anticipation. On a side note, I don't know if it's my bright Macbook Pro screen or not but the picture does seem a little flat for my taste.
Was the blur in 19 intended? It works great!
24 is a great moment too! Your daughter has got some dance moves.
Good stuff Tony. Really like 1, 2, 17, 24, 27 (they look like they're having a blast), 32, & 33 for the wild factor The formal group shot is really nice, considering it's shot in low ambient. Only one I didn't like was 20 since most of the image is composed of the unfocused head, and her face is not revealed completely. Other than that, solid set as usual.
Hey Tony, great work as usual. #9 is very interesting in how it conveys the emotion. I wanted to comment on #17 though, thanks for posting a formal BTW. The lighting is great, however there is a bit of falloff on the right hand side. You didn't help matters by putting the darker-skinned gentleman on the side where the light is lower... this just makes the fall off effect look even more pronounced to the point where you almost lose him in the suit.
I made a similar mistake earlier this year when posing some bridesmaids outside, and had the darker-skinned one standing with her back to the sunshine. Just food for thought... I'd be lucky to remember that myself for next time
18, 22, 27 and 31 are my favourite, 20 & 28 don't work for me...
Thank you. #20 is one I like, but not sure about. I felt it had nice lines. My wife said she wanted to see the end of the nose - I think if that was the case, it wouldn't have the same lines anymore...
brandonwong wrote:
Abstract shots during the bridal pre-ceremony/get-ready sessions are usually hit or miss in my book. With that being said, your 9 is definitely a hit! Without even reading your caption I got the sense of waiting/anticipation. On a side note, I don't know if it's my bright Macbook Pro screen or not but the picture does seem a little flat for my taste.
Was the blur in 19 intended? It works great!
24 is a great moment too! Your daughter has got some dance moves.
I like abstracts anytime. #9 really does convey some anxiety doesn't it? I love it. I didn't push as much black into that image as I usually do - is that what makes it look flat?
- There no wide angle work here. The set here as a whole seems to lack a sense of atmosphere and context. Tightly cropped shots can deliver a lot of emotional impact, but there needs to be some variety.
- The abstract, detail type shots are nice.
- The completely out of focus shot (19) should have been deleted. If you *really* stretch it, maybe it can be viewed as artistic, but the overwhelming majority of the time it will just be viewed as a mistake.
- #2 seems awkward, #20 looks kind of cool, but doesnt belong in a wedding portfolio. The shot of the maid of honor laughing during the ceremony would have been great had her head not been partially blocked.
- The shot of the two girls kissing will win rave reviews amongst the male, 20 something crowd, but will likely be frowned upon by any future brides (and most certainly their parents). For posting on the forums, its fine, but I wouldnt include it in any portfolio.
- The formal shot could have really benefited from more ambient light. I know you said you were shooting in almost darkness, but maybe turning the lights down all the way and dragging the shutter a bit would have brought in some ambient?
Overall the shots are solid technically - no real complains. The ring shots and the dancing shots are nice, while the posed pictures seem a little weak. Overall I would say the set is almost there, but not quite.
I see we've been busy the last few weeks. Curious to see how your post~weding shoot with the dancer went. Link?
Ring shot is studness.
2, Man. I'm. In. Love. Aylessa Milano anyone?
The rest are classic Tony. Your very consistent bud. I'm convinced you could shoot a wedding with your eyes closed. What now? Add something to your list of wedding photo talents now that you've mastered what you do now. Suggestions? Not sure. Off camera stuff, textures maybe. Skies the limit with you Tone.
Sahid Limon wrote:
Good stuff Tony. Really like 1, 2, 17, 24, 27 (they look like they're having a blast), 32, & 33 for the wild factor The formal group shot is really nice, considering it's shot in low ambient. Only one I didn't like was 20 since most of the image is composed of the unfocused head, and her face is not revealed completely. Other than that, solid set as usual.
Thanks Sahid. On #20, I replied earlier that it may be a bit esoteric, but I liked it.
Andrew Welsh wrote:
Hey Tony, great work as usual. #9 is very interesting in how it conveys the emotion. I wanted to comment on #17 though, thanks for posting a formal BTW. The lighting is great, however there is a bit of falloff on the right hand side. You didn't help matters by putting the darker-skinned gentleman on the side where the light is lower... this just makes the fall off effect look even more pronounced to the point where you almost lose him in the suit.
I made a similar mistake earlier this year when posing some bridesmaids outside, and had the darker-skinned one standing with her back to the sunshine. Just food for thought... I'd be lucky to remember that myself for next time ...Show more →
Thanks on #9, the fingers really do the talking.
