**WCC (Weddings Challenge Contest) #2: DRAGGIN' THE SHUTTER

[tenoverthenose]

Sure a nice sharp photo has its place...

Normally at weddings we all strive for sharpness and clarity. But something magical happens when we slow down the shutter and let life percolate there for a while. Show us your best use of slow shutter speed and how it adds life and motion!

Once again, the rules are listed here (http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=143099). Deadline for submission is end of day October 22nd.

Let's have some fun and inspire each other!

[urbanaries]

http://www.lynnehulbert.com/photos/658191556_Ut3PA-L.jpg

f9, 1/20, flash fired.

[angevin1]

Atta way to go there Urbanaries! Get that bar right on up there!:D

[Scott_Quier]

http://www.lnl-photo.com/photos/199249157_SynpH-L.jpg (http://www.lnl-photo.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=199249157&ImageKey=SynpH)

Click on photo for EXIF (1/15, f/2.8, ISO 800, 17mm on a Canon 30D)

Off-camera strobes, shutter speed slowed to allow the warmth of the ambient light bouncing off the finished pine walls and ceiling to suffuse the image.

[angevin1]

The thrill

http://www.tomwisephotos.com/photos/660329718_cuo7S-M.jpg

D70 f11 1/90th sec. ISO 200

[heatherfeather]

Here's mine:
http://www.ambiencephotographyalaska.com/photos/319267878_knCEQ-L-1.jpg

1/40th at f4.5 ISO 1000

[FoxySmud]

She was so excited and running everywhere - till it came time to walk down the aisle - then she didn't want to move!!

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp349/katsmud/RP0105.jpg

92mm, f/4.5, 1/50, ISO 100

[Matthew Saville]

Ya know, I really don't drag the shutter that much. I did it a lot right when I started out, you know the typical blurry dance floor shots, but I guess my style changed over time. And the few shutter-drag shots I still do, I dunno if they're powerful enough to win a contest! Here goes nothin', I guess... I like the "maximum occupancy" sign at the top... ;-)


=Matt=


http://matthewsaville.smugmug.com/photos/329386384_Vgm4a-L.jpg

[jeffreaux2]

http://www.jkmann.com/photos/663714267_EWMW5-L.jpg

Canon 50D, 17-55mmF2.8IS @ 38mm, F3.5, ISO400, 1/160s....effect achieved in photoshop.
Lit with a handheld monopod mounted 580EX, backlit by stand mounted 580EX, both fired via Canon STE2.

[Agnieszka]

Wohoo! Love the shots you guys posted.

I'm not much of a long shutter kind of girl (even though I love them), BUT I'll play with the ONE photo I have :rofl

Nothing fancy but I kind of like it anyway:

http://photos.abrilliantphoto.com/photos/664162467_cwoQ4-L.jpg

[mmmatt]

I deceided to change my entry. This is from a recent engagment session.

"Traffic"

http://www.lightcraft-photography.com/photos/674465801_Efmbu-L.jpg

5d, 24-70f2.8L @ 24mm, iso 50, f 6.3, 1/2 sec, on camera flash








This was my original submission for reference.

http://www.lightcraft-photography.com/photos/664181094_oBLz2-Ti.jpg



Matt

[Swartzy]

Oh goodie...get to play for a change :D

http://swartzy.smugmug.com/photos/664226118_GHgWH-XL.jpg

ISO 640 f/5.0 1/15th

[mmmatt]

Oh goodie...get to play for a change :D

Dude... I posted a picture of a carnation in a plastic party cup for the last one... you could have posted something!

I like this one though. I'm a sucker for the flower girls!

Matt

[Swartzy]

Dude... I posted a picture of a carnation in a plastic party cup for the last one... you could have posted something!

I like this one though. I'm a sucker for the flower girls!

Matt

Hehehe....sorry Matt...I'm a bit slow..get so consumed with too many things to do that I missed the last one.....yeah, silly on my part...I'll try to stay up on things from now on :wink

[Blurmore]

I think the best shutter drags are always accidental on purpose. This is one of my favorites ever, and it is from back in the day like 05 my first wedding with my name on it. 1/5 f4 ISO 400

http://www.jasonknauer.com/photos/42082229_teMEa-L.jpg

[Swartzy]

Love it Jason...."accidental on purpose"...hehe..so true. Well done.

