I've been told - My best wedding gown shot to date

[Scott_Quier]

As the title implies, I've been told this is my best wedding gown image I've managed to date.

I know there's a couple of really small nits that could be improved. Looking for other feedback. Thanks for looking...

http://lovenlaughter.smugmug.com/photos/204076581-L.jpg

[1220]

boy do I feel ill equiped to beat up your work, but since Im here and its free, lets have at it. : )

First off, the image is more eerie than inviting....IMO.

I like the backlighting you have going on, but it leaves the bottom to look kinda bland and unimportant. I also dont like how it hits the floor. Its not a "flowing" enough gown to be hitting the floor.

The dresser distracts me in a way that leads my eyes away, and I dislike the nite light and black power cord. They all take away from the image.

Its still a nice effect and I love the b&w treatment. thanks for sharing.

[SloYerRoll]

Hey Scott,

I've seen allot of your work and I like allot of it. I also have immense respect for your doing weddings as a full time gig. I've only done a few and know how greuling they can be. I was fortunate to not have any bridezillas either....

This shot desn't do it for me though.

The dress seems to get lost in the shot due to almost clipping.
The detail in the top corners of the dress get lost in the detail of the curtain.
The shot also leans a little bit to the left.I would oversharpen the shot then give it the orton effet. THis would provide that soft feel while keeping the outline detail.

No need to mention the nitty things since I'm sure you already know about them.

[Scott_Quier]

The dresser distracts me in a way that leads my eyes away,

That's an interesting observation. I've been told that it provides some context, etc. Hmmm

and I dislike the nite light and black power cord. They all take away from the image.

I agree on both counts. I'll have to see what can be done with the nightlight (the cord should be pretty easy).

Its still a nice effect and I love the b&w treatment. thanks for sharing.Thanks

[Scott_Quier]

Hey Scott,

I've seen allot of your work and I like allot of it. I also have immense respect for your doing weddings as a full time gig. I've only done a few and know how greuling they can be. I was fortunate to not have any bridezillas either....

This shot desn't do it for me though.

The dress seems to get lost in the shot due to almost clipping.
The detail in the top corners of the dress get lost in the detail of the curtain.
The shot also leans a little bit to the left.I would oversharpen the shot then give it the orton effet. THis would provide that soft feel while keeping the outline detail.

No need to mention the nitty things since I'm sure you already know about them.

Hmm, I might try some levels & masks work to reduce that. Good thought.
Yup - nothing to be done about that now.
The brackets for the drapes aren't level in the shot (leans to the left as you observed) and the dress leans a bit to the right....


I might have a play with the treatment you suggest. I've not tried that...

Thanks for the comments - something to really think about.

[Richard]

Hey Scott,

I don't know much about what's expected of wedding gown pics, but I do like this shot. My first reaction was that it was a ghost. Looking a little closer reinforced that idea as the decoration at the top looks like two eyes and a mouth :D. I like the framing provided by the curtain and dresser. The main problem I have with it is that the mid-tone contrast seems weak. The main nit is the light leak next to the curtain at the lower left.

Cheers,

[jeffreaux2]

Enough about the cord......you knew about it and the light before you posted. I am afraid that the light....while not impossible.....will be a painstaking process to clone out. Sheesh it would have been so easy to unplug it for the shot. I am not beating you up about this, but feeling your pain in that I often do not "see" these things until the moment is a distant memory.

The dresser doesnt bother me. The leaning doesn't bother me.

If I had to say something bothers me it would be that I would have liked to see this from a different angle or perspective. The straight up/down centered shot I feel reduces the otherworldly look of the lighting(which is awesome).

I would say that the lighting is extraordinary....the composition is somewhat less.

Very nice concept!!!......and......despite the nitpicking it is a very well executed photograph.

[SloYerRoll]

I am afraid that the light....while not impossible.....will be a painstaking process to clone out.:scratch

[jeffreaux2]

:scratch

I explained what I meant in my original post. Scott is bright enough to figure it out even if others cannot.

[DavidTO]

I explained what I meant in my original post. Scott is bright enough to figure it out even if others cannot.


