Couple Shoot (C&C request)

Same story as this thread: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1428650
and this thread: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1425827
I'm trying to build a portfolio and gain experience to become a part time wedding photographer. I especially need more practice doing posed shots.

Friends got married recently, I wasn't the official photographer, but couldn't resist bringing my camera to capture the first dance.

This weekend, I did did post-wedding shoot (is that a real term?) at a small airport. They were kind enough to get all dressed up again.

Please let me know how I did, and how I can do better in the future.

Image 1 & 2

Image 3 & 4

Image 5 & 6

Image 7 & 8

Image 9 & 10

Number 1, 2, 5 I absolutely love. The rest I think are really good to.

Number 6 I really like, awesome place and colors and pose - but they should have been in the middle. Number 8 isn't one for me and number 9 needs something.. contrast, I think. It looks to flat? Maybe its the light that is a bit to hard.

But overall, for what its worth, I like your set

Very nice set, lots of variety, and different compositions, well on your way!

C&C:

1 is ok, flare and lighting is good, but better for a profile shot of them both if you can- looking at each other, or both the same direction, minimizing her, making him dominant.
2. great shot, may want to bring him more toward you and her further, so he is more dominant
3. good
#4 - meh.. not that wonderful.. better for a little side of his face, towards her, with her more coy over the shoulder
5. Wonderful!
6. Wonderful, but they need to be centered and it goes to WOW.

and the last 4 are really nice solid shots. Great job!

Thank you for the feedback. #5 is my personal favorite, I think #2 is their favorite.

So what I've learned so far:
-Less backs, more profiles (for most shots with backs, I also have another shot in profile)
-Pay more attention to detail in symmetric shots
-Don't use harsh frontal or side light

In all modesty, I'm pleased with the results.
My main concern is getting everything smoother. It took me a lot of effort on location. I can already notice bad hand placement, awkward positioning etc., but it still takes me too much thinking to figure out how to fix it right away.
Maybe they didn't notice how much I was struggling, but I feel like some things should come intuitively before I offer shoots to people that don't know me.

Next practice shoot is this weekend

4) Whilst her facial expression is good the light emphasises his hair (or rather lack of it). The top of his head pulls the eyes a lot. Her pose makes her head and arms all look like there is no body attached. You needed to be more off to the side to show part of her body also to avoid that. Personally I'd crop tighter to and remove that light band on the right side.

5) Composition is okay but timing is missed. The moment you caught on his face (expression wise) isn't flattering. Also his disengaged left arm combined with the facial expression make him look to be more standoffish wincing as opposed to being into the kiss.

6) Nice symmetry but the subject placement / shooting angle leaves lines through their heads. You either needed to be higher and surrounded their heads with the main white path or lower to do the same. Personally I'd have made sure they were central too.

7) Light a bit too harsh on her forehead. The bush on the right also could do with being pulled back a bit as it is a secondary subject at the moment.

8) The reflection isn't the main draw of the eyes in the image the train of her dress on the path is. I see what you were trying to do but between the grass edge, path, pond edge and algae there are just too many competing lines to make it work.

9) Horizontals off. You've got them looking up into the light to try and keep the light even on the faces but the pose doesn't work. Looking sideways with the attention to how the light was falling would have worked better. His confused expression doesn't help here. The shadow and her neck position also elongates her neck. Harsh light can work but you can't force it, you have to work with it.

These are VERY well done!

#6 just needs the couple centered

#9 personally, i'm not into the "looking up and away"...but it might work for others.

Regardless these are some great images, #2 is my favorite of the bunch.

#10 Broad lighting on the female form hardly ever looks good !

Just a thought, but if you turn 8 through 180 degrees, it looks like a normal photo on my phone. People would at first assume the reflection was the subject, and the bit of subject was the reflection. That would make it clever.

I like a lot of these

Thank you all for taking the time to give me feedback, especially memoriesoftomorrow for the in depth pointers.

@colin I tried that before posting, but it looked a little weird, I think it'd work better without their feet in the image.

Well first, good job on the shoot! Did you ask the paid photog if they minded you shooting or just stay out of the way and get shots while they were shooting something else? I always (I don't shoot at events that often) make an effort to stay out of the way of the paid people and if it's cramped or I think I might impose I'll ask them if they mind and that they can shove me out of the way if needed LOL

Now for C&C- there are usually good reasons for not getting the perfect shot so take this as advice for perfect conditions or what to look to capture when you shoot next.

