Street Photographer does an Engagement Shoot

[TheHoff]

I did a shoot for my sister-in-law... no real reason or use for them, but here they are. (This is my first time, so critiques appreciated.) I feel like I'm not as creative with posing people as a lot of the sessions I see posted here so I'm going to work on that.

Canon 5D, 16-35, 85, and 200. Fill flash (580 on stand w/ Demb bounce and ST-E2) for most.

1.
http://i27.tinypic.com/s48dch.jpg

2.
http://i29.tinypic.com/x0vcl3.jpg

3. (this will be made into a stamp, I believe)
http://i29.tinypic.com/2pt8ca1.jpg

4.
http://i29.tinypic.com/21musub.jpg

5.
http://i26.tinypic.com/205zkfl.jpg

6. (I spent the most time retouching this one)
http://i31.tinypic.com/33jtt2e.jpg

7.
http://i30.tinypic.com/25j88z8.jpg

8.
http://i25.tinypic.com/2r6pnx0.jpg

[TheHoff]

9.
http://i31.tinypic.com/10n9ppy.jpg

10.
http://i26.tinypic.com/zocknm.jpg

11.
http://i27.tinypic.com/s66f05.jpg

[mai_lin]

Great job! 3,6 and 10 are my favorites - what lens did you shoot 10 with?



Jen D.

[TheHoff]

Thanks, Jen! #10 was with the 16-35 (mk 2) @ 23mm.

[Stephanie Miller]

great captures, wow I could use some lessons from you about lighting, love the building in #2, do they live their? I think they will be pleased

[pixelharmony]

I like 4, 10, 11. Only critque on 4 would be to have them both looking in the same direction.

[TheHoff]

Thanks, Stephanie and pixelharmony.

I could use some lessons from you about lighting

Nothing too fancy; I'm a strobist beginner... I didn't have enough flash power most of the time to use an umbrella but I did have it with me. Since I was working alone and moving around to different locations, I went with simplicity. The wireless controller was essential, I moved the flash off-camera to the best angle, adjusted the power (usually on full) and set the exposure manually for the most part. Here is a wider crop showing the light...

http://i26.tinypic.com/1sihlk.jpg

(I was standing on a cement bench to get this angle; so my flexibility in framing was limited... I knew I would crop it out in post)


love the building in #2, do they live their?

Ahh nope... but you might recognize it. It is in a LOT of movies, probably one or two per month use that facade. It is also used as the "Daily Planet" building in the TV show Smallville.


Only critque on 4 would be to have them both looking in the same direction.

Agreed; I have a lot from that set up and my sis chose that look as her final pick so that is the one I showed... but yea, I do have other looks with that set-up. That one in particular is neat as the blossoms started blowing from the trees. We waited around and never got as much wind as this one frame.

[angryhampster]

I love you post processing work :) Great shots.

[TheHoff]

Thanks, hampster! I'm never sure about my post processing with this sort of thing... I see a lot of great shots in this forum from the pros that seem more processed than mine but if I go to far with it, it looks fake... but their shots look good. So that is nice to hear that you like them. I didn't do much apart from my normal curves / blacks adjustments. Some of them are also based off of Direct Positive and some from Aged Photo in LR. I would normally tend to do more pure black and white but the blossoms that were going that day all lend themselves better to color.

[Geno DM]

Hey Hoff, welcome home! Personally, I like 11 the best.

[www.mbpixel.com]

No 9 is great! Sums up the occasion perfectly.

[keegsmeister]

Love the scene in 9 and 10.

[Redikulous]

#10 is my favorite and Id like #11 better if it was a little bit darker but thats just my opinon. Looks like it was a fun day

[Kathy H]

These are great shots! You did an excellent job of capturing their happiness.

I LOVE #11!

[cchooks]

This is my first post on this forum, and I have been a wedding photographer for about 16 years. I really love what you have done. The shots which are suppose to look candid, to me look to contrived, but the posed shots seemed more personal than the candids. You have managed to capture a little of them in your setup shots. Shooting posed images can be beautiful with the right people so you should not feel that you have to shoot more "hip" if you do posed very well, and you do have a flair for it. Even the shots that are not for me, will have an impact on the couple. I feel I know this couple a little more by your interpretation. Good work.

CChooks

[cindyj]

These are really nice, and I am very picky about portraits! Good job, I love your composition, and most of the pictures, the couple feel comfortable, and look natural, very nice!

[TheHoff]

Thanks, the comments are great and mean a lot. They were comfortable with me as we're friends first. I made it clear that I"m used to shooting quickly and not posing people so I would be taking it slowly on purpose.

[JimAskew]

These are excellent. My favorites are 2, 5, 7, and 9. Thanks for sharing.

