1st Wedding What do you pros think?

[morehtml]

A while back I shot my 1st wedding for a relative, free of course. I was just curious how you pro wedding photogs thought I did. C+C it.

There are different categories but the main images show up on the page first.

http://hikingplanet.com/wedding/

[Kathy H]

They look like you've been shooting weddings all your life, they are great photos. WOW!

Kathy

[Reminisce]

I'm not a pro but I would be VERY pleased with these photos if it were my wedding. Great job, especially for a first time!

[tim]

Your gallery's... interesting. Pain in the butt to use to be honest. You'll get more and better feedback if you post 8 of the best on the thread where people can see them easily.

As opposed to what Kathy and Anthony said, it looks like a first wedding to me. You seem to have captured it fine, though not a lot more. I don't see any good pics of just the bride and groom together, nothing very artistic or showing their emotions towards each other. Nothing jumps out at me as a "wow" shot. I can't say much more beacuse your gallery makes it hard to see them quickly, and I may have missed your best images. For a first wedding you did a decent job.

Study the images best wedding photographers around. Look at the photos they took and ask why they took them - what were they trying to show? Capturing an event? Show an emotion? Where are they relative to the subject? Where it the light coming from - source and direction? How are the people standing/sitting? Weight forward, weight back, etc. Where are the limbs, are they touching their bodies or are they held apart to create good lines. Where did the photographer place them, and why. etc.

[CyberPet]

I think you did great for your first wedding. I'd say you did better than me when I started out. But there's always room for improvement!

The gallery, yeah it's hard to use - until I figured out I could close the info, and see more of the images. Love that song btw! :D

[Kathy H]

Are we all looking at the same pix?:confused:

[CyberPet]

(me thinks Tim just woke up - monday mornings sucks!) ;)

[Kathy H]

Oh, Okay;)

[tim]

I'd rename the pics as well, btw.

Are we all looking at the same pix?:confused:

I can see about 30 pics thumbnailed.

(me thinks Tim just woke up - monday mornings sucks!) ;)

See my title... :p I think the pictures are fine for a first wedding but aren't anything special when you compare with Jamie, Lloyd, Yervant, Marcus Bell (aus), Ian Wilkinson (aus), etc - that's the standard I aim for and the standard I expect everyone should be aiming towards. I wrote why I think what I do above as well.

[cdifoto]

They look 9,000 times better than my first.

[morehtml]

Thanks for the comments. I know the gallery is not the easiest but it was free :lol: . I don't plan on charging for any weddings. If for any reason you want to look at them all just click the categories in the top left.

Thanks again for any comments!

[Kathy H]

Tim you were looking to the greats, I was looking to the other "first wedding" posts I've seen and his looks pretty darn good.

We should all strive to achieve what our leaders in the field have
accomplished. Without our desires and their inspiration we might not ever get any better or just get bored with it.

Kathy

[stevefossimages]

Allen, I think you have some nice images here. I'm not surprised. Though I'm most familiar with your avian photography, a good photgrapher there can be a good one here. Intimacy, drama, lighting, mood. Birds or people, it's the same.

I see a lot of base hits here. As Tim suggested in his typically tactless way, there are no home runs. But should one expect home runs in a first at-bat? Hardly. Not that a batter in a new league shouldn't expect to improve. We all work to get better and better.

In the end, who cares what other photographers think? You don't work to make them happy -- you work to make the wedding couple happy. Was the wedding couple happy?

[tim]

As Tim suggested in his typically tactless way, there are no home runs.

Hey, I was being nice! If I was being blunt i'd have said what first came to mind, what I said was filtered. The aim of my critique is to help people improve rather than the typical "nice pics!" comments that are usually posted here.

[cskn0125]

I think You've done fine for you first wedding. I see a few that I personally like.

The only reason Tim sounds so harsh folks, is because hes the one with the experience. He does it for a living and his standard is one that I personally would like to achieve. He knows that he is talking about.

If I was the couple, I would be very happy with this.

[Kathy H]

And.....We all see things differently and have our own opinions

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Right?

Kathy

[tim]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Right?

I think that saying goes "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder" :p

[cdifoto]

And.....We all see things differently and have our own opinions

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Right?

Kathy

I think that saying goes "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder" :p

You're both wrong.

"Beauty is in the eye of the check holder."

