Just entering the busiest of weeks I've ever had. Trying to stay on top of things. The entire set will go up on the blog sometime this week...one of my more challenging weddings I've ever shot.
All in all I am sure the total product is good but honestly the first 4 don't measure up and 4 in particular is frankly an awful shot of the bridesmaid. Things feel real rushed.
Some cool moments! Your post work is a little heavy handed on the contrast, notice how the hair on people's heads turns into big blotches of black with no detail? As an example, #14, 15.
I dont see this one being any better or any worse than what you normally shoot. I am finding after a few years doing weddings basically full time that sometimes you just have a "standard" wedding. Not every wedding gives you room to push things or improve things or even kill a set... sometimes a wedding is just a wedding.
Having a "standard" that you can live up to every time is good. I think that a lot of people climb the skills and ability ladder really fast and then when they plateau they have a hard time accepting a "normal set".
CMB Photo wrote:
are you guys OK on the level of the noise? especially in color ones?
The noise is fine with me, not keen on the sharpening making the noise ugly though. Just IMO.
FWIW I think it's a difficult area. If you want your images to appear well on the web, you have to sharpen them accordingly. If you like grain (like I do to), this can make the situation a little difficult. I know they'll print great.
Some have suggested that "plateau" feeling can result from doing the same type of shoot too much with inadequate variation...e.g. shooting mostly weddings without doing fun photo stuff for yourself.
IMO...faces insufficiently shown repeatedly in 4/5/6, with the bridesmaid definitely a more dominant and catching subject (lots more pink skin showing against grey dress) but without face showing in 4...which incidentally looks more like 35mm than 24mm to me...in fact, most of the getting ready stuff looks more like somewhere between 35-85mm to me than 24mm...in 5 it's primarily the bride's back, in 6 it's also the bride's back. Probably excess back-angled shots in this particular posted set is making that trait feel disproportionate.
Is there any color to the garter being tossed in 15 for differentiation? Really hard to see it against the shirt. 1 is a creative use of reflection, but I had to look at it more than once to notice the full dress front in the bottom left corner.
Sometimes working with less-used focal lengths can require re-adaptation...did a past client comment about stretched faces so you are trying to consider shooting less wide for getting ready?
Just an idiot's (my) current accumulation of knowledge being displayed as opinions and suggestions...
I am not usually one to comment on detail shots, but #1 is superb. I wish I was brave enough to try adding movement to the processional like you did on #9
Nice bird tho.