[Betz]

Heading out to see his bride before the ceremony. An accidentally on purpose shot that the primary photog liked and added to their gallery.

http://betzography.smugmug.com/photos/626711484_MfSpZ-XL.jpg

[jdpst20]

Not sure if my photographers are on here from my wedding as I just joined yesterday, however I saw this thread and I had to post this photo from my wedding 3 months ago. They are Araujo Photography in Pittsburgh. This is easily in the top 5 of my favorites from that day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/bimmerdriver99/screen-capture-7.jpg?t=1254410653

[Shima]

This is one of those guest photos that cracks me up every time, but I love it because it's fun and different. Taken 2009-08-08 wedding. 1/10 at f1.4 ISO 400. Flash fired
Reason for my edit on this post: posted the watermarked copy by accident, fixed that.

http://photos.cathoffman.com/photos/667470235_m85SN-L.jpg

[mmmatt]

I think the best shutter drags are always accidental on purpose.

So true Jason! Mine was actually a case of my off camera flash firing the wrong way so it did almost nothing for the lighting on the shot. I like yours a lot. Just enough sharpness to see a lovely bride with a big smile. Great stuff!!

Matt

[angevin1]

. I'm a sucker for the flower girls!

Matt

Mee too...they're so darned cute, they should have their own contest!

[Scoupe]

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/668230340_byydq-L.jpg

ISO200, f 7, .4 sec shutter, D200 with a Tamron 17-55 f2.8.

In Indian weddings, the groom arrives with his family to the bride's house before the ceremony. A horse or elephant is the most traditional mode of conveyance, but a fancy convertible auto will suffice. But here in the USA, where there may be few family members and one's circle of friends is small, they improvise the tradition. Here the groom arrives at the hotel meeting room after a short stroll from the atrium and pool area. I wanted to blow out the hokey atrium detail and give the shot a little anticipatory drama, so I dragged the shutter on a few shots. This one happened to work.

[erinnphotog]

[quote=urbanaries]http://www.lynnehulbert.com/photos/658191556_Ut3PA-L.jpg

You capture the motion so perfectly, nice work. I'm Dizzy :rofl

[erinnphotog]

http://www.eirinnphotography.com/photos/669068585_eC6kY-M-2.jpg

Thought I would try!

[urbanaries]

[quote=urbanaries]http://www.lynnehulbert.com/photos/658191556_Ut3PA-L.jpg

You capture the motion so perfectly, nice work. I'm Dizzy :rofl

heh, thank you! I think we had two takes, and the groom thought he was going to hurl, so I had to say "cut!!" ;)

this is my favorite use of second curtain flash...nothing else would have worked here so nicely. Thanks for commenting!

[bdcolen]

A shutter setting in the 1/4 to 15th sec range, and a flick of the wrists left or right has become a standard part of my reception shooting tool box...And here's a father-daughter dance shot that way...

http://www.bdcolenphoto.com/photos/548430205_5Brup-X2.jpg

[lilmomma]

love it or hate it, here's my entry:


http://www.melissakayser.com/photos/668332522_iyECT-L.jpg

[Kinkajou]

From my first wedding shoot this past weekend:

Blow Dry
http://kozelsky.smugmug.com/photos/670844285_a64b2-L.jpg

[jbakerphoto]

Well cant say I was trying to get this effect but it sure did come out cool. I suppose. or not. LOL

http://images.photo1.walgreens.com/232323232%7Ffp%3B%3C%3Dot%3E2338%3D597%3D769%3DXRO QDF%3E2323%3B%3A23%3B46%3C%3Bot1lsi

[kpage]

Definitely not up to where some of your drags are but flower girl making a wish from a wedding i second shot with Shima a few weeks ago.

http://www.kp-photos.com/photos/673878942_U8YYq-M.jpg

[tenoverthenose]

Lots of great images in here so far, but the contest isn't over yet! I hope that everyone has a chance to enter.

[sara505]

Lots of great images in here so far, but the contest isn't over yet! I hope that everyone has a chance to enter.
Pretty much how I shoot all my dance pics, have been for a while. This was shot at 1/13 sec:

http://www.sarapiazza.com/photos/666444074_nkvMt-M.jpg

[Scoupe]

Pretty much how I shoot all my dance pics, have been for a while. This was shot at 1/13 sec:



I keep coming back to admire this. I love all the little curves from the twinkle lights sort of raining down on the action.

[sara505]

I keep coming back to admire this. I love all the little curves from the twinkle lights sort of raining down on the action.

Thank you - but I always worry that my clients, upon seeing all this blurry stuff, will think, ohmygod, the photographer had a little too much champagne. :D

[tenoverthenose]

Last chance to enter today. Make sure you share!

[Scott_Quier]

Thank you - but I always worry that my clients, upon seeing all this blurry stuff, will think, ohmygod, the photographer had a little too much champagne. :D
And, that's why I NEVER touch anything but water when I'm working - just helps to avoid that sort of confusion.