[Maureen Souza]

I would be very happy if these were my wedding photos. Very nice work....keep at it.

[kato1]

I can see where Tim is coming from, there are no WOW shots.
That said, I think you have done very well for your first wedding.
It certainly looks like a solid foundation to build upon.
I would think part of knowing where to have the lens pointed to capture those 'special shots' comes with experience.

I only hope my first one produces results of this standard. I'll know by Thursday night. LOL

[CyberPet]

OK, this is getting into a Tim against everyone thread - lets not get there. I kow Tim by now and he is worthy of his title. But I also think his harsh critique comes from a fuzzy place in his heart. He see potential, and I know for a fact that either Tim nor I was that good at our first shoot (we started at the same time, within weeks from each other), so Ti'ms weeding out the weaklings to see if the original poster has what it takes.

I'd also be very happy if these were my wedding pictures, so you did well, but Tim is harsh and wants you to be even better (well, we gotta start somewhere, and we all need "a first"), so I side with Maureen when she says "Keep at it!"

[Dale Siscoe]

What Camera were you using your 1D III or the 5D ?

[Jonny]

Some are bad (3+5) Some are ok and some are great.

What did you do to 3+5? Have you gone and tried to blur the background in PP? The guys look like they have been cut out of magazines and glued on.

[JMHPhotography]

Good job. I'd never guess it was a first wedding, but what do I know?

Unlike others, I did find a few "WOW" photos... if you look through the entire album, the player isn't THAT hard to navigate... ;)

[morehtml]

Some are bad (3+5) Some are ok and some are great.

What did you do to 3+5? Have you gone and tried to blur the background in PP? The guys look like they have been cut out of magazines and glued on.

No blur at all in pp. This is just bokeh!

[morehtml]

What Camera were you using your 1D III or the 5D ?

I used a 5d and 30d.

And for the tim posts I have no problem with someone speaking their mind. I feel too often people on this forum just say good job and never voice a opinion and I'm guilty a lot too.

[Jonny]

This is just bokeh!

Maybe it is just the light around the head that makes it look strange to me...it seems really extreme.

[Harleypugs]

This is a great first time out! I only hope to do close to these...

The only thing that stuck me was some of the back groud clutter...I think a truck in one?

Good work.

Jon

[liza]

You did a helluva lot better than I did first time out. Sure, there are things you could improve like composition of some of the shots and posing in the formals, but overall you've done a nice job. Keep practicing. That's how you get better. :)

[Kathy H]

OK, this is getting into a Tim against everyone thread - lets not get there. I kow Tim by now and he is worthy of his title. But I also think his harsh critique comes from a fuzzy place in his heart. He see potential, and I know for a fact that either Tim nor I was that good at our first shoot (we started at the same time, within weeks from each other), so Ti'ms weeding out the weaklings to see if the original poster has what it takes.

I'd also be very happy if these were my wedding pictures, so you did well, but Tim is harsh and wants you to be even better (well, we gotta start somewhere, and we all need "a first"), so I side with Maureen when she says "Keep at it!"
I'm not against him, I find his posts to be good insight, aside from the fact that one minute I want to scream in his face and the next minute I'm laughing at something funny he comes back with:)

Kathy

[chuckw]

Personally I would always look forward to an honest critique of insightful feedback both for the good and bad of my images then the mindless nice pic post, what would you learn from that but hey that’s just me but nice pics LOL.

[tim]

Good job nice pics lol!

That better? :p

[Kathy H]

Personally I would always look forward to an honest critique of insightful feedback both for the good and bad of my images then the mindless nice pic post, what would you learn from that but hey that’s just me but nice pics LOL.
I see your point and I agree. I had a teacher once that picked apart every essay I turned in. I knew and he knew that the writing was good but that I could make it excellent if I tried a little harder. I hated him for awhile and shed many tears, but when the year was over I realized that I had learned more from his criticizing than I had any other time of my life. So hats off to you guys that step up and say what they see.

By the way, I don't really want to scream at anyone, sorry Tim:(

Kathy

[drogos]

Good job nice pics lol!

That better? :p

You know what Tim... You have to relax a little time to time.

[tim]

You know what Tim... You have to relax a little time to time.

I come to POTN to relax!