Jeff,

I'm not quite sure I see the point of a post like this. If you're joking, put a smiley on it for goodness sakes, 'cause I'm not keeping up! :thumb

[Scott_Quier]

Jeff,

I'm not quite sure I see the point of a post like this. If you're joking, put a smiley on it for goodness sakes, 'cause I'm not keeping up! :thumb
Don't feel too badly. I wasn't keeping up either. I thought he was serious as well.

[jeffreaux2]

Sheeesh I am not keeping up either I guess.:scratch
The point was......

The night light had been mentioned in an earlier post, but when I referred to it I said "the light" meaning that.......

If you decided that you wanted to get rid of the night light in the lower left of the photograph, it would not be a simple fix. The light that it is throwing onto the wall and curtain would present the challenge. Not that it would be impossible, but definately more challenging than the electric cord.

BTW I think that the detail in the dress itself is fine ....I forgot to mention that earlier.

[Scott_Quier]

OK, I feel better now. There wasn't some sort of humor intended. That's the way I read the comment; as a serious remark.

Gotta love the internet and the difficulty imposed when attempting to communicate!

[urbanaries]

I love this shot for its realism and context. While some dress shots are simply product shots, this one made me feel something. A ghostly, ethereal feeling, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Wedding dresses are like ghosts in many respects, literally and figuratively.

I agree with rsinmadrid that it could use some midtone contrast. Obviously the cord and the light gotta go, even if it's a crop.

While I originally liked the way the curtains mimicked (sp?) the delicate details of the dress, after looking at it some more the ruffles themselves are somewhat distracting. Mostly because they're so close to the dress. I wonder if they could be dodged out completely...I bet they could. But keep the the folds, they are nicely framing the dress.

That's my female perspective, if anyone needs clarification on the difference between a ruffle and a fold, I'll happily oblige. :D

ETA: The dress hitting the floor and light falloff doesn't bother me, but I don't think the carpet is helping the shot. Maybe a vignette on the bottom would mask it some.

[SloYerRoll]

@ Jeff, Scott & David,

I applogize for not being clear enough. I almost posted saying I didn't understand what was so hard about removing the light and cord. It took me less than 5 minutes to remove all these remenants including the light casts mentioned. I didn't want it to come across rude or condescending. So I put up that "smiley" so Jeff could elaborate on why it was so hard.

Now back to the whipping...

[jonh68]

I really like the ghostly feel of the picture. I didn't notice the nitpicks until I read the responses. I was so focused on the dress and the lighting, the other items were in the background and not noticed. I tend to let the initial impression sway my "judgement". I say it's fine the way it is. :thumb

[jeffreaux2]

Don't know why, but I thought about this photo at work last night. I am not the only one who saw the light as special...otherworldly.....beautiful.... , but as I said before....for me the composition was less extraordinary than the light. Just my own little observation.....(we all know what that will buy you):wink

Anyway to the point....

I was thinking....about otherworldly looking photographs and immediately thought of the photos I have seen taken with a lensbaby lens. I might be wrong, but I believe that this composition....this light.....could possibly have been brought full circle with that type of lens. This of course is just another of my opinions.

BTW, I do not own a lens of this type, but would like to someday. I have, however, tried to mimic the effect with some success in PS. The treatment I used consisted of multiple layers with varying degrees of gaussian blur and feathering over different areas of the image that revealed an area of interest in sharper focus. Maybe not to your taste, but something to consider and maybe play around with.

I don't want to post my photo here in your thread, but will instead provide a link and a hope that my pbase account has a few days left on it!!!

http://www.pbase.com/jeffreaux2/image/72545166

[Cantfeelmyfingers]

... I don't know photoshop, so all the technical talk aside. I'm not a big fan of this picture. The dresser, nightlight, cord, the way the dress hangs, etc is distracing. I'm sure the bride adored this photo, but for someone other than her, nothing really completely captures my attention. J.Cleveland

[ladytx]

Wow, almost a year late on this reply..:D

I truly love this image. Love the B&W. Since you took a whipping on the cord and light I downloaded the image and tried my hand. It did't take long at all to remove the light and the cord.

Beautiful job on the shot.

[pathfinder]

I am late to the party too. The night light is easy to remove, I am sure.

I think I might have tried a sepia tone with this image, rather than a straight B&W.

I might have burned in the edges of the image for a more pronounced vignetting effect, especially the cabinet and the carpet.

But the image was stellar when you saw it in your viewfinder.