Kate and Todd - Omaha, NE Beach Wedding?

Hey -

Posted some pics from a wedding I shot this weekend in Omaha. There was a small beach and I think I got some really nice shots. C&C Welcome

http://danielvalenteph​otography.com …ongrats-to-kate-and-todd/"]http://danielvalenteph​otography.com …ongrats-to-kate-and-todd/

Shot with Canon 5d, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 85mm f/1.8

Great stuff!
I love the sharpness in the cupcakes! (Makes me want to go bake some)! :@

Thanks @Mhappy

They were really tasty, too. One got squished on the ride over, so me and the other photog I was working with got a pre-wedding taste.

I shot that with the 24-70mm @ 70mm f/2.8 w/580 EX + Gary Fong Lightsphere II

I like the compositions and the expressions that you got, but the shots all seem underexposed by about a half-stop or more.

I agree, underexposed. As well as flat. Nice and all, but you may want to develop your lighting skills.

Right on @ Peacefield any specific comments regarding lighting? These samples were minimally processed from the RAW files. I added one more sample about 70% down in the post where I increased the contrast, and exposure such that It's just about clipping.

Thanks for the tips and comments, I appreciate it and it helps me for the future.

Also, this is why I'm glad I shot in RAW

Raw is good for under exposure, not really for lighting

Agreed. I was actually quite happy with the lighting, in a perfect world I would have been able to take the formal shots around sundown vs. Late afternoon but you have to go with the schedule.

A lovely set, your favourite one is also mine, & the cup cake shot. (was that the Canon 24-70 version?)

Regards Spence

Thanks @spenc, yes 24-70mm for the cupcakes 70mm @ f/2.8

I re-edited most of the images in improve the color and exposure. I'm very happy with the results. Check it. Out: http://danielvalenteph​otography.com …ongrats-to-kate-and-todd/

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Hi, Daniel. That new image you posted is much better from an exposure and color perspective. From a lighting perspective, though, it's still flat. This is something you can only do photographically, you can't make it happen in post processing. It's all about establishing directional light; light that comes in at a subject from a direction other than the view of the lens. It's also (usually but not always) about making your subject the brightest element of the photo. Experiment with off camera flash or bouncing to bring just a little light in from an angle. Not only will the highlights draw the viewer's eye, the mix of highlights and shadows will give the subject's face some shape, depth, and interest. If you need technical info on how to do it, check out the forum dedicated to lighting; you'll find a lot of how-to's there.

Thank you @peacefield, I have experimented a bit with off camera flash off-line. For the reception I was using a bounced-flash, but not for any of the pre-ceremony outside shots. It is something I will have to incorporate more. Right now, I have a 580ex speedlight, I should invest in some pocket wizards to pull it off of the camera.

Cheers and thanks for checking out my stuff.

There are lots of ways to manage off-camera flash. I've yet to drop the money on PW's. My preferred approach is using two 580's (which I want to have for redundancy anyway). I allow the two to talk to each other via infared, shooting in ETTL, and I'll either disable the on camera flash which is doing all the communicating or have it on for a little fill if I need a lot of flash. Sounds complicated, but it's all very easily done through menus on the back of your camera.

I also have a long ETTL cord if I'm in an environment when infared isn't reliable. Finally, I use Cybersyncs for triggers, but that requires me to control flash exposure manually which is obnoxious. Then, of course, there's always bouncing. But bounce off walls and not the ceiling. This will allow your light to come in from the side and create the shadows and depth you're looking for.

Right on, thanks for the tips. Independent of the lighting issues, which I agree I have to work on, do you think this was a reasonable attempt for a first wedding?