[cj99si]

Father daughter walk down the isle, im sure he wanted to delay it as long as possible.....

http://www.coreymichaelphoto.com/photos/368240375_RBwAW-L.jpg

[akh]

Bride and Groom first first dance. Using my first DSLR camera Canon 10D.

[Agnieszka]

Bride and Groom first first dance. Using my first DSLR camera Canon 10D.

Oooooh! Very cool! :clap

[tenoverthenose]

Congratulations to jdpst20 for winning this month's contest!

Thanks everyone for playing. Lots of great images and inspiration this month! I enjoyed “playing along at home” and experimenting with slower shutter speed at recent weddings-- definetly something I need to take advantage of more often. This is a tough area that demands a bit more planning than your average photo -- what are you going to do with all that time? What crawls into your frame as you move the camera around? What happens to bright sources of light as they linger? I really appreciate this as a huge source of inspiration.

A few random things I noticed:
Over 1/3 of the images are dance floor images.
1/3 are monochrome.
Many images were “accidental”.

Urbanaries-
Great use of movement while keeping the couple sharp. The bar (and its highlight) on the right competes with the bride and groom. Maybe a square crop might help...

Scott Quier-
You really brought out the ambient light in this hall, but the photo lacks in composition. There is a lot of energy on with the bridesmaid and ring bearer, but the rest of the party looks dead. The bridesmaid in the back on the left side of the frame looks lost.

Angevin1-
Lots of excitement and energy from the bride. I would crop this different so she isn’t centered. Maybe get rid of the right side of the frame and go square.

Heatherfeather-
I love this frame. Great use of motion to tell the story and the colors are spot on. I don’t care for the tilt (it seems as if they are falling forward) and the post seems to come out of the brides head.

Foxysmud-
I like the use of motion but the grass is giving you a color cast at a slower shutter speed. Also her right hand is clipped.

Matthew Saville-
Wow, there’s alot to look at here! My favorite part of this is the ghost image in the upper right, but I wish the other couples facing the camera in the back right had more energy.

Jeffreaux2-
I like the shot more and more every time I look at it. Nice and soft to show of their movement, I just wish the videographer wasn’t there.

Angieszka-
I love the way the motion brings you straight to the bride.

Mmmatt-
I love the isolated use of motion and the contrasting sharpness. If it were me (and I tested this) I would crop the image so the right edge of the frame is inside the brick building and the couple is cropped at the thigh. As it is, the top of his shoe being cut off and the grate between them is distracting.

Swartzy-
Nice solid image, good angle on the little ones. Needs more motion to me or a tighter crop on the girls. Maybe you could bring out more of the dance floor reflection, wait, that was last month.

Blumore-
I can see why this is one of your favorites. I love the motion and emotion of this shot. I just wish the chair could disappear.

Betz-
You captured the groom perfectly in mid stride, but it lacks emotion and composition to me. Also his pinky had a close call.

Jdpst20-
I love this image. Interesting background texture, great motion and it makes me speculate on what the groom is thinking. Super abstract. I don’t like the jpeg conversion.

Shima-
A pretty funny image. He looks like he’s showing of more than the woman. However, I don’t know if the slower shutter speed added to the image.

Scoupe-
This is a tough one. I like that you tried to do something new and get rid of bad details. I like the the groom is sharp enough. Unfortunately, with the light behind their heads, when you moved the camera it blurred many faces, and a face makes a portrait. Maybe cropping off the photo at their waists would help eliminate the contrast between the soft area above and the lower part of the frame that appears sharper.

Erinphotog-
I think this would be a stronger photo from a different angle. With both the bride and groom looking out off the frame it loses the strong emotion.

Bdcolen-
Way cool. The goofy looks/poses adds to the photo. So much fun it's infectious. I just wish his hand wasn’t missing.

Lilmomma-
Very strong photo. Perfect use of slower shutter to add life and emotion to a photo. I would burn down the officiants face as the white area in the top of the frame draws yours eyes right to him.

Kinkajou-
I dig the different approach that you brought to an otherwise boring scene, but the lack of emotion on the brides face doesn’t help the photo.

Unclejon-
Slow shutter speed and multiple flashes helped this one out. Watch out for the open door blowing light into the room.

Kpage-
I like this frame, but I would never guess a slow shutter speed was used.

Sara505-
I dig how you brought in all of the ambient lights into your frame and made an otherwise run of the mill dancing photo into something special.

cj99si-
I love this image, there’s a story inside! The bride and father are a bit too centered for my tastes.

Akh-
I love the idea of this image Beautiful motion. The red dress makes the image, but the distracting background (and the red exit signs) really take away. I wish this was on a plain background!

