E shoot - Andy and Stefanie

[xtravaluemeal1]

Had the opportunity to shoot an e-session with a very loving couple. This is the first time using actions for me and there was that free "LOMO" action here on POTN and I really liked it..maybe liked it too much. But please C&C and give me your thoughts.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-227b.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-257.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-211.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-448.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-492.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-578b.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p53/westloopphoto/Andy%20and%20Stefanie/R_Wang_E_Shoot-164bw.jpg

[song4themoon]

I like the concept on all of them, but the white balance seems off. They have a blue tint on my screen.

[canoflan]

I will assume you have the color how you want it and the fleshtones, so I won't C&C that.

Composition:
1&2: fantastic - not too much background, the couple is showing good emotion and the poses are very flattering and natural
3: Just a bit too much tree on the left. Perhaps either blur and darken it, or crop it out halfway. Remember anything that is as bright as the faces or clothes of the couple will distract from the viewer focusing on them.
4: Very good pose; I would crop up a bit more from each side to their hands at their waists.
5: I like the idea of this pose; perhaps vignetting a bit to draw the viewer up to the couple better and I would clone out that leaf to the left (or whatever it is). Keep in mind that anything that isn't essential to the composition distracts and really takes away from viewer focusing on the subjects. My eye went right to the leaf to the left immediately, so others will to (including your clients).
6: What is the Regenstein Center? Unless this has something to do with the couple, that is very distracting because the name on the building is framing in the couple. Are they getting married there? In the future, if this is where they are getting married, somehow it needs to be suggestive to the viewer that they know what the building is for. If this isn't where they are getting married, it makes for a very distracting background. Remember, the simpler the background, the more focus on your subjects.
7: I like the last picture, but perhaps move them to one side a bit to intensify the composition, vs dead center. Also, I would probably crop a bit higher so that the top of their heads are in the composition and less of their rumps; or zoom in on them a bit more and show their hands on their wastes toward the bottom of the frame to elicit more emotion of their embrace.

All in all, I think these are all workable and very nice.

Pat

[xtravaluemeal1]

Song - I'm not sure I'm seeing what you're seeing. Don't know why they would turn blue..I hope they aren't blue. I guess I'll have to revisit the pics again to see if the tone is off.

Pat, thanks for the detailed C&C...much appreciated and noted. I will definitely take the comments you've given me and apply them to the next opportunity I have to shoot. Thanks so much!

[canoflan]

Pat, thanks for the detailed C&C...much appreciated and noted. I will definitely take the comments you've given me and apply them to the next opportunity I have to shoot. Thanks so much!

You're welcome. Frankly, with my wife helping me so much in critiquing my own posing techniques and reading so much about why a pose works and why it doesn't, it has helped me in looking at photos and helping others. I still have alot of work to do myself and the key is never to think you have arrived.

I think that the color cast may be one of a couple reasons; either your monitor isn't calibrated and you are correcting to a false color, you are not color correcting at all, or other's monitors are not calibrated. If you ensure your monitor is calibrated, you are color correcting to the color you want (not necessarily what someone else wants) and your prints match your monitor, that's about as good as it gets.

Pat