First wedding as prime...first pics post in section.

Bakewell wrote in post #2368881
... Tim is BACK! Life is good again! Hardly wait to read the other threads!...

[Edit: Sorry, didn't mean to post this twice - guess the server is out to lunch]

Nzshrimper wrote in post #2369971
but on the other hand the clients loved the photos.

sageone wrote in post #2370531
exactly...we are way too critical of our work. clients don't get into the weeds, they stay at 10,000 feet.

it was not meant to be a complement. These just don't make the grade.

Having looked though the slide show i would say about 5 pics stand out as acceptable wedding portfolio shots.

A lot of your shots make the couple look like they got married on their own. Others were very unflattering shots.

Some posing of the bride, better use of lighting, and better composing of your shots are needed.. more research will help.

Given the quality of images that a lot of "pros" are showing on various boards, I'd say we all need to be MORE critical of our work.

I dunno. When I was being mentored "the client liked it" was never an acceptable excuse for presenting or being satisfied with less than the best. It saddens me that our industry is being dumbed down to that level. No one strives for quality any more and anyone who doesn't backpat even the worst images is accused of being rude or harsh.

What happened to wanting to take pride in your work, to learn and grow, and to constantly strive to make your next image better.

Karen

karensimmons wrote in post #2371338
Given the quality of images that a lot of "pros" are showing on various boards, I'd say we all need to be MORE critical of our work.

I dunno. When I was being mentored "the client liked it" was never an acceptable excuse for presenting or being satisfied with less than the best. It saddens me that our industry is being dumbed down to that level. No one strives for quality any more and anyone who doesn't backpat even the worst images is accused of being rude or harsh.

What happened to wanting to take pride in your work, to learn and grow, and to constantly strive to make your next image better.

Karen

I agree whole heartly.

#1 - what's the point of this photo? To show the flowers? It doesn't show them well. To show the bride? You can't see her. It doesn't work for me at all. I'd suggest gone for more depth of field, and show more of the flowers, probably by altering your angle.

#2 - the background's very distracting, and I don't like the direct sunlight on the left of her face. Or her pose.

#3 - Exposure's wrong. Colors are dull. I don't like the lines. Bouncing the flash off the ceiling might've helped for a better exposure. Don't think I can suggest anything along those lines in terms of good composition.

#4 - Not bad. If she wasn't on the phone it'd be a good shot, if she had a nice expression. A sillouete of her with the dress showing might've worked.

#5 - Nice, but 2/3 of the photo is wasted, try a portrait crop.

#6 - If the point of this photo's the rings they need to be larger, and in my opinion closer together or touching. A wide angle lens, say 10-15mm on a 20D, would get them large and still have the people in the background.

I would suggest reading the posing book I posted on this thread. Also find some great photographers and look at their work, find their best photos, and work out what makes them great. Is it lighting? Posing? Expressions? Making the customer comfortable to express themselves in front of you?

verty wrote in post #2370188

did i say i wanted the information so i could try and copy a shot?
no... all i said is i like to understand further how the shot was done.. and to better my knowledge.. i don’t go around looking at pictures on this forum and try to copy them.. and even if i did i can do what i like! i have a free will!

in my opinion no question is a silly question, but you have made me look like some fool by asking what lens this guy used. I totally understand what you are saying in your response but none of it was really necessary to my question in the 1st place...

I wasn't trying to offend, my apologies if I have. Weddings are a profession as well as an art, so I consider this subforum of POTN to be a professional forum. "What lens did you use" isn't a question I expect to see on a professional forum. This is why I also visit forums that cater only to working professional wedding photographers.

karensimmons wrote in post #2371338
Given the quality of images that a lot of "pros" are showing on various boards, I'd say we all need to be MORE critical of our work.

I dunno. When I was being mentored "the client liked it" was never an acceptable excuse for presenting or being satisfied with less than the best. It saddens me that our industry is being dumbed down to that level. No one strives for quality any more and anyone who doesn't backpat even the worst images is accused of being rude or harsh.

What happened to wanting to take pride in your work, to learn and grow, and to constantly strive to make your next image better.

Karen

I agree wholeheartedly. My comments are often considered harsh, but that's because people saying "great shot" to somethings that's at best average doesn't help the photographer improve. That last sentence was a general comment, not a comment on the photos in this thread Don.

Hey Tim...don't sweat it. Folks on POTN can say anything they want. At the end of the day, the client was very happy so I'm happy.

We should never confuse blunt with rude ... rude comments are never a good thing ... but I'll go so far as to say there are many people ON THIS BOARD who need to be more critical of their work. There's a lot of mediocre work here, and a lot of people saying, "Nice" .., when what we really need is people to be blunt (not rude) and say, "That one is boring ... try ______ next time".

Yes we should care what the client thinks ... but only inasmuch as the bar for them is lower than it is for me. I want to the images to rock FOR ME ... and if they rock for me, they will most certainly rock the client. MY BAR is the one that matters.

As a side note ... Tim, I often like to know what lens someone used for a given shot ... it's a useful tid-bit to know as I'm always revising my gear wishlist in my head And it's quicker to make a quick note here than in the gear forum.

bpuppy wrote in post #2383083
As a side note ... Tim, I often like to know what lens someone used for a given shot ... it's a useful tid-bit to know as I'm always revising my gear wishlist in my head And it's quicker to make a quick note here than in the gear forum.

So easily influenced... i'd love a 400mm F2.8 IS so I can take really closely cropped candids from a distance no-one will suspect

tim wrote in post #2383271
So easily influenced... i'd love a 400mm F2.8 IS so I can take really closely cropped candids from a distance no-one will suspect

Ah you mean at those weddings where you aren't the photographer? Or are you getting into the paparazzi field these days tim?

cdi-ink.com wrote in post #2383306
Ah you mean at those weddings where you aren't the photographer? Or are you getting into the paparazzi field these days tim?

That's right, paparazzi from the field next door

tim wrote in post #2383369
That's right, paparazzi from the field next door

When the bride says "gee I didn't even know you were there!" you can answer, "I wasn't."

To all your haters of the shot of the flowers with the bride blurry in the background...the bride is including that in her album. Mom ordered two. An oh, the shot of the clutch with the flowers and the shot of the rings on the altar? Also made the cut.

I'm serving humble pie. Tim and others step right up for your mouth full.

Just playing around folks...thanks for all the comments and CC. It'll only make me a better photog.

sageone wrote in post #2384059
To all your haters of the shot of the flowers with the bride blurry in the background...the bride is including that in her album. Mom ordered two. An oh, the shot of the clutch with the flowers and the shot of the rings on the altar? Also made the cut.

I'm serving humble pie. Tim and others step right up for your mouth full.

You forgot to add the words of Lightning McQueen to the end of that for the clincher:

KA-CHOW!

True that...my kid watches that movie all the time. Or like that other dude says...

KA-CHIGGA, KA-CHIGGA