[lilmomma]

Not sure if my photographers are on here from my wedding as I just joined yesterday, however I saw this thread and I had to post this photo from my wedding 3 months ago. They are Araujo Photography in Pittsburgh. This is easily in the top 5 of my favorites from that day.


congrats to jdpst, really cool image....Can you clarify something for me? I don't know if i'm misreading or not but I read this as another photog took this of his wedding? PLEASE correct me if i'm wrong on this, absolutely not trying to be a party pooper here...this photo well deserving of a win, just thought it had to be a photo you took. If I am wrong I apologize and once again congratulate jdpst!

[jbakerphoto]

congrats to jdpst, really cool image....Can you clarify something for me? I don't know if i'm misreading or not but I read this as another photog took this of his wedding? PLEASE correct me if i'm wrong on this, absolutely not trying to be a party pooper here...this photo well deserving of a win, just thought it had to be a photo you took. If I am wrong I apologize and once again congratulate jdpst!

I definitly read it the same way that someone else took it. And agree that people should probaly not be entering photos that are not there own work......Might upset their photog and lead to trouble.

[tenoverthenose]

Crap. It looks like I dropped the ball on this one. I think you guys are correct. Jdpst does have his own website, and I assumed it was his image from a wedding he shot with Araujo Photography. Upon looking into it, the image appears on Araujo Photography's website and not on jdpst's. I will contact jdpst to clarify and move forward from there.

[stumanipi5]

first time on submitting a pic, not a professional, but want to get more serious with it, shot a wedding a month or so back, and this was one of the mistakes, yet the folk that were in the photo really liked the photo??

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q165/stumanip5/DSC01242.jpg

[mmmatt]

Crap. It looks like I dropped the ball on this one. I think you guys are correct. Jdpst does have his own website, and I assumed it was his image from a wedding he shot with Araujo Photography. Upon looking into it, the image appears on Araujo Photography's website and not on jdpst's. I will contact jdpst to clarify and move forward from there.
Yeah... I thought nobody called him out because he was new and confused on the rules. Sorta like the person who posted after the deadline.

Matt

[urbanaries]

Yeah... I thought nobody called him out because he was new and confused on the rules. Sorta like the person who posted after the deadline.

Matt

all things considered, I totally see why Tenover was so smitten with that photo. It is splendid. I sure hope who posted it (their wedding, I think) bought a giant print of that. it's truly a work of art. :thumb

[Agnieszka]

congrats to jdpst, really cool image....Can you clarify something for me? I don't know if i'm misreading or not but I read this as another photog took this of his wedding? PLEASE correct me if i'm wrong on this, absolutely not trying to be a party pooper here...this photo well deserving of a win, just thought it had to be a photo you took. If I am wrong I apologize and once again congratulate jdpst!

Yeah, posting photos from your own wedding (you were not the photographer) is a no go.

Good eyes lilmomma!!

Sounds like tenoverthenose & maybe Scott (?) already contacted him ... Too bad .... it IS a nice pic .... Keep us posted if there are any news! :thumb

[mmmatt]

all things considered, I totally see why Tenover was so smitten with that photo. It is splendid. I sure hope who posted it (their wedding, I think) bought a giant print of that. it's truly a work of art. :thumb

Yeah... fully agree with that. It is a gorgeous image. Not sure how they pulled it off though... off camera flash between them or maybe ambient light and she was really booking! Great image though!

Matt

[sara505]

And, that's why I NEVER touch anything but water when I'm working - just helps to avoid that sort of confusion.

Oy! Hope you didn't think I implied I have even a drop of alcohol when I'm working!

[plc001]

I may be too late, but just wanted to share:

http://www.plcarrillophotography.com/Weddings/Nicole-and-Jason/Nicole-and-Jason0703/687565049_uRZ6H-X3.jpg
http://www.plcarrillophotography.com/Weddings/Kayla-and-Jimmy/Kayla-and-Jimmy-462/687485937_aXodj-XL.jpg

[jdpst20]

Sorry for all the confusion. This is not an image that was taken by me. I didn't really mean to enter it into a contest, I just wanted to share an awesome photo taken by my photographers at my wedding. The credit goes to Araujo Photography for taking the image. Sorry if I messed up the contest, I apologize.

[Scott_Quier]

Sorry for all the confusion. This is not an image that was taken by me. I didn't really mean to enter it into a contest, I just wanted to share an awesome photo taken by my photographers at my wedding. The credit goes to Araujo Photography for taking the image. Sorry if I messed up the contest, I apologize.
No worries. We recovered. Now, enter one in the current contest!