My first time shooting a wedding!

[jrmyrnsm]

Well two of my very good friends recently got married and since the photographer was a friend of the bride she told me I could follow the photographer around to get some experience as well as some shots for a portfolio. I was really excited about the opportunity and very happy with the shots I got. Comments and criticism is encouraged. Let me know what you think! All the shots were shot with my 30D and all but two I used my 50mm.

1: The Groom with his brother the best man.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2742674099_043076ff92.jpg?v=0

2: The guys getting ready.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/2743512498_e205b1ea42.jpg?v=0

3: Bride w/ groomsmen
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2742674397_822a68f3ff.jpg?v=0

4: Vice Versa
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2743512782_199ac22bb9.jpg?v=0

5: Classic groomsmen shot...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2143/2743512842_19e6ece960.jpg?v=0

6: The happy couple.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/2742674191_1c5af3505d.jpg?v=0

7: Musicians.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2742674229_64d3388107.jpg?v=0

8: One of my favs...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/2742674277_86eb4fa36f.jpg?v=0

9: The kiss.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/2743512686_a8534ce2c0.jpg?v=0

10:No modern wedding would be complete without the jump pic!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2743512892_80edfb1ed2.jpg?v=0

11: First dance.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2742674351_b24f1ac85d.jpg?v=0

After this my wife (far left in pic 10) asked if I could put away the camera and join her on the dance floor so I didn't get any of them leaving or many at the reception but overall I was pretty happy with what I got. Let me know what you guys think!

[Scott_Quier]

#2 is under exposed and composition could have been better (cut off the top of his head)

#3 She's over-exposed and the guys under-exposed. But, it's a very nice composiiton - I like it!

#4 The lighting is a bit better here. The composition is a little strange. He's all relaxed while the ladies are much more formally posed. Hmm..

#5 - Good composition though I wonder if you could have reduced the impact of the bright background had you waited a bit?

#6 and #7 - Under-exposed

#8 - That's a keeper - love the expression. Color cast might need some work though.

#9 They are significantly over-exposed

#10 - Background is too bright

#11 - Nice perspective and good capture of the emotion (remember it's all about the emotion!!), but technically, it suffers from underexposure, color cast (red/magenta) and is a bit centered.

All in all, this was a good firt effort and shows a lot of promise for what you can get deliver in the future!

[jrmyrnsm]

Thank you for the comments and criticism Scott! I knew my exposure needed some work, it was one of the first times I had to try and get shots without having "ample" time to check all my settings but thats something I'm working on. My composition on a lot of them was limited because of using the prime and I was trying to stay out of the main photographers way which lead to some different angles than I would have normally used, but I knew that going in... Thanks again and I appreciate the comments!

[dangin]

i've got to echo scott's comments especially about exposure and lighting. i think a couple of things that you may want to play around with and see how they work for you are:

1) bounce flash. this doesn't mean just aiming your flash head straight up. 45 degrees or even off of opposing walls when indoors.
2) looking for light. shots 3 & 4 really lack this IMO. your foreground and background subjects are about 3 stops off from one another. composing it differently would have helped.
3) fill flash. would have provided less stark contrast in #10.

i know you mentioned you weren't the hired gun for the wedding so please don't take my comments as being overly critical. one of the things i tell new wedding shooters is look for good light and use it. and when there isn't any, then cheat and fill it in with flash. :D

[jrmyrnsm]

Thanks again for the comments! I'm excited about the next time I have an opportunity to shoot a wedding so I can try and improve my shots. I'll have to play with some of them on photoshop and see if I can get them looking a little better...

[Scott_Quier]

Thanks again for the comments! I'm excited about the next time I have an opportunity to shoot a wedding so I can try and improve my shots. I'll have to play with some of them on photoshop and see if I can get them looking a little better...
Between now and then, practice on anyone that'll stand still for it. It's gotten so bad around my house that my just about runs every time I point a camera in her direction. :D The practice will hold you in good stead when it comes time to again shoot under pressure. Also, practice shooting in full manual mode - you'll get a better appreciation for the relationships between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

[bham]

Yeah see what you can do in pp with them. Given your conditions (behind primary, basically a guest with a cam) and what you brought to shoot (one lens, no flash) with, not bad.

George Costanza (Seinfeld), wait I mean Scott, did a good job of critique. Sorry Scott, with that avatar you look like his twin.

[jeffreaux2]

George Costanza (Seinfeld), wait I mean Scott, did a good job of critique. Sorry Scott, with that avatar you look like his twin.

Oh Boy......:huh



....:lurk

[Scott_Quier]

George Costanza (Seinfeld), wait I mean Scott, did a good job of critique. Sorry Scott, with that avatar you look like his twin.
OK - I know when I've been slammed. I have lots more hair than he does:D

[bham]

OK - I know when I've been slammed. I have lots more hair than he does:D

I did not mean it as a slam. But the smile and glasses are so much like him. I really wasn't looking at the hair. Yes you have much more than he. Surely I can't be the first to tell you this. Seinfeld is my favorite show.

[Scott_Quier]

I did not mean it as a slam. But the smile and glasses are so much like him. I really wasn't looking at the hair. Yes you have much more than he. Surely I can't be the first to tell you this. Seinfeld is my favorite show.
It's all cool. And, yes, you are the first person to tell me my avitar looks like him.