picture of the bride...

[EOS mE]

Hi all,

this is the first time posting a photo here. i'm a fairly newbie with a G6, so any tips and suggestions is greatly appreciated. comments and critques are welcomed.

i was at my cousin's wedding on memorial day. here is the bride. this photo was taken with my G6 + 430EX + LSII diffuser.

1/125s @ f/2.5, AWB, flash fired
http://www.fototime.com/{600014CD-1A1F-489F-9E2E-B6F9E6CB8BFF}/picture.JPG


rui

[gardenstate]

very nice photo.... Here are some suggestions....use an imaging program to do a tighter crop of the bride and/or blur the background to put emphasis on her.

You seem to have a nice collection of camera "goodies" for a new user. They should keep you happy for some time. I also have the Gary Fong flash adapter and "love it."

[EOS mE]

thanks gardenstate for you kind words. i'm not sure how to do that in photoshop.. but i'm want to learn. do you use photoshop or cs?

yeah i have quite a bit of goodies to keep me busy for a long while. so in the meantime, i'm trying to learn as much as possible.

[gardenstate]

I use Paint Shop Pro X for most editing and Photoshop for the "hard stuff." If you would like to learn to do these functions, access the HELP menus or do a keyword search on the internet. If interested in improving your photographic composition, search for help on the internet for the "rule of thirds."

[Terrywoodenpic]

It is a lovely lively shot.
Pity about the waiter.
It is good enough to spend sime time in photoshop cloning him out.
Did you take other shots with out him in.
You could use these as source material to get rid of him in this shot.

[EOS mE]

It is a lovely lively shot.
Pity about the waiter.
It is good enough to spend sime time in photoshop cloning him out.
Did you take other shots with out him in.
You could use these as source material to get rid of him in this shot.

thanks terry.. that day was crazy.. they had some video photographers there that kept on getting in the way of relatives trying take their photos.

unfortunately i don't have another good one to use as a source.

[verT]

silly waiter fellow.... two or three steps to the right and you would have been rid of him but I don't know if there would have been another issue to her right/your left....

excellent shot, could have used a little faster shutter speed she seems to have a very quick wave :)

[Terrywoodenpic]

I have never seen anyone wave with a crooked thumb before.
Is there a meaning.

[EOS mE]

silly waiter fellow.... two or three steps to the right and you would have been rid of him but I don't know if there would have been another issue to her right/your left....

excellent shot, could have used a little faster shutter speed she seems to have a very quick wave :)

to my right.. two very annoying paid photographer and video photographer. to my left... many other relatives trying to squeeze in to get a good shot.

i was shooting most in Av mode, but when i got home, i realized i should've used Tv mode instead.

yeah.. silly waiter didn't realized it till later. oh well.

I have never seen anyone wave with a crooked thumb before. Is there a meaning.

humm.. not sure. i don't think so.. but thanks for pointing that out.. i hadn't noticed that.

[dsze]

to my right.. two very annoying paid photographer

i was shooting most in Av mode, but when i got home, i realized i should've used Tv mode instead.



EXIF says that you were shooting in full auto, not aperture priority. Just curious what made the paid photographer very annoying? You posted this in the wedding forum, saying that wedding photography is very hard. Yes, it is. Thats probably why the annoying paid photographer seemed annoying. He was being paid thousands to get a good shoot with your light sphere in his way? ;) Just kidding... But seriously,

I think its a very nice image, but there are several things that could have made it even better. First Off, lose the LSII. You don't need it 99% of the time. Look at this guys work. He never uses the LS to my knowledge. www.storybyphoto.com. He's also got a killer set of DVDs for wedding photography that would be well worth purchasing if you're serious about learning. Bounce that flash, or even use it straight on outside.... There are other options for outdoors like a stoffen shot straight on outdoors or a mini softbox, but the LSII just doesn't do anything for you (especially outside) that you can't do in other ways without the obtrusive 'thing' on your flash. Just MY opinion. I think you'd find MANY more pros not using the LS that using it though.

