'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
What a breath of fresh air! These photos--in spite of or perhaps because of the flaws noted above--capture wonderfully the spirit of this moving wedding. They portray the holiness and the solemnity and the joy of a most sacred day in the lives of this young couple. The style of the photos matches perfectly the simplicity of the ceremony. The watch is an excellent example. I was immediately taken with the presence of this bride, who had the self-confidence to wear her everyday, functional wristwatch on her wedding day. The same, in fact, goes for the simple plastic hanger--no pretension there! My favorites are #12 and #25--both quietly lovely.
I'll wager that this couple did not spend the obscene amounts of money that the plastic brides have no compunction against shelling out for their wedding extravaganzas. And I'll wager further that the marriage portrayed here lasts a lot longer.
RedWhiteandRed wrote:
The photos are sincere - as are the people being married. There is no affect or pretension. I suspect that the pictures are emblematic of what the bride envisioned on her wedding day.
There are a range of obvious flaws that may be worth mentioning or overlooking - the dresses are exploded and the blacks are blocked up and a few other things but all in all.
The sincerity is the strong suit and you should be proud of these and inspired to improve.
deepbluejh wrote:
There are both technical and artistic aspects that need to be addressed.
The shooter here needs to pay closer attention to shutter speeds. There is camera shake is a good number of these pictures and frankly that is unacceptable. This is one of the first things you should learn when you start shooting. So first thing is first, don't be afraid to up the ISO a little bit if you are getting shake.
Secondly, the compositions a pretty boring and the crops are a little too tight. Look into using a wide angle lens more often. Change perspectives some. Everything doesn't have to be from eye level. Look into getting a fast prime to utilize some background blur. Blurring the background is generally more effective from an artistic standpoint than cropping it.
In short, this person has a lot of work to do. They need to keep practicing and avoid being discouraged....Show more →
I don't know if higher ISO is a good idea. There is already a lot of noise in those pics....indicating that the photographer is already pushing the limits of their camera. There are a fair number of fuzzy pics, I can't tell if it's slight camera shake or an indication of a kit lens. Seems to be camera shake, if the photographer used the same lens for the entire event.
I really like these images and was surprised to be able to see it. not sure what kind of camera or lens, but doesn't seem to be a high image quality on all the shots.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this is what I see when I look at these.
These images appear straight from the camera. My first thought was that the camera and lens might not be up to the standard that most FM photographers are using.
The dress shot pictures are dark. It doesn't appear there was enough light in the room to do a natural light shot in the room. Opening the curtain would have helped. You can see that difference in the shot where the bride was standing at the window looking out.
With that said, I believe that you have captured the bride and groom's day to their satisfaction. Unless they interviewed and saw samples of 5 or 6 photographers, I would be very surprised if they were not happy with these pictures. Could a little more Photoshop help these? Of course it could. However, as stated above in other's post, I think that there is too much grain in some of the images. The last shot was one of my favorites, but the pepper/food in her teeth kills it.
The one thing that I really like about this set is that you caught their spirit. They were happy and it shows in all the pictures. Better lenses (equipment) and post processing will make a difference in the final product.
Yvette
Oh wow ! These photos are so genuine and full of emotion. Some of them are rather soft but I don't think they spoil the set. Number 12 is my favourite but all of them are wonderful.
I've been through this set a few times - never sure what I think, and I will admit there are some artistic and technical issues that I will address later.
But the third time through these photos they brought tears to my eyes. This is the only set on FM that has ever brought tears to my eyes. The captures are very sweet, very emotional -there is so much content in here. You can see just how excited they both are to be married. He loves her very much, and these photos captured it. I try to get captures like 8 all the time and fail miserably because there just isn't that much genuine emotion. I love the simplicity of this wedding - they didn't spend tons of money on all the extras. This set is a kind of wake-up call for the content I should always be capturing at weddings.
This couple will be thrilled with these photos and will treasure them. The photographer should look at this as a good starting point and now determine to address the technical and artistic issues. Technically many of these shots are slightly underexposed and have quite a bit of red in the skin tones. WB seems off to me (but I'm bad at making that judgment). There does seem to be quite a bit of camera shake or missed focus (more camera shake). This could be addressed by purchasing a better camera with higher ISO capabilities, or better lenses, or both. Or just a flash. If the photographer is starting out, perhaps working with a monopod may be a better option. A few compostions are really nice, some are wanting. Post processing could help these really pop.
Maybe on your next outing work on changing perspective. Start far away from something - shoot it at different levels (close tothe ground, eye level, above eye level). Then move around it and look at different angles. Try to get in closer and do the same. Look for details and different perspectives.
I have to agree with Deb here. So much can still be done with these images in Photoshop to make them better, but as captured emotions they are really terrific.
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