Need a PUSH

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

Im a Wedding Photographer 1 year in (well I launched almost exactly to the week, 1 year ago - so about 20 weddings under my belt).

I WANT.. actually no, I NEED to push harder, and produce something way better. I think if I dont I might go a little crazy because Im still not where I want to be! There are SO many amazing photographers out there - and I feel like I owe it to the industry and my clients to continue to improve - even though they booked me (and some days I have no idea why! Typical artist never liking my own work).

I want someone to really rip me a new one so to speak. Tear it apart.

Keep in mind - its wedding photography - sometimes I KNOW it already but when its the only shot you got of _____ You gotta kind of do your best with it and can't just trash it and take one another day......

I feel as a wedding photographer- the quantity is just too HUGE for me to upload here.

But I do have a huge number of images posted on my Facebook business page if anyone would be willing to check em out.

I know thats not the ideal way but Im MORE than fine with people stealing and uploading them in their critiques - so that we can focus on the ones that really need work rather than me uploading and flooding this with a bajillion images.

p.s. Yep I know I have obnoxious watermarks on some of them - but remember a lot of times I am posting teasers before the client has made the final payment.


Thanks so much!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samant...7313919?ref=hl

[Polar01]

Samantha: Post one of your wedding image and then tell us to rip you a new one (image that is), with that image we are all looking at the same one but with different eyes. If we were to go to your site that we could all end up talking about different images and that would be of no help to you.

Cheers:

Allan

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

hmm Trouble is I take so many I dont even know where to start...
Should I start with one I love or one I hate?

[Shadowman]

Im a Wedding Photographer 1 year in (well I launched almost exactly to the week, 1 year ago - so about 20 weddings under my belt).

I WANT.. actually no, I NEED to push harder, and produce something way better. I think if I dont I might go a little crazy because Im still not where I want to be! There are SO many amazing photographers out there - and I feel like I owe it to the industry and my clients to continue to improve - even though they booked me (and some days I have no idea why! Typical artist never liking my own work).

I want someone to really rip me a new one so to speak. Tear it apart.

Keep in mind - its wedding photography - sometimes I KNOW it already but when its the only shot you got of _____ You gotta kind of do your best with it and can't just trash it and take one another day......

I feel as a wedding photographer- the quantity is just too HUGE for me to upload here.

But I do have a huge number of images posted on my Facebook business page if anyone would be willing to check em out.

I know thats not the ideal way but Im MORE than fine with people stealing and uploading them in their critiques - so that we can focus on the ones that really need work rather than me uploading and flooding this with a bajillion images.

p.s. Yep I know I have obnoxious watermarks on some of them - but remember a lot of times I am posting teasers before the client has made the final payment.


Thanks so much!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samant...7313919?ref=hl

You should probably keep doing what you are doing if what we see below is a typical example of your work. Regarding your need to challenge yourself, there are professional wedding photography contests that have specific rules of engagement. You will really find a challenge for yourself in these challenges. I know contests aren't for everyone, but it would be a start.

This is a link to one group.
http://www.ispwp.com/

[Manfred M]

Not sure that I love this one. The colour cast is far too yellow for my taste. I prefer a slight degree of warmth in my people shots, but not quite this much.

[PhotoRob]

Nice shot Samantha

[dubaiphil]

Well after 20 weddings presumably your clientele is booking you based on exposure to your previous assignments - so you must be doing something right to attract new business, rather than purely by word of mouth. You must have set yourself a style which the market likes.

The issue probably is that you feel as if you're caught in a rut and feel as if every next photo you take has to be your best?

Before my next comment, please bear in mind that I cannot see the EXIF for this image or the rest of your back catalogue as Facebook is banned at work, where I currently am.

I can't see the EXIF above but it looks like bare off camera flash left and reasonably close due to the light fall off comparing bride to groom - with an assistant or on a stand? If this is the case, maybe in the next wedding try shooting for a period of the reception with just available light, crank up the ISO if required, and shooting a little bit more from the hip. Maybe that will get some different creative juices flowing.

[Steve S]

Not a wedding photographer(not even a portrait photographer), but i'm a stickler for accurate colors. Fixed the red color cast and oversaturation in the red and yellow channels. Added a couple vignettes to make the couple pop off the background a little more. some more sharpening, and reduced the highlights a little.


Very nice image samantha. I like the composition, it's different. I also like the fact you left the clock in the photo.


Not shure if you like this version, but here is the edit i described above.

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

Not sure that I love this one. The colour cast is far too yellow for my taste. I prefer a slight degree of warmth in my people shots, but not quite this much.

This was done as more of an artistic thing- we shot using a yellow gel with off camera flash to give it a very moody look. Colour cast was intentional. I tried to tone it down in PP - but ended up finding that it took away from it.

Funny how I thought I would feel the same way when I saw the shot at first - but seeing if after surprised me
Thanks though!

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

Well after 20 weddings presumably your clientele is booking you based on exposure to your previous assignments - so you must be doing something right to attract new business, rather than purely by word of mouth. You must have set yourself a style which the market likes.

