Janna and Shawn from 6-21-08. This was taken at the Mormon Temple in Washington, DC. C&C Please! (By the way, my first Mormon wedding)...

Thanks!

#1

Good set of images here Matt. I like the last one the best. I think it shows them being themselves the most. =o) Not posed, per say...

The only images I have any comment about negatively are the low angled shots. If you are going to use flash/reflector/etc, you have to keep that light source above the subject. Coming in from being and even from the side creates bad shadows.

A high lightsource mimics the sun, our lightsource that we're use to seeing light with. If God had given earth two suns, it'd be a different story! =o) Everything would look like Ed Pingol lit it! hahah... If you havn't seen Ed's work, google him, and watch his posts here. He's AMAZING!

-tmiller
Tim Miller Photography
http://tmillerphoto.com

tmiller wrote:
Good set of images here Matt. I like the last one the best. I think it shows them being themselves the most. =o) Not posed, per say...

The only images I have any comment about negatively are the low angled shots. If you are going to use flash/reflector/etc, you have to keep that light source above the subject. Coming in from being and even from the side creates bad shadows.

A high lightsource mimics the sun, our lightsource that we're use to seeing light with. If God had given earth two suns, it'd be a different story! =o) Everything would look like Ed Pingol lit it! hahah... If you havn't seen Ed's work, google him, and watch his posts here. He's AMAZING!

-tmiller
Tim Miller Photography
http://tmillerphoto.com

Thanks Tim. That last photo was when the couple was waiting to run through the sparklers. They were sitting inside by themselves, and I went in to see what was up, and major photo op!

Regarding the light, most of the posed shots were taken with an AB800 into a reflector, but maybe I could have taken it higher. I was fighting with 4pm sunlight at 90 degrees, and having to shoot low to get the Temple (my first Mormon wedding).

Thanks for the advice~!!

Photomatt wrote:
tmiller wrote:
Good set of images here Matt. I like the last one the best. I think it shows them being themselves the most. =o) Not posed, per say...

The only images I have any comment about negatively are the low angled shots. If you are going to use flash/reflector/etc, you have to keep that light source above the subject. Coming in from being and even from the side creates bad shadows.

A high lightsource mimics the sun, our lightsource that we're use to seeing light with. If God had given earth two suns, it'd be a different story! =o) Everything would look like Ed Pingol lit it! hahah... If you havn't seen Ed's work, google him, and watch his posts here. He's AMAZING!

-tmiller
Tim Miller Photography
http://tmillerphoto.com

Thanks Tim. That last photo was when the couple was waiting to run through the sparklers. They were sitting inside by themselves, and I went in to see what was up, and major photo op!

Regarding the light, most of the posed shots were taken with an AB800 into a reflector, but maybe I could have taken it higher. I was fighting with 4pm sunlight at 90 degrees, and having to shoot low to get the Temple (my first Mormon wedding).

Thanks for the advice~!!


It looks like you did well. The other "lit" shots, are cool. =o) The one of them together (full wide angle), with the shadowed brides face, I think you can save.

It'd use some light dodge and burning to bring the couple out a bit, and on her face and dress, etc. Just enough to bring her back into the scene. The groom is slightly more prominantly lit as it rests currently.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to take a shot at a jpeg or raw file?

-tmiller
Tim Miller Photography
http://tmillerphoto.com

Great job shooting the Temple! Having the Temple in the background is a Mormon wedding cliche, but your composition is most excellent and these pictures look vibrant and fresh.

Chris

matt, overall, i think there are some nice moments here, but a few nits:

on the formals, the beautiful church seems to be growing out of their heads-i also agree with tim that there are a few too many shots from below-may just be my personal preference

on the dip shot, while i like your framing and his smile, she looks visibly tense-her neck muscles are tightly flexed and she's gripping his arm in what looks to be fear-not particularly romantic but hopefully they'll see this and remember the moment and laugh-also, be zooming out slightly or backing up a foot or two, you could include her fingers as well

love the cake shot-very nice

daniel

radioblurs wrote:
matt, overall, i think there are some nice moments here, but a few nits:

on the formals, the beautiful church seems to be growing out of their heads-i also agree with tim that there are a few too many shots from below-may just be my personal preference

on the dip shot, while i like your framing and his smile, she looks visibly tense-her neck muscles are tightly flexed and she's gripping his arm in what looks to be fear-not particularly romantic but hopefully they'll see this and remember the moment and laugh-also, be zooming out slightly or backing up a foot or two, you could include her fingers as well

love the cake shot-very nice

daniel


Thanks Daniel, as Cubik said, the temple in the background is a bit of a cliche for the Mormon Temple weddings - hence the many low-angle shots. I asked for some advice here on FM about Mormon weddings, and received some great information (both in the post and through PMs) - link below. So thanks to everyone for your advice.

Agreed on the dip shot, a bit of the grip of death going on. But they were having a great time with it, I'm sure she'll love the shot.

As it turned out, I was warned there may be multiple brides coming out of the temple at the same time, but fortunately that wasn't an issue with us. Although brides were coming out about every 30 minutes!

At any rate, thanks to all for the great advice!

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/653761/

I like what you did and the couple should be very pleased with these pictures. Having shot two weddings at Mormon temples; Salt Lake City and Oakland you did a great job with the circumstanes you have to work with.

Excellent expos and captures.......love the sparkler exits.......and who said the liability is too great........hah !

"20 seconds of smoke"........NOT !

Edited by hassy501 on Jul 04, 2008 at 03:01 AM GMT

Thanks Hassy!

I love the temple shots, it looks very futuristic and space-age and lends an edgy feel to your photos. Lovely photos!

The shots with the guys, the jackets are all over the place. Other than that, looks ok to me.

ngm, Thanks!

Morgan, yeah, I noticed after the fact. Things were moving so fast... you know how it gets... My attention to details is getting better, but I find myself focusing so much on getting the shot right, that I miss little details. But I think I'm improving, just need more practice.

Thanks for the comments!

I have to agree with everyone. The shots really are great. Only two little things that I noticed that distracted me. In number 3 on the right hand side of the picture there is a woman who appears to be coming out of the church. And on picture 5 on the left you can see a few people walking away from the camera. They are just a little distracting, but other than that I love the set.

*GASP* they're dancing...

Overall a decent set. I agree that for some of the shots the lighting is a bit flat / shadowed. (I have the same problem on occasion).

I never realized that the LDS temples chain-smoked marriages.... was this a large congregation? A new wedding every 20 minutes... just a little surprised by that, maybe it's because I don't live in a big city.

Andrew Welsh wrote:
*GASP* they're dancing...

Overall a decent set. I agree that for some of the shots the lighting is a bit flat / shadowed. (I have the same problem on occasion).

I never realized that the LDS temples chain-smoked marriages.... was this a large congregation? A new wedding every 20 minutes... just a little surprised by that, maybe it's because I don't live in a big city.

One temple handles the weddings for many many congregations. They are distinct from general chapels. I don't know how many temples they've got back east, but here in southern california there's one in LA, one in Newport, and one in San Diego.

I think that the stairs shot with the couple is my favorite. I love those intimate moments that make photography so much fun. I'd have to say that the 4th shot in is my least favorite, but only because of the lighting. Seems like it could be a bit brighter and more contrast.

Justin Gilbert
Captured Art Photography