[SuzyView]

I really liked the gallery after I figured out what I needed to do to see one picture at a time. :) But the one thing I noticed was point of view. The group shots were taken with you standing up at a high point of view. Try some lower, about chest level if you have little children in the shot. The color, the vows shots are really great. I also like to catch the emotion of the day. For a first wedding, you did well. Now think out of the box a little and it will really shine.

[drogos]

I come to POTN to relax!

Great! Me too. I always value your opinions a lot and You are defenetly one of the most experianced WP here but sometimes you get really uptight in the role of the 'guardian' of WP forum. Of course we've seen better Wedding pictures here but considering this is OP first wedding i think he did really well and i don't know if you still remember your first one but i do and sometimes a friendly tap on the shoulder does better job than running around and pointing all possible mistakes. "Go and see how real Wedding ph. shoot great artistic pictures" ...well maybe we should start with the pictures that OP presented and discuss particular mistakes there ...i think that would be much more rewarding than telling him that this is nothing comparing to what the real studs of Wedding photojournalism shoot...just my 0.02...no offense intended.

[symes]

Can't help but agree with Tim and everyone here (yes I know that sounds impossible but you're all saying the same thing) Good job on your first wedding...It's tough I know that. But he is right that there are no WOW shots. One thing I also noticed is that alot of your shots are tilted to the right - be careful to always look at any structure in the background to get those horizons straight...the ones on the path are tilted as well and make me feel like I am going to fall out of the photo.

Cheers,

[daclozer]

"See my title... I think the pictures are fine for a first wedding but aren't anything special when you compare with Jamie, Lloyd, Yervant, Marcus Bell (aus), Ian Wilkinson (aus), etc - that's the standard I aim for and the standard I expect everyone should be aiming towards. I wrote why I think what I do above as well."

comparing any first time photog to the best in the world is at best ludacris. I wonder what Yervants first wedding shots looked like ? Your shots are fine and as good as many pro photogs shots that I have seen. Like Tim, I also try to find those WOW shots at every shoot. It comes with time. I love to see a client bust out in tears when they see THAT shot. Photography is a working progress, the more you shoot the more you learn. The more you shoot, the more opportunity you will come across to be is a setting to shoot THAT shot that will blow everybody that sees it away. Keep plugging away at it.

P.S. Quit doing it for free, you deserve to get paid for your hard work.

[pcunite]

Good job nice pics lol!

That better? :p

Tim,
If I start posting my wedding pics I want you to let me have it! I don't care for
excessive complements to much, I can tell what is nice, I want to know what I
did wrong...

[erdavis]

These are very nice wedding photos. As a critique I only saw three photos that had a tree growing out of someones head. These were #11, #12, and #13 in the Before Ceremony menu. The other photos were very good and the bride and groom can feel very good about them. Keep up the good work.

[staciecd]

Just a side note - I like TIm's bluntness. Too often people skirt around the truth and it can be confusing. I prefer the brutal honesty any day.

I agree with Tim - they do look like regular snapshots and I can't tell about the quality unless they were larger. But they look alot better than my first wedding and at least you are out there!

Stacie

[Mum2J&M]

We spent A LOT of money for our wedding photographer and I like your pictures better! I tend to like the candid shots much more than the formals. My photographer took a picture of my husband and I from the back with him carrying my shoes. Would've been a little cuter if you weren't looking at the dirty soles... anyway, really beautiful job! I've never done a wedding and good criticism is very helpful. But I'm sure it also helps to hear us normal folks like your images too. ;)

[tim]

"See my title... I think the pictures are fine for a first wedding but aren't anything special when you compare with Jamie, Lloyd, Yervant, Marcus Bell (aus), Ian Wilkinson (aus), etc - that's the standard I aim for and the standard I expect everyone should be aiming towards. I wrote why I think what I do above as well."

If a builder builds a crappy house do you say "Don't worry it was his first house, he'll get better". Of course not. Weddings are one of the most important days in a persons life, don't lose sight of that. We all started somewhere of course.

I'm not picking on the OP, this is more a general comment.

P.S. Quit doing it for free, you deserve to get paid for your hard work.

Would you pay the OP to take your wedding photos, given what you've seen on this thread?

[ray_lam5]

If a builder builds a crappy house do you say "Don't worry it was his first house, he'll get better". Of course not. Weddings are one of the most important days in a persons life, don't lose sight of that. We all started somewhere of course.

