First C&C request for wedding forum...

[jgogums]

Haven't posted any of the shoots I've taken in the 4 weddings I've done as a 2nd.
This was from my most recent shoot. Bride was positioned by the primary photog in front of her and I was shooting off to the side.

Overall the shoot left me with that "good God...I've got soooo much to learn" feeling :oops:!" First time shooting indoors with high ceilings and some skylights. Plus ambient light was shifting quickly from rainy & gray to filtered bright sunshine.

In any event I'm now trying to salvage some shots to send off to my 'boss' for review.

1st is just resized for POTN. 2nd was fussed with in CS3/ACR.
First time playing with a conversion from color.
Any C&C greatly appeciated! Mahalo...

[Hassan2285]

Greg, I really don't see what the focus is here.

Ok, is it suppose to be the texture? I really don't see what your main focus here is.

I also don't like the big pillar to the left, maybe if it was more straight, and added to the framing.

I think your idea was a good one, but I think you should work on how to compose the shot better.

[tim]

The photos ok, but your camera should be about chest height, not at her head height. It's about perspective and distortion. I'd have preferred not to have the pillar there. The lighting's good. The processing ruins it IMHO.

[GertS]

I like the first unprocessed shot, but as Tim already mentioned, it would be better if taken a bit lower.
If you clone out the writing on the glass on the top right, that would be an improvement too. :)

[jgogums]

Thanks Hassan, Tim & Gert S.
The pillar was actually heavy, floral drapes I was trying to demphasize.
Shooting as a 2nd I try not to shoot over the primary photogs shoulder, thus I'll just look for a different angle and work with whatever is before me. But I agree, I didn't like the drapes much either.

Agreed about the high camera height. I remember reading the same recommendation in "The Best of Wedding Photojournalism" the day before the shoot...just didn't apply it! I didn't notice it initially in this shot, but yeah I should've dropped down a bit for this 3/4 body length shot.

Removing the words from the background glass is initially why I opened the photo up in PS in the first place. But after tinkering with it I decided to play with grayscale, removing distracting railings and adding a soft vignette.
Thanks againg for the observations everyone!

[GertS]

Greg,
A second layer with Monday Morning (MM), not including the bride, works better than your modifications. Just have a look. Occasionally I use this to reduce the background.

Your image and one of mine as example how I used a touch of MM
Gert

[jgogums]

Thank you Gert! I do like your treatment alot. Normally I hate Monday mornings as a general rule but not familiar with Monday Morning as a treatment for an image!
I'm not on a computer with CS3, but I'm assuming MM is a filter or action of some sort. If so, does it already come with photoshop or is a plug-in for purchase.
I haven't learned how to use filters or actions yet. Just starting to tweak within either Adobe Camera Raw or CS3, but then it's just WB, contrast, level, hue, saturation, etc.

Thanks again for the edit and advice, I got 9 days to get the batch ready for the primary photographer...in other words...I won't be surfing much in near future...HA!

Nice photo of the B&G. Looks like they've been "had" when trying to sneak out the back entrance after their ceremony! Great expressions!