First real wedding

Last year I took some amateur pictures of my sister's wedding (she had a pro photographer, I was just a guest). However, the book I made for her as a present got a lot of positive feedback and people wanted to book me as a photographer. I said no because I was scared and unprepared. However one couple kept insisting, so now, one year later, I shot their wedding. My first real job. Well, I took it as a practice job so technically speaking there is no job to speak of. But still.

I think, for a first time wedding of someone other than relatives, I did pretty okay. The whole series was black & white documentary but there were a few pics I kept in color. Here are some of them:
What do you think? I see there is a lot of room for improvement but I don't think it's a bad start.

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82MM. ISO 200. 1/3200. F4 (24-105. 5D Mk II). No flash. Postprocessing: Color saturation.

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60MM. ISO 100. 1/1250. F4 (24-105. 5D Mk II). No flash. Postprocessing: Color saturation.

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105MM. ISO 100. 1/640. F4 (24-105. 5D Mk II). No flash. Postprocessing: Color saturation.


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50MM. ISO 3200. 1/160. F2.8 (50 MM 1.4. 5D Mk II). No flash. Post processing: Vignette. Noise reduction and re-adding (better) noise to diffuse gradients and colors.

Great start! Really interesting shots and not typical wedding shots. Nice job. The low angle is well done with the right DOF, Nice work on the light on the inside one.


Larry

And here are three shots from the rest of the series, which is b&w documentary style stuff.

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Very well done Madison. I especially love the last color shot. Perfect timing.

Madison - These are all awesome. Like Sean said, you timed them perfectly.


Well done!

Amazing, really. Simply out of the box: you got special angles, special lighting, special timing and special evertyhing. Certienly not typical wedding shots, more like artistic shots... well done!

Thanks you guys. I was so incredbly nervous and insecure during the day. Seriously: I thought I was screwing up and I did need to do some serious postprocessing in some shots to fix quick but wrong decisions I made on the fly.


I am still not sure I should do this comercially (this I did not. It was expenses only). My sister's wedding was different but also black & white and very documentary/romantic. These shots were much more orchestrated half of the day (my sister's was all documentary without any posed shots). The bride and groom were very happy but in all honesty: I see loads and loads of stuff that should have been handled better by me and won't do it comercially until I am sure I can offer a kind of quality and stability. This, for me, is a good start but not good enough to start advertsing with hoping for more wedding clients. Good thing Photo Academy is starting in September :-)

Madison, I like them. As Sean and Alex said, perfect timing on the last color one. The expression in the second B/W one is excellent. Whether posed or not, that shows you can make the subjects feel comfortable.


As for what you said about being nervous, I'd imagine so. I've heard weddings are really nerve-racking. But from my view (keep in mind with very little experience) I say you can still market yourself. If a couple insisted on you shooting their wedding then they trusted you. And what better way to grow than by shooting what you want to grow in?


A jazz band instructor at districts two years ago made me solo at the concert. Did I think I was ready? Heck no! haha. But somehow I landed first chair and the solos fell on me. Point is, I did it. Yeah I was forced, and yes I messed up (I finished playing with half a chorus left!). But I grew from it and was able to solo even better than before at the next concert. This concludes my motivational rant haha :) But I say "Go for it" :)


Here is the blog site of the #1 ranked wedding photogs in Panama City, Florida. You might check them out.http://www.vuephotographyonline.net/

Great work.


The only way to ever feel completely worry free at a wedding is to have solid back-up equipment and eventually a second shooter. When my daughter started shooting with me, it took a ton a strain out of weddings.

Those are some of the coolest wedding pics I have ever seen. I think you should feelvery comfortable charging for that level work.


(BTW - I just knew you weren't in the U.S. when I saw the smoking pic!)

damn dude....


great perspective. I wish I did it. [:)]


I wish i could describe what was so unique about it. I keep thinking, "big sky", but that's a horrible choice of words, and it has nothing to do with the sky


Oh well...

can you tell us more about the color pictures especially the one walking out down the aisle. Lens, ISO, f, speed, external light.


what camera are you using

While you're at it, how about covering some of the work and the processes you did in post? That's my personal weakness and I always wonder how you get that look..... which I love btw. Subtle enough that if you weren't a photog you probably wouldn't know it had been done.


As for the taking of the pictures, I think that maybe with the first one I'd clone out the tree on the right so you can crop the skyline down lower (that old 1/3rds rule about keeping your horizon away from the middle of the frame that the tree is making kinda impossible)... the second one is money... I personally might give the sky a bit more punch but that's totally personal preference.... other than the shadows on the b/g's faces the third one is really nice as well. And I might have moved the shot down just a pinch for the third but the shot is absolutely gorgeous.


Really enjoyed the b/w's too, love the highlight on the bride's hair in the circular mirror reflection (have you tried cropping it in a bit closer to emphasize that?)


Without seeing the other shots you have made but having seen some of the "professional" photographers that make a living doing weddings around here, I definately think you could make a go as wedding photog (great if you like your stress served in large doses over short periods of time :P). You've got great shots for an album for sure and a great eye for the "romance" of the whole thing (which is what sells brides on you as a photog anyways)


PS I'm not an animal person but LOVING the frog shot and the first pic of the cat that you've got under your profile :D

Thanks! Wow I am so humbled by the compliments. To be honest I think they are a good start but so-so.





The picture with the couple walking down the aisle was taken at 1/160 - ISO3200 - 50mm (prime) F2.8. No external lighting, that would have pretty much ruined it. To dramatize the effect I used some serious vignetting in post production. I also did some noise reduction, only to add a finer noise back in, to maintain the film look. It also diffused some of the colors to create a softer look.