I'm not picking on the OP, this is more a general comment.



Would you pay the OP to take your wedding photos, given what you've seen on this thread?


Sorry Guys but I must say I totally agree with TIm here. These are nice pictures not great images and theres a long way to go before I would consider them good enough to be fee charging. I would not single out 1 image that makes me sit up and take notice, although they are all sharp and bright they seem rather static and the couple dont seem to have been made to relax their form is very posed somewhat rigid. Composition wise people are often too much in the centre of the frame which results in a flat image with no where for interpretation.

Good first effort, keep shooting and Im sure many clients are less fussy than photographers on the board so they should be pleased.

[shannyD]

man everytime i see peoples posts on here regarding wedding pics.. really makes me want to strangle my photographer.
BEAUTIFUL pictures.
thank you for sharing them!
shannon

[danpass]

Good overall for a first wedding.


I read all the comments but didn't see this mentioned:

I kept wanting to pull the picture down - too much space above their heads on many of the pics.


Take a look thru Tim's Recommended book link.



.

[danpass]

P.S. Quit doing it for free, you deserve to get paid for your hard work.

Would you pay the OP to take your wedding photos, given what you've seen on this thread?

You're absolutely right he should quit while he is ahead.

As a matter of fact I wouldn't pay you based on your first wedding pics either, you should just keep shooting for free. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c222/danpass/smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif


[/sarcasm]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c222/danpass/smilies/smiley_evilGrin.gif




.

[morehtml]

Wow I really stirred up a firestorm here.

[Kathy H]

Wow I really stirred up a firestorm here.
Not your fault and I still like your pictures:)

Kathy

[morehtml]

Not your fault and I still like your pictures:)

Kathy

Well thanks to all the people that liked them and also those that didn't. It would be nice to get specific C+C on the pictures which most thoughtfully gave instead of turning this thread into a flame war.

[morehtml]

Good overall for a first wedding.


I read all the comments but didn't see this mentioned:

I kept wanting to pull the picture down - too much space above their heads on many of the pics.


Take a look thru Tim's Recommended book link.



.

Yep, noted!

On a side note I looked through the gallery of our most noted local photog and when you look at his wedding portfolio there are some great shots but when you look at one entire wedding he did there are a LOT of disasters. I wonder how much having a good gallery has to do with how many wedding you shoot and can pick a few good ones from each?

[drogos]

good point ...that is why more and more potentail clients request to see full gallery from a specific event

[tim]

Plenty of suggestion in my first post on this thread... keep at it and you'll get there. Read, look at pic, and practice outside of weddings.

[Kathy H]

good point ...that is why more and more potentail clients request to see full gallery from a specific event
Agreed and will add that the more images they take the more good ones they can pull out.

Kathy

[morehtml]

Plenty of suggestion in my first post on this thread... keep at it and you'll get there. Read, look at pic, and practice outside of weddings.

Yep your 1st post had some good info, thanks.

[symes]

Well thanks to all the people that liked them and also those that didn't. It would be nice to get specific C+C on the pictures which most thoughtfully gave instead of turning this thread into a flame war.

This is difficult when you ask us to look at a gallery...post 5 or 6 of your best and you'll get that kind of feedback...

Cheers,

[Kamra 1]

Tim: Could I see some of your work? I'm getting back into the wedding field and need to get my standards tweaked. I've done a few weddings lately and I know I can do better. It's been 15 years since I did weddings almost every week and sometimes two in a day. I'm very rusty, to say the least.

[tim]

Tim: Could I see some of your work? I'm getting back into the wedding field and need to get my standards tweaked. I've done a few weddings lately and I know I can do better. It's been 15 years since I did weddings almost every week and sometimes two in a day. I'm very rusty, to say the least.

One (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=338182)
Two (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=328568)
Three (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=316227)
Four (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=314646)
Five (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=301081)

Take a look at the weddings done by Jamie Wexler (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=53882), Lloyd (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=48044), and Mike (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=84392) if you want inspiration. You're welcome to critique my work but on those threads rather than this one.

[12stones]

I'm not into wedding photography, but I see a lot of potential in these. That being said, one of the biggest problems I see in a general fashion is framing and composition. Many times the picture is cropped too far to one side, or the subject is too high/low. And, as mentioned before, the trees growing out of heads, people's heads in the way.