Next tip, get off auto-mode. Learn to shoot in manual nearly 100% all the time. Select one AF point and put that on her closest eye. She looks very slightly out of focus in this shot....very slightly. You could easily boost some saturation and sharpness in processing too. Also, get her out of direct center in the photograph. Use the rule of thirds, break up the composition a little.

Nice shot though, I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

[EOS mE]

EXIF says that you were shooting in full auto, not aperture priority. Just curious what made the paid photographer very annoying? You posted this in the wedding forum, saying that wedding photography is very hard. Yes, it is. Thats probably why the annoying paid photographer seemed annoying. He was being paid thousands to get a good shoot with your light sphere in his way? ;) Just kidding... But seriously,

I think its a very nice image, but there are several things that could have made it even better. First Off, lose the LSII. You don't need it 99% of the time. Look at this guys work. He never uses the LS to my knowledge. www.storybyphoto.com (http://www.storybyphoto.com). He's also got a killer set of DVDs for wedding photography that would be well worth purchasing if you're serious about learning. Bounce that flash, or even use it straight on outside.... There are other options for outdoors like a stoffen shot straight on outdoors or a mini softbox, but the LSII just doesn't do anything for you (especially outside) that you can't do in other ways without the obtrusive 'thing' on your flash. Just MY opinion. I think you'd find MANY more pros not using the LS that using it though.

Next tip, get off auto-mode. Learn to shoot in manual nearly 100% all the time. Select one AF point and put that on her closest eye. She looks very slightly out of focus in this shot....very slightly. You could easily boost some saturation and sharpness in processing too. Also, get her out of direct center in the photograph. Use the rule of thirds, break up the composition a little.

Nice shot though, I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

Thanks for the tip and comments! I've thought about shooting in Manual mode, but i'm not too good at it yet. Last time when I set to M mode, the picture looked dark until i started to change the aperture, then the picture on the screen looked brighter. Is that one way to do it or do you have another suggestions for a newbie? Thanks.

rui

[EOS mE]

btw.. those paid photographers weren't professional.. they were their fellow church members that decided to "help out" for a fee... lol

[dsze]

The only way to learn to shoot in manual is to shoot in manual. Its the way to understand the relationships of light-aperture-shutter speed-ISO. Just keep shooting, film is cheap ;)

[Terrywoodenpic]

btw.. those paid photographers weren't professional.. they were their fellow church members that decided to "help out" for a fee... lol
if they make a charge they are at least acting as semipro.

Many years ago when I took weddings I took charge. I would do whatever the bride or whoever was paying wanted. Its their day and the photographer like any professional should do what they are paid for.
In those days I always kneeled in front of the bride to change films This kept me in charge. I also used a slightly shortfocus lens for the groups to keep me in front of the pack. When it came to informal shots before at the brides home or during the reception I took my chances with any other camera user. I was confident that I would get the better shots anyway.

If you want to take better shot at a wedding than the professional, take shots he is not taking.

These days I concentrate on the Church flower arrangements, The Brides flowers, The guests, the Children, Family clusters,and Friends who have come a long way.

I then make up a CD of the pictures, and give it to the bride and Groom,with the best pic on the case cover.

I never charge for this, If they want to give a donation to the Church it is up to them.

In no way do I compete with the paid professional.

[EOS mE]

thanks for the encourgement. i'll be sure to take your advises to heart.

[BillsBayou]

The bride is perfect. The wave is not. I know your circumstance from your posts, so it's not your fault. I just don't like people actively waving in a still photograph. Wave at the camcorder PLEASE! But don't wave at the camera. :)

[EOS mE]

yup yup that's what i feel too billsbayou. the reason why she waved was because the video guy was standing behind me with his camcorder over my head and tell her to wave. when i got home.. and i saw the wave.. i regreted not shooting in Tv mode.