#1 Possibly a higher angle to get more of her face, stepping closer might help to frame them better/make the shot more personal, and something with those lights or maybe exposure/white balance. I realize the last part is a tough one to deal with and it looks like there are multiple temp lights plus it's the least important critique on this shot.

#2 Not much to say on this one, it's a great shot but of course there's always room to improve! This shot could look better with a wider lens and shot closer to the couple and a bit to your right...I think...using a wider lens while keeping lower to the ground might improve the dramatic effect of that ceiling. Just something to try, as I said the shot is great already!

#3 For posing, maybe try the shot with her as the subject by shooting from the other side. Without the shot in this series I'm not sure how many would notice that they are in a plane, a step or so back might show enough of the plane to get that across. In a B&W I've seen criticism for being too...I'll coin the term for photos "fifty shades of grey", meaning there aren't enough pure blacks or bright whites. The low contrast can be a look and can work but this shot seems in-between to me. I would raise contrast or clip the blacks and whites to get a more vibrant and engaging photo. This is preference.

#4 I don't like this shot for reasons. The hug looks like a hug between friends or family maybe- not a passionate embrace from my perspective. The image seems soft even though I don't think it actually is, the lighting might be it. Finally the background is just meh, not terrible but adds no story to the image. This one is just alright for me, change a few things and it could be better but overall I think you just missed the mark. It's not bad but it seems like you can do better and this happens to all of us

#5 This is a great shot again! The pose should probably be reversed, with him on the inside of the frame and her to the outside facing in. It looks like the light is nice and would hit her face to make her more of a focal point. I think a few steps back might help composition by giving more space up top while still leaving the same amount of the field in the foreground.

#6 Agree with others on centering. Alternatively you could keep them slightly off- cropping the left side a bit might make this work by intriguing your viewer to the couple's offset placing in such a symmetrical setting while fixing the photo's currently heavy right side. You could also move slightly lower and to the left to bring viewer's eyes through the photo and being lower you should get a bit better blur on the foreground. The first thing I noticed on this one is that his feet are on a different section of the patio, it almost looks like he is standing on his toes- a small detail but something to look for as you continue shooting.

#7 Composition here seems just enough off that it was the first thing I noticed, crop some of the left and maybe a bit of the bottom to my eyes. The lighting is great, this shot is very well done! The posing looks a bit awkward, his butt seems to be sticking out like when you hug someone you're not that comfortable with LOL His hands are also wrapped around her like he's about to pick up a barrel or something. He might lose the butt by spreading his feet a bit for stability and so he can stand closer to lean on his front leg while dipping her back a bit. For the arm I think his hand would look better lower around the small of her back, maybe out closer to her hip, or both.

#8 I can see where you struggled with this one. On one hand it's a well done image but on the other it seems a bit awkward. I don't have experience with this type of shot but perhaps including more or less of the actual couple? I think if I were to shoot this, I would get closer to the water but high enough to still clearly see the reflection, focus on the reflection and include the full couple in the frame...

#9 This is a good shot. The lighting might be my main issue here, it seems a bit harsh but this could be something that's fixable in post. For composition I would take a few steps back to include more on top of the frame, include more of the steps leading your eye through the frame, and aim to the left a bit more to cut some from the right. I guess the pose (more the looking off into the distance and up) does look a little awkward but then I have a hard time with those type of shots and it's more of a personal weirdness LOL

#10 Another good shot. The cropping bugs me with where the shoulder gets cut off but otherwise I like how it's a nice tight frame so I'm not sure if you could take a step back to get the shoulder while maintaining framing. I would also like the pillar to be straight, even if you have to have them lean a bit if it's a leaning pillar. Some less important (to me) issues are her hand on the pillar, It's not the worst floating hand ever and you can tell she's bracing herself so not a big deal for me. The bride's hair could be facing the camera but if it's fixed to that side the only option is to shoot from the other side if that's an option. The last comment is that their facial expressions are not ideal for such a tight shot like this, I think it would be so much better with two smiling and in love people here and they just don't convey that happiness to my eyes.

Again, these are just points that I noticed while looking very critically at your set. I'm no expert and we all have different styles so I hope that some of this helps you in future! Overall, this is a great set and I would be happy with the results if they were mine!