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weddings are tough!

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mtsullivan

mtsullivan

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Madison, USA, WI, US
This past July I shot my first and possibly last wedding!

They hired me because they liked my documentary style of photography and said they didn't want anything traditional. I took the job somewhat reluctantly but thought I should try it at least once.

The morning session ended up better than I thought it would--it can be seen here:

http://cargocollective.com/newnormalphotography/Tanbakuchi-Wedding-Morning-Session

The ceremony was a different story. While the synagog was bright, it was a small room and wasn't easy to move around in. Plus, I thought they would be standing a different way, and I couldn't get a good vantage point. Ceremony pics here:

http://cargocollective.com/newnormalphotography/Tanbakuchi-Wedding-The-Ceremony

I shot both sessions with an M9, 50 lux, 90 elmarit (thin) and 35 cron. After looking at the pictures, I think I should have left the 50 lux on the whole time! I know now that I should have asked more about the how the ceremony would go, who was standing where, etc.

Constructive feedback and comments welcomed!

Cheers,
michael

--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
 
mtsullivan said:
This past July I shot my first and possibly last wedding!

They hired me because they liked my documentary style of photography and said they didn't want anything traditional. I took the job somewhat reluctantly but thought I should try it at least once.

The morning session ended up better than I thought it would--it can be seen here:

http://cargocollective.com/newnormalphotography/Tanbakuchi-Wedding-Morning-Session

The ceremony was a different story. While the synagog was bright, it was a small room and wasn't easy to move around in. Plus, I thought they would be standing a different way, and I couldn't get a good vantage point. Ceremony pics here:

http://cargocollective.com/newnormalphotography/Tanbakuchi-Wedding-The-Ceremony

I shot both sessions with an M9, 50 lux, 90 elmarit (thin) and 35 cron. After looking at the pictures, I think I should have left the 50 lux on the whole time! I know now that I should have asked more about the how the ceremony would go, who was standing where, etc.

Constructive feedback and comments welcomed!

Cheers,
michael

--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
Click to expand...
Not bad at all. I like the second set better though. It is more of a real reportage and a story is told.
....and yes, you are right, weddings are tough.

Have a great day, Thomas

--
thomas
http://www.marek-photography.com
http://www.thomasmarek.blogspot.com
 
I also think you did very well .... i don't feel myself to be able to take the responsibility for a such great day.... i think your friends can be very happy !!!

You have caught very well the mood of the event... a very intimate one , with no many people but the right ones.... as it must be !!

Only comment i can do if you want one is that there are some beautiful shot with the feet being cut a bit....

Btw , congrats... not easy but i would be happy for the results....

Regards, Gianluca

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianlucanardini/
 
Thank you all for the kind words and suggestions!

Cutting off feet is a function of still getting used to rangefinder focusing and the tendency to keep the focusing square on the subject and not re-framing to better the composition, and not cut off limbs and appendages!

And yes, the responsibility and meeting assumed expectations... whew! It's definitely not the same as taking pictures for yourself!

--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
 
I assume they hired you because you were FREE!

These images prove why you should leave work like this to professionals..........
 
Ouch! :|

No, actually I did get paid for my time and services.

I don't mind negative criticism, but at least make it constructive... you don't have to be a prick!
SmallSensorMan said:
I assume they hired you because you were FREE!

These images prove why you should leave work like this to professionals..........
Click to expand...
--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
 
Really? Wow!

Talk about