First post and first wedding!

[mitty49]

A critique would be really helpful, some specific areas to concentrate on and focus on next time.

[RV]

Dont think anyone wants to critique all 491 photographs but some have given a general critique overall. Maybe post 2-3 images to get a more specific critique. Choose the ones you think are the best and I am sure there will be some pos, neg, and camel critique with in a few days

[Ed Shapiro]

Well then! I looked at every one of those pictures and all I can tell you is that you are a budding master photographer. When I look at wedding photography I like to see the entire body of work and I don’t want to dwell on any one or two pictures that need improvement. Reason is- where there was a bit of a near miss or some dodgy lighting you backed yourself up well and have a good clean shot of every scene or group. So…you came out of every sequence with a good shot under your belt. It looks like you covered that job from a helicopter- you were always at the right place at the right time and you caught peak expressions in mostly every shot. You told a story and even if someone came here from another universe and never saw a wedding before- yours would be a good illustration of what goes on!

In the “old school” we used to call them “wedding candids or wedding ]casuals” this is what you did.

After looking at this job again, I hardly wanted to criticize anything. The only things that I see are in the formal shots or posed ones and the expressions, in a way, compensate for any real or imagined flaws. Things to work on? OK- here goes:

• For really elegant formals of the bride, watch the draping of the gown and the train. Place in behind the bride as the designer intended to be. You can also shoot a back profile full length in order to feature the back of the gown and the train. Also make sure the veil is evenly placed on both sides and see that it is draped carefully. Brides get fussy about those details because the sent a fortune on their gowns attire and lie to see them in all their glory!

• Watch the feet- believe it or not- all formal poses start at the feet, when a good stance is established at the feet and the legs then the hips, torso and shoulders all fall into place and allows to create flowing poses that are easy on the bride and groom- even if the have to hold the pose for a little while. I have to dig up some posing DIAGRAMS I have to better illustrate the stances.

• In some of you images the bride has her nose crossed with her far cheek- this does not create a nice line or rendition of the profile- not to worry- I will dig something up to post for you.

• If you fine this on the Internet- look up Monte Zucker and Joseph Zeltsman the have lots of images illustrating proper head positions and camera angles. Go slow and study and then fine a fried or relative to torture and practice you poses and camera positions.

• This is important- most impotent! Take it slow and add improvements to you routine slowly but surely. Some of this stuff is a bit complex; posing, lighting, camera position and composition. Above all NEVER abandon you gift for impromptu images, your enthusiasm and energy and you EYE! You already have some natural talents and the need to be developed. Some folks get overwhelmed with the technical stuff and begin to shoot stiff unnatural imagery- don’t’ do dat!

• You have a shot of a window seat with no bride in it- if you put the bride in there, you would have scored points at a professional competition. Speaking of which- join up with you professional photographers organization ASAP. If you are not in North America, join the P.P.of A. The educational opportunities there are A-1. Their monthly publication is worth the price of admission. The Professional Photographers of America is based in the United States but it serves its membership all over the world.

• On your lighting- the ones with “bad shadows” or too much contrast- lots of that can be remedies by a bit of flash fill or a simple flat reflector, wither store-bought or made of a sheet of crumpled and re-stretched aluminum foil stretched on a piece of cardboard or Foam-Cor™. For the most part- you have managed your inside-outside ratios pretty well.

Sooo…hit the books, do the research, practice and book more weddings. Let us know how you are doing and ask more questions.

I hope this helps.

Ed

[mitty49]

Ed, that is more than helpful! You've given me a lot to think about! With all the running about at the wedding it feels like you don't have time to think, I suppose experience will help implement the things you suggest as second nature.

Thank you so much, really appreciate the time you've taken to put those comments together.