The issue probably is that you feel as if you're caught in a rut and feel as if every next photo you take has to be your best?

Before my next comment, please bear in mind that I cannot see the EXIF for this image or the rest of your back catalogue as Facebook is banned at work, where I currently am.

I can't see the EXIF above but it looks like bare off camera flash left and reasonably close due to the light fall off comparing bride to groom - with an assistant or on a stand? If this is the case, maybe in the next wedding try shooting for a period of the reception with just available light, crank up the ISO if required, and shooting a little bit more from the hip. Maybe that will get some different creative juices flowing.

You got it - right off camera flash held by an assistant but with a yellow gel - to give it a really warm feel. It was shot in a hotel lobby where the coffee shop was simply closed for the day... I rarely use off camera flash, its very new to me - and I've started to become more ballsy with my ISO - so I think by playing with it more (Pushing my ISO) that would be an excellent exercise for me! Thanks!

[Jeff S]

First, let me say that I really like your photo. I am predominantly a nature photographer, so I am offering my version simply as food for thought.

I adjusted the white balance using the eye dropper tools, then took the quick selection tool and outlined the couple, inverted the selection and blurred the background (gaussian blur at 2.0) to gain a little more separation for the couple. I also added a minor curves reduction for the same reason.

Next, I re-inverted the selection so I could work on the couple. Here I added a small amount of brightness which further let the couple stand out from the background. However, I found that this lightened their skin tones to the point where the bride looked like a china doll (which may or may not be accurate, as I've never seen her in real life). Under the assumption that I had gone too far, I then increased vibrance +50 which had the effect of restoring some of the color to their skin and clothes. I finished with a unsharp mask set to 85/1.0/10.

The hardest part to this exercise is not knowing their true skin tones. I hope this gives you some ideas to play with and accept or reject as you think best.

In the end, I really like your image, so I can see why you have 20 weddings under your belt. If I were of a mind to shoot weddings, I think I would just spend as much time as I could with wedding tutorials, books, and classes.

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

Steve S:

I love the look artistically speaking but feel like its got a bit of a crossed processed feel to it - Not sure if its just my screen but I feel like the shadows have taken on a bit of a green - (which the only place I am not sure feels accurate is the green in her hairline and their skin tones.
Would there be a way to isolate that in just Lightroom ? I am finding I simply don't have the time to spend a lot of time in PS because brides are expecting 600+ fully edited images now adays it seems, and with 30+ weddings per year - the time just isnt there....

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

First, let me say that I really like your photo. I am predominantly a nature photographer, so I am offering my version simply as food for thought.

I adjusted the white balance using the eye dropper tools, then took the quick selection tool and outlined the couple, inverted the selection and blurred the background (gaussian blur at 2.0) to gain a little more separation for the couple. I also added a minor curves reduction for the same reason.

Next, I re-inverted the selection so I could work on the couple. Here I added a small amount of brightness which further let the couple stand out from the background. However, I found that this lightened their skin tones to the point where the bride looked like a china doll (which may or may not be accurate, as I've never seen her in real life). Under the assumption that I had gone too far, I then increased vibrance +50 which had the effect of restoring some of the color to their skin and clothes. I finished with a unsharp mask set to 85/1.0/10.

The hardest part to this exercise is not knowing their true skin tones. I hope this gives you some ideas to play with and accept or reject as you think best.

In the end, I really like your image, so I can see why you have 20 weddings under your belt. If I were of a mind to shoot weddings, I think I would just spend as much time as I could with wedding tutorials, books, and classes.

I LOVE the changes you made to the image!
Im not overly proficient at photoshop as I mentioned because I simply dont have the time to play very much, but I certainly wish I did!

Im going to really have to look more into its use. I've learned some basics - but its seems that each time I go in I have to reteach myself because there is SO much... :S

Im thus far exceptionally grateful for all the awesome feedback and examples of alternative edit styles!

xo

[SomedayMyPrintsWillCome]

K so here are a couple I hate LOL

I didn't totally mind the one above!

This was shot in a very very strange space. There were very large windows at the far end of the space (Its actually a big pool deck / lounge / rec room in a hotel ....) That cast very glaring light that washed out the images - yet it was very dark in the space where we were - the natural light didn't seem to reach the area well.... I ended up shooting this on settings ISO 500 F/1.6 and 1/125th

I've since learned that the lense seems to not really focus so well from a distance at lower apetures (Orrr maybe I just suck at my aim - entirely possible - either way my lens and I dont seem to work well together below 1.8 at a distance beyond about 4-5 feet)

So I know its a bit soft.

But everything is super washed out. When I stopped it down a bit while shooting it was still washed out but just... Darker.....

Suggestions in either shooting or PP?

Also there seems to be a lot of noise in the image ... Had I shot it ETTR would this have helped??

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...87820739_n.jpg

[pnodrog]

Hi Samantha I have removed some distractions on the edges of the photograph the most important the handle/door edge? on the right-hand side. I never like lines radiating out of heads so I have broken them up or toned them down. I have adjusted the colour slightly by increasing the blue a bit and the red even less to avoid the over strong yellow and very mild cyan/green cast. It probably needs more colour correction depending on the mood you want to portray. Reduced the strong shadow on shoulder and face and upped he brightness of the flowers slightly.

