DaveEP
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 p.2 #1 · 17-55 wedding reception + rant ! | |
Some of my response seems to have got lost - so I am editing it to add it back in the general meaning....
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I think if you had not included all the shots, and spent a little more time in PP on the others (the ones that look a bit flat) then the whole perception of the sequence would have been different. For instance, #1 is harsh side lighting and does not make a good first impression. This then sets the tone for everything that follows - regardless of what you intended.
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#2 is taken from 'too high' and I would have crouched down to get more of them in the frame, instead of them being centered (vertically) and chopping them off the bottom. Clearly the woman is distracted by someone / something else and is squinting. The lighting is not ideal.
#3 - again the lighting is problematic, and could have used some fill flash, but is a mixture of stiff pose (woman) and snap shot (child). Like I said I would have omitted this one from the request for comments.
#4 has a lot of dark area due to too much DR required against the sun, and while you may be able to pull the shadows up in PP, they are going to be a little noisy. They may be ok on a smallish print though, especially if people are looking at the picture and not the technicalities.
#5 & #6 are a bit flat but can probably be made to pop with some careful PP.
After that there are a couple which could benefit from some cropping.... but on the whole the B&W shots are pretty good.
16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25 (if cropped), 28 & 31 are good in terms of being a record of the day, and you should be happy with them.
Others need a little attention here and there, but given you are not in to wedding photography, I would not be too unhappy. Since they didn't have a pro doing this shoot, I am sure all they are hoping for is a 'record of the day', and in that respect, even snapshots work! It's very easy to be really picky when looking at other people's shots, and notice things that perhaps they didn't notice at the time, or in PP.
You will likely notice a LOT more about these shots if you come back to them in (say) 2 years when your memory of them has faded and you are coming to them 'fresh'. Little things like #26 has an elbow leaving the frame and #28 just clips the fingers (bottom left), #29 has a foot leaving the frame. Sometimes crops like this work, and sometimes they don't. In the end, a combination of these little details and some careful PP can make a BIG difference.
Knowing how to use a camera well in some situations does not automatically make a good photographer in 'all situations', and I am sure there are quite a few wedding photographers that would crumble the first couple of times if taken outside of their comfort zone (i.e. weddings). All styles take practice, so I would not be too unhappy.
I would not take the snap shot criticism too harshly, especially if other feedback offers something you can learn from. While there is pride at stake here, people often find it hard to be constructive without being seen as critical wankers. It's not always meant like that, and asking for feedback expecting only 'good' is perhaps the wrong thing to do in the wedding forum. Having said that, while there many truly awesome shots in the wedding forum, I have seen some shots (by Pros) that get praise that I wouldn't have even bothered to process 
Edited on Nov 12, 2008 at 12:07 PM · View previous versions
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