Keep at it, though.

[Kamra 1]

One (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=338182)
Two (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=328568)
Three (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=316227)
Four (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=314646)
Five (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=301081)

Take a look at the weddings done by Jamie Wexler (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=53882), Lloyd (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=48044), and Mike (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/member.php?u=84392) if you want inspiration. You're welcome to critique my work but on those threads rather than this one.

Thanks, Tim: When you started asking questions such as where is the light coming from and why was this shot taken, a bell went off in my head. These are some of the questions that were asked of me when I was in trainig years ago. When I told people I was coming back into doing weddings and portraits I said it would take me some time to remember alot of things. People said it was like riding a bike and not to worry, it would all come back easily.

Well, it's not like riding a bike. It's more like piloting a fighter jet. Thanks for letting me see some of your work. I see what I am missing. I'm 58 years old and have retired from trucking. I was a Teamster for 36 years. I started out driving local and was able to do photography as a side business 'cause I had weekends and evenings off. After so many companies started closing down I was forced to go long distance driving and had to give up photography or lose my pension.

I will be asking some questions in the future. I'm so glad to have people like you and the others on this forum. Thanks again and God bless: Tony

[SunTsu]

To the OP, do you mind if I ask how much you charged for this wedding? I think for a first wedding, it's pretty darn good. I've looked at a LOT of wedding photographers (for myself and for some family members) and I like your work at least as much as guys in the middle of the pack. I found that the really expensive guys have their own sort of style that makes them stand out for some reason. For the most part, I think that a lot of wedding pros are about the same and hit kind of the same shots (i.e. walking away pose, walking towards you pose, etc). Yours are not a lot worse or better than others I have seen (speaking from a consumer's eyes). That said, for a first wedding, I'll say again that I think you did a great job.

[morehtml]

To the OP, do you mind if I ask how much you charged for this wedding? I think for a first wedding, it's pretty darn good. I've looked at a LOT of wedding photographers (for myself and for some family members) and I like your work at least as much as guys in the middle of the pack. I found that the really expensive guys have their own sort of style that makes them stand out for some reason. For the most part, I think that a lot of wedding pros are about the same and hit kind of the same shots (i.e. walking away pose, walking towards you pose, etc). Yours are not a lot worse or better than others I have seen (speaking from a consumer's eyes). That said, for a first wedding, I'll say again that I think you did a great job.

It was 'no charge' for a relative and the 1st wedding I have shot in any fashion. I have zero wedding experience before this.

[SunTsu]

If that's the case, then I have to think the B&G would be super happy. No charge and lots of those shots are definitely frameable.

[Steiglitz]

(me thinks Tim just woke up - monday mornings sucks!) ;)


I for one appreciate Tim's bluntness, and it is refreshing to get his honest candid assessments in an age of the all too glowing and positive kudos handed out here and other places, like cheap candy.

Keep up the bluntness, Tim...I for one appreciate it much! :D And the OP should see your responses as gold, frankly. What better way to learn and improve?

As for the OP's 1st wedding, I think the B&G got a good product, and should be happy. It does reek of 1st wedding-ness...not your fault, by the way...I think for a 1st wedding you did better then most. Keep striving and practicing...you may well be on the right track!

[Mike McCusker]

I am not a pro, but shot as an assistant many years ago. The first thing the pro told me, was unless it was a candid, Groom and groomsmen were never to have their hands in their pockets or clasped in front. IMHO it absolutely ruins otherwise very well done shots.

[LisaLayne]

Hey, I was being nice! If I was being blunt i'd have said what first came to mind, what I said was filtered. The aim of my critique is to help people improve rather than the typical "nice pics!" comments that are usually posted here.


I'm with you, Tim. As a "pro" wedding photog (meaning this is how I feed my family... no day job to fall back upon)... I get a bit bored with the "nice Pics" comment. When folks say they want C&C, I assume they want C&C, not "nice pics". When viewing images I am always looking for the interesting light, dynamic pose and overall emotion.

As for my C&C... I have loads of comments, but it is difficult to do so with a slide show.... unless I could form my comments into a slide show running concurrently with yours!!!! :) Hey, now there's an idea! Can someone get right on that?