One the formal, that group ended up a little larger than I had expected. I pulled the light back some (one large softbox), but maybe not enough. I also did not give any thought whatsoever to the dark-skinned guy on the outside - he really wouldn't have fit in the middle of the image (at least by relationship). At the wedding with Sam, we did a large group shot with the 24mm and we ended up with the largest girl on the outside edge. Oops.
Marie-Louise wrote:
Well done. I like the comp in 14.
Thanks for sharing.
Marie-Louise
Thank you Marie-Louise, I think #14 is probably one of the most signature shots of the set.
This is another consistent set from you. It has the "Tony Schreiber look," which is a good thing. I agree with the previous poster that all of the shots feel very tightly composed, with few WA shots to give us context. I think that mixing in some more WA work would diversify the set and strengthen it overall.
The lighting on the group shot is spot-on great.
I really like #31.
The comps feel a little center-heavy overall. I think that adding in some more negative space and getting the subs off to the sides in a few might go along with that WA idea. You have a remarkable sense of timing, and to go with that I feel like you want to shoot tight constantly to maximize that effect. However, if you can mix in some abstraction it may paradoxically increase the impact of the moments. You're working so tightly that you've clipped a forehead/limb of your primary subject in almost a majority of the shots.
- There no wide angle work here. The set here as a whole seems to lack a sense of atmosphere and context. Tightly cropped shots can deliver a lot of emotional impact, but there needs to be some variety.
I thought you must be crazy at first. I shoot 75% of my picture at 35mm, but as I looked through the 100 or so images that I picked for the edit (see link at bottom of first post), it does appear that I selected almost all tight shots. I may have even shot very little wider shots... There was a lot of "room" to get personal at this wedding and I may have just been on that track. Interesting.
- The completely out of focus shot (19) should have been deleted. If you *really* stretch it, maybe it can be viewed as artistic, but the overwhelming majority of the time it will just be viewed as a mistake.
It works perfectly for me. The expression is so strong that it carries through. Some of my best photos are mistakes.
- #2 seems awkward, #20 looks kind of cool, but doesnt belong in a wedding portfolio. The shot of the maid of honor laughing during the ceremony would have been great had her head not been partially blocked.
#2 isn't the best leg/shoe/face shot I've done, but I'm not sure what's awkward about it?
#20 is a bit of a stretch, but I liked it enough to include it.
I like #16 because you can even see the officiant (the head doing the blocking) smiling/laughing.
- The shot of the two girls kissing will win rave reviews amongst the male, 20 something crowd, but will likely be frowned upon by any future brides (and most certainly their parents). For posting on the forums, its fine, but I wouldnt include it in any portfolio.
I can certainly agree on the propriety of the image, but by all accounts (getting feedback on the pictures through the grapevine) everybody liked it - at least they remembered the moment and were surprised it was captured. It was a very spontaneous moment and a lucky capture. I like to think that one of the things that sells me as a wedding photographer is my timing and ability to be at the right place right time...
- The formal shot could have really benefited from more ambient light. I know you said you were shooting in almost darkness, but maybe turning the lights down all the way and dragging the shutter a bit would have brought in some ambient?
I thought about that. Flash was dialed down to lowest setting. Space was a premium, and had I been able to use a tripod, I probably would've shot it slower.
Overall the shots are solid technically - no real complains. The ring shots and the dancing shots are nice, while the posed pictures seem a little weak. Overall I would say the set is almost there, but not quite.
Sam Hassas wrote:
I see we've been busy the last few weeks. Curious to see how your post~weding shoot with the dancer went. Link?
See bailed, some big school project was due and her "friend" was visiting. Teenagers I tell you! (not a post-wedding shoot, just a shoot btw)
Ring shot is studness.
2, Man. I'm. In. Love. Aylessa Milano anyone?
Thank you. She was cute. I thought it was interesting how the three sisters look very much alike, but with different feature sets.
The rest are classic Tony. Your very consistent bud. I'm convinced you could shoot a wedding with your eyes closed. What now? Add something to your list of wedding photo talents now that you've mastered what you do now. Suggestions? Not sure. Off camera stuff, textures maybe. Skies the limit with you Tone.
~Sam
Dude, you're killing me. You're right though, I could probably very easily coast through an entire wedding just a 5D and my 35L. But is that a good thing? Hell no. I see consistently unique stuff coming out of your head, and I only see and shoot the same thing over and over.
#9 really does convey some anxiety doesn't it? I love it. I didn't push as much black into that image as I usually do - is that what makes it look flat?
Great pics,