QUITE new to this forum...

So other than my kiddos, I've rarely focused on "people" as subjects. Frankly, the idea scared me, but I'm getting more and more brave as my sister's wedding (which I'm "the" photographer for) approaches.

Would anyone be willing to critique this, please? Its my sister, done as a practice wedding shot at her venue (which happens to be the Hotel Hershey).

looks like the background has a lot of potential.. try using rule of thirds on this

hehe, good luck at the wedding! always a scary thing the first time out. her face seems a bit centered in the shot but you have some nice leading lines.

You don't mention what equipment you have available.

This image needs more light I think. The background is a bit busy and your sister is too low in the frame. Applying the rule of thirds her face is dead center in the frame. Move her face off to one of the top intersects in the rule of thirds and you'll generally have a more pleasing image.

And of course, dump the sun glasses.

Good luck. Plan your shots ahead of time - make a list. Know where the sun will be and where you'll stand to shoot. And if you'll be shooting flash figure out how many batteries you have and buy about that many more.....

Thank you for the pointers! I've currently got a XTi, 18-55mm kit lens and 70-300 IS, w/430 ex speedlite flash and diffuser, tripod and polarizer filter (not a fabulous one, but it works).

Here is the re-cropped version....

Titus213 wrote in post #5830878
You don't mention what equipment you have available.

This image needs more light I think. The background is a bit busy and your sister is too low in the frame. Applying the rule of thirds her face is dead center in the frame. Move her face off to one of the top intersects in the rule of thirds and you'll generally have a more pleasing image.

And of course, dump the sun glasses.

Good luck. Plan your shots ahead of time - make a list. Know where the sun will be and where you'll stand to shoot. And if you'll be shooting flash figure out how many batteries you have and buy about that many more.....

It definitely has a dull look to it (color wise). Needs the cliche "more pop". Levels and Curves adjustments will do wonders for you.

Doodle,

If your sister's wedding is indoors, I think you might find your gear struggling some to keep up. I suggest you start practicing on indoor shots with your flash, as I anticipate you will need it. The lenses you have are "slow" and don't have a wide maximum aperature, and will probably be fighting with slow shutter speeds all day long. Start using the flash now will help you get prepare for what is to come. The lighting in churches is known to be very poor.

And if your sister's wedding is outdoors your flash will definitely be needed for fill. That's another area to practice. Generally if you keep the kit lens above f6.3 sharpness is good. Below that they often appear soft.

I'm not at all familiar with the 70-300 lens you have.

Keep your ISO as low as you can maintaining shutter speed. With the XTi I would try to keep my ISO below 800 unless you have experience removing noise. So you can quickly see why wedding photographers generally have faster lenses - they are a great aid with the light issues.

Thank you very much to all of you. BlueDodge and Titus, its outdoors, thank goodness, unless the weather is bad, in which case it'll be held in a smaller hotel meeting room. I've been fortunate enough to be able to play with the venue a little bit already (its the Hotel Hershey), but hope to be able to play even a little bit more. I've got a few more pictures that I haven't uploaded to photobucket yet....they're not toooooooooo bad for practice shots.

I'm grateful to all of you for the input. I'm really nervous....especially since its my sister. lol!

DoodleBunz wrote in post #5843157
Thank you for the pointers! I've currently got a XTi, 18-55mm kit lens and 70-300 IS, w/430 ex speedlite flash and diffuser, tripod and polarizer filter (not a fabulous one, but it works).

You're braver than I am to do a wedding with only one camera and flash. I'd have to see more than one photo to be able to judge if you could pull it off. The one pic you posted looks nice, but you won't be able to stage up shots like that during the festivities. You'll have to be thinking on your feet and seeing shots and get them as they happen. Good luck.

I'm actually grateful to have a friend with me. Same equipment and approximately the same talent....along with a spare camera from a relative (same model, 17-85mm lens w/IS)...but yeah. I've talked with her, and she knows that we're not pros by any means...and still promised to be ok with that. So...we'll see. :-S I'll certainly do my best by her.

I do have a flickr album... http://www.flickr.com …8/sets/72157604​522829701/ shows a little more of my "stuff."

Based on your gallery I'd say you just need some practice with fill flash.

Titus213 wrote in post #5851434
Based on your gallery I'd say you just need some practice with fill flash.

Thank you! Yes, the fill flash is very new to me. Thankfully, my kids are hams and don't mind when I "practice" on them.

I really appreciate all the cc that's been offered. Hopefully you'll start seeing some improved shots soon!

so, how'd it go?

me