[TamEric]

those are great

i personally love 7 and 11

[BeccaJ]

#2 - i keep imagining the doors spinning...and her being on one side, and him in the other...just being really really goofy. lol

[newbie builder]

Very nice shots--occasionally it looked like they were trying to remember to smile all the time and thinking about smiling too much, not completely natural, but other than that there are some absolutely beautiful captures in there...funny I stumbled on this thread since you are also one of my favorite street photographers ;)

[TheHoff]

Hey, thanks!

I did want the doors spinning in the building facade shot; unfortunately it was Sunday and the offices were closed for the weekend. My original intent was to do some motion blur with one of them coming through the doors with the other one waiting on the outside then frozen with a flash pop at the end.

Here is the save the date postcard going out...

http://i29.tinypic.com/2ryn4mp.jpg

[donysy]

lovely pictures you have .. I love number 7 ..

[Geno DM]

Hey, thanks!

Here is the save the date postcard going out...



So, are you also the official wedding photog?

[TheHoff]

So, are you also the official wedding photog?

Hey Geno, Hahah, no... I'm not the official. They have a wedding package from a local venue that included their choice from a dozen photography companies, so they chose their own photographer though the price was included with their package.

Of course it always feels like a challenge-- I will try and get better shots than the pros hired. I'm also doing the before-the-ceremony coverage on my own since the package they have didn't include enough hours for it.

[Catlover]

Great job keeping the exposure and "temp" very consistent throughout. Why do images that are a little desatured look so darn good....I don't know but I find my style tilting that way too when I process images. Solid work with them!

I can't help but notice that their eye color is almost identical.

[alphaclick]

great shots.... 10 is my fav

[Geno DM]

Hey Geno, Hahah, no... I'm not the official.
Of course it always feels like a challenge-- I will try and get better shots than the pros hired. I'm also doing the before-the-ceremony coverage on my own since the package they have didn't include enough hours for it.

Well, I ditched my 24-105 and 17-40 and picked up a 24-70 and 16-35 MKII if you need a spare. :)

BTW, my ex used to work in the penthouse at the Marine Building. Cool spot if you can figure out how to get to it.

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Well composed, well lit, good job. I also like the clean technique. Too many photographers hide their pictures over high contrast and vignetting.

Clean.

Simple.

Love it.

[Nuttcraker]

Number 10!! Love it! good job.

[luckymomoftwins]

10 has a very magical quality to it!
Love them!

[twistedinsight]

you have some great work here. the last is my favorite, mainly b/c i am more into the non-posed shots. the ones of them looking at each other scream "hey, i was just told to look at each other" and there's no true emotion there...am i making sense? i don't mean that harsh at all, but this is a lovely set, and with you being a street photographer, you're more than likely an avid candid shooter...put that into your e-sessions or couples pictures, and make something happen! these are great , seriously! tell them at the beginning that you want them to just cut up and get loose...and enjoy being in front of the camera. those moments that they don't think the camera is on them are the ones that will really shine through and they, and you, will cherish for years. the last one, that's true emotion and really shows them in their zone of being together...that's what couples pictures is all about ;)

great work, keep it up!

[TheHoff]

Well composed, well lit, good job. I also like the clean technique. Too many photographers hide their pictures over high contrast and vignetting.

Thanks, Duke. Simple is my goal... while I like some of the high contrast looks posted here, I think they don't look as good when printed small. I tried some more processing and while it looks good on screen and might look good as an A3 or in a magazine, at the 4x6 and 5x7 sizes most people want, the photos print out looking a bit off... too much work was done to make it look like a glamour shot.


you have some great work here. the last is my favorite, mainly b/c i am more into the non-posed shots. the ones of them looking at each other scream "hey, i was just told to look at each other" and there's no true emotion there...am i making sense? i don't mean that harsh at all, but this is a lovely set, and with you being a street photographer, you're more than likely an avid candid shooter...put that into your e-sessions or couples pictures, and make something happen! these are great , seriously! tell them at the beginning that you want them to just cut up and get loose...and enjoy being in front of the camera. those moments that they don't think the camera is on them are the ones that will really shine through and they, and you, will cherish for years. the last one, that's true emotion and really shows them in their zone of being together...that's what couples pictures is all about ;)

Hey, thanks a lot for the critique. I know posing, or making it look like a lack of posing, is my weak suit here. I'm envious of some of the sets posted where the couple looks like they are in love and just out having fun... but then sometimes those looks go too far into the "Menthol Cigarette Ad" style, if you know what I mean. I learned a lot from my first session here and I think if I do another, I will have a better idea of how to get more natural looks from the couple.

[TheHoff]

Well kudos to Mpix.com. I received my Save the Date card order in 3 or 4 days to Canada, which is good on it's own... but there was a small mistake in the print run (an extra line of white border was added on one side by their card software).

Their tech support responds to email in like 2 minutes each time; he checked over my proof, my files, and my order, and is having them re-printed for free and shipped out ASAP. Good quick support like that is hard to find. The quality of the print is pretty good considering the 5 x 7 post cards cost about $0.40 a piece.