Wedding Photo in a Park

hi guys, I am new to the forum. I am a London, UK based Wedding Photographer.

Just looking for a helpful bit of critique on the following photo as I am always looking to improve my work and look forward to offering any help and advice to other forum members too.

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any takers?

Hi UncleNed,

I have found that in recent times it takes more than a few hours and sometimes a few days to get a response to a post. You've got 35 views in 4 hours, which IMHO is pretty good relative to my standards (I get a lot less and very few comments).

You have some good gear at your disposal there and I'm not sure this image has done your experience or the equipment justice. I can see the image doesn't look horizontally straight, composition is good.

Can I ask what you were anticipating out of the image and the critique? Is this the best shot you took?

I don't know where to go from here.

sorry but this photo looks more like a snapshot from a relative at the wedding.

wayne_eddy wrote in post #10992832
Hi UncleNed,

I have found that in recent times it takes more than a few hours and sometimes a few days to get a response to a post. You've got 35 views in 4 hours, which IMHO is pretty good relative to my standards (I get a lot less and very few comments).

You have some good gear at your disposal there and I'm not sure this image has done your experience or the equipment justice. I can see the image doesn't look horizontally straight, composition is good.

Can I ask what you were anticipating out of the image and the critique? Is this the best shot you took?

I don't know where to go from here.

Sorry for coming across as impatient.

Critique wise I wanted to ask others what is wrong with the image and how I could have improved it in-camera and then in PP. I think I did correct the horizon with the LR angle tool, but will revisit it.

Denis Seguin wrote in post #10992881
sorry but this photo looks more like a snapshot from a relative at the wedding.

Fair enough, could you help me out by pointing out what works and doesnt work?

Thank you in advance

i am far very far from a wedding photographer, but heres my blurb

sky totally blown out, no detail at all, also eats in detail of trees, most tops are total blown.
couple looks like they were cup and pasted on this foto.....dont have the knolwedge to say why this is, but its what i feel/see.
suggestion why not next time get down a bit lower ....get a diff angle?

as above, sky totally blown out and on closer inspection does look as if the couple have been cut and pasted into the scene

I am by no means a pro.
But a few things that I think can improve this photo
- If the sky wasn't blown out
- A little more contrast and saturation to make the colors pop
- The colors in the photo doesn't seem to match the mood you're trying to portray.

A few suggestions. Too much background too little subject. I know you were going for the landscape portrait but the couple are too small in this shot. Get them closer make them fill a bigger part of the frame. You need some fill flash, preferably off camera, to illuminate them which would allow you keep the sky from washing out. Especially since the sky is a significant element in the scene. I would also try shooting them from higher and lower angles to move the horizon line out of the middle of the scene.

^ Exactly, get close/

They have trees and houses on the same level as their heads. Doesn't help the picture.

great, thank you all for the feedback so far. Picture is definitely not a cut and paste job, but I know why you guys are saying it. Its due to a mask applied in LR. I will rework the image taking on board the feedback above and post a reworked version. I appreciate somethings have to be done right in camera, so that will have to be things to consider in my next shoot.

Fill flash was used here, but I guess due to my distance from the subject, I may have squandered the light somewhat.

Ideas on OCF would be very useful. I was thinking of perhaps have a naked flash to camera left fired at the couple and then little fill from camera right?

Once again, all comments greatly appreciated!

Hi UncleNed, welcome to the forum.

My feeling for this is that the background objects are too far away and thus rendering them a bit boring, along with an uninteresting sky. As others have said, getting closer to the couple would maybe help, also getting closer to the background may have helped.

If fill was used here, you didnt underexpose the ambient enough to make the fill apparent and to control the sky. You usually want to underexpose the background by 1.5 to 2 stops to saturate the background and use the flash to highlight your subject. Obviously thats done to taste so your mileage may vary.