In the black & white stuff I like high contrasts, loads of deep black and vignetting as well as dodge/burn to further enhance the shots.


That's all basically. I have one postprocessing rule though: as much as I can crop, burn and dodge or saturate or de-noise etc. Even take out a bad pimple, I never change much in the scene. So removing an entire tree, as trivial as it may seem for the picture, is not an option for me. It was there, so it stays in the picture. Had I not wanted it in there I should have repositioned the camera or politely ask the tree to step away for a second.

Oh the camera is a 5D MkII. I shot with two lenses only: the 24-105 and the 50mm1.4 for dark stuff to maintain available light. However I did experiment a bit with flash outside but I am not very good with it so I put it back in the bag.

(The frog is the biggest fattest ugliest frog I have ever seen. It's gross! Every time I see one like that they disgust me. So I had to take a picture).

great shots there! I have my first proper weddings comming up in a few weeks for the summer.

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Originally Posted by Maleko

great shots there! I have my first proper weddings comming up in a few weeks for the summer.
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Cool! One small tip? I dunno where you are but where I am we have some seriously warm and sunny weather (that we normally do not have) with some very high humidity. Pack light, and keep hydrated. That last one almost got to me. I was so busy taking shots I forgot to drink and the second you notice that there may not be a moment to hunt for water because you're in the middle of the ceremony or something. So make sure you drink enough.

Excellent job Madison.


Weddings are fun to shoot, especially during the day. My wife and I have had a slew of night weddings over the last year and those can be very difficult. We've got a afternoon wedding coming up in August. Hope the suns out just a bit.


Great job with the post on that ISO3200. The light in that image is gourgeous! What a fantastic capture! Smart camera/lens settings.


Did you pre focus? Or just point &amp;shoot. The dof on FF @ 2.8 is pretty darn narrow. Oh, Oh, I know, AI Servo maybe?


Chargeaccordingly for the next one, O.K.


Chuck

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Originally Posted by Chuck Lee

Did you pre focus? Or just point &amp;shoot. The dof on FF @ 2.8 is pretty darn narrow. Oh, Oh, I know, AI Servo maybe?

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No it was AI Focus, and AF-Center Point preselected and me walking backwards trying to take the shot because they were walking as well and I had some steps to conquer (there were steps leading up to the doorway of the room they were in and I was walking out, backwards, photographing them, trying to not trip. With a prime, even on FF, 50MM was a bit too narrow for me. I had expected it to work better but I had trouble using it. I would have loved to have done the ceremony 35mm or even 24mm to be honest. This is why I had problems with this particular shot. I love the light, hate the fact that their feet are cut off. I needed to back off but there was no time/room for me to do that.

Wow, AI Focus, I'd seriously given up on trying to use that mode. Your right, I'd thought 50mm onFF would be wide enough as well. Before you invest in a 35 or wider, take a look at used 17-35 L zooms. You can find them for a reasonable price. About half the cost of a 16-35. I have one and enjoy the heck out of it. At f2.8 35mmthat lens would have really worked for you there. You'll find that the versatility of a zoom far outwieghs the IQ of a prime when shooting weddings photojournalist style. Save the primes for staticstudio poses. Otherwise.....zoom withyour feet and possibly land on your seat!! Ouch!


But still....dude, never noticed the feet fading off into the shadows. That's a really good photo!! Be proud.


Chuck

You know, I had the 16-35 but I had to sell it. I sure missed it during that day. When I find another job I will be repurchasing this lens as fast as I can. The 17-40 is not an option though. If I remember correctly it won't go below F4, right? That is a problem in very low light available light only situations. I had the primes for portrait stuff I want to do, but I decided to take the 50mm to the wedding anyway. You are right: zooms are a better idea. I learned that the hard way. I felt SO restricted using a prime. I guess it's a matter of learning to work with em.





As for the AI Focus: why'd you give up on it? I'd love to know. I had mine set to it by accident hehe. With just the af center point selected: Ai focus doesn't even make sense to mee? See: Rookie mistake number (insert high number).





[:D]

Madison, looking the images you have here, I am very impressed. I think you can make some money now[:)] Good luck with future business.

Your right the 17-40 is an f4 lens. I tested one and I think it's more like a f4.5 lens. If you can afford it the 16-35 f2.8 UWA lens is hard to beat. I've never shot with one. Remember too that with a shorter focal length you can get away with a lower shutter speed. 1/160th was agreat way to make sure that the image you took would be sharp but at 35mm you could easily have done it with 1/125 and if you weren't walking backwards could have shot it at 1/90th. That would allow you to shoot at ISO1600...just a tad cleaner.


As for the AI focus. Everytime I tried to use it at one of my son's basketball games it didn't work. I found that AI servo with a fixed focal length worked best for mein low light with moving subjects. Maybe I'll give it another chance the next time I'm shooting a start and stop subject.


Anyway, thanks for owning upto the AI focus mishap.....your're a real man.


Cheers..........


P.S. I left you a challenge in the sRGB vs. Adobe RGB post.

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Originally Posted by Madison

Had I not wanted it in there I should have repositioned the camera or politely ask the tree to step away for a second.
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Well if I see any headlines about walking trees I'll know who to blame ;)


The 16-35mm f/2.8L II is definately a must have for weddings.... right up there with the 24-x and 70-200 f/2.8... (I personally have the 24-70 but I know lotsa guys like the IS and reach on the 24-105)





As for the focus mode mistake.... aren't some of the best pictures made by doing something or other by mistake?

I love the look of that walking down the aisle shot... very nice!


~ Ken