Overall I would not have played with it if I had not liked it and some of the changes made just relate to my personal taste and not because of any serious flaw but you wanted to see how someone else would do it so I felt I may as well do more than I normally would.

[Polar01]

Samantha: I do not do weddings, but know several that do, not one of them will provide 600+ full blowen processed images. What they do is shoot jpeg and raw, supply the jpegs so that the bride and groom can select whatever the agreed number of images is that will be the processed for print. Then work on only those images. A couple will hand the images to their retoucher who will to a fast basic correction to the style that the photographer wants. The couple than select the final prints and he will do the final edits before the final approval to print.
If your post production is not strong then you may want to look into getting someone as a retoucher to take some of the load off of you. It will cost, however you will in the end be able to shoot more weddings and that is where the money is not the post production. I would suggest if you belong to a local camera club someone who would have sometime, just to sort through, remove and set aside images that are not correct (out of focus, too dark/blown, etc.) then to look for dust spots and correct for that. After some time when you both get to know each other they can then take on more of the processing leaving you more time on the final processing, and printing. Remember if you send 3 hours on the first sort that is not worth your time, you could be doing more important work.

Cheers:

Allan

[Steve S]

Steve S:

I love the look artistically speaking but feel like its got a bit of a crossed processed feel to it - Not sure if its just my screen but I feel like the shadows have taken on a bit of a green - (which the only place I am not sure feels accurate is the green in her hairline and their skin tones.
Would there be a way to isolate that in just Lightroom ? I am finding I simply don't have the time to spend a lot of time in PS because brides are expecting 600+ fully edited images now adays it seems, and with 30+ weddings per year - the time just isnt there....

What you're seeing is the massive amounts of cyan, i had to add, to kill the color cast. (i had a feeling it was an intentional color cast)

A simple way to get rid of colors you don't like, is to crank them up to 100%. This way you can see where the color is, and then mask it out and reduce it to where you like it. If it is a global thing (across the whole image), you can use the curves tool and the separate R G B channels to fix it.


Not shure the best way to do the vignettes in LR. Basically i masked out the couple and darkened the background a little bit. (You could do this with the brush tool)

I also did the same thing, and brightened up their faces just a little bit


Then i painted black around the edges (very light opacity on the brush tool), to focus the light to the center of the image, and then reduced the opacity to around 20, so it wasn't noticable. (i hate vignettes that jump out at you)

(i think you could do the vignettes very quickly in LR)


As far as pushing yourself..................................Look at your best 20 images from the last couple of months.
Now ask yourself one simple question. What one thing will improve my photography the most? Take your time and come up with an honest answer. Then , take the time to learn that one thing. (it could be anything) After that, do it again and again.............(the more you do, the harder the question gets )

[Manfred M]

This was done as more of an artistic thing- we shot using a yellow gel with off camera flash to give it a very moody look. Colour cast was intentional. I tried to tone it down in PP - but ended up finding that it took away from it.

Funny how I thought I would feel the same way when I saw the shot at first - but seeing if after surprised me
Thanks though!

I felt that this is what you had done, as the colours are a bit over the top. Like with many things, personal preference is going to play a large part in how you try to interpret a scene. I thought that the light drop off works adding a natural vignette. This is balanced by the darks in the top left and bottom left corners.

I do gel my flash with an orange filter when shooting under tungsten, but that is more to get overall neutral lighting. I prefer my skin tones to be slightly warm, but tend to do that in post.

One thing I do when I find my shooting getting a bit stale is to go out and shoot with a single prime lens; but I wouldn't do it for something as important as a paid assignement (not a problem for me as I'm 100% enthusiastic amateur). I find that this technique forces me to look at the world slightly differently and somehow seems get the creative juices flowing. You might also want to mix slight changes in your composition; more head shots, tight crops, more full-length shots and throw in a bit of Dutch tilting to see if that gets you out of your comfort zone. I find I need to get out of my comfort zone to progress.

[Ati]

Hi Samantha, great shot. I love the colour cast, the background, the pose, and the overall imaginativeness, but feel that less d.o.f. would help the couple stand out . q&d :

Keep on following your gut feel !
BTW, as there is a 'vertical marker' just behind the groom's head, it needed a tiny bit of correction

[nimitzbenedicto]

Im a Wedding Photographer 1 year in (well I launched almost exactly to the week, 1 year ago - so about 20 weddings under my belt).

Thanks so much!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samant...7313919?ref=hl

Awesome !

Really? You need push ???

After savoring your pictures, maybe it's the other way around.

Sure, peeps can say this and that about your pix, ( any pix if they want to ),
but your images are beyond simple "technical glitches" .

For me - They're terrific !

No wonder people want you to record their most important moments.

I doubt it if any of them wasted time, or want to waste time on such things as "photograph rules" ( there's a thread about rules and breaking them here on our forum ).

All they want is to have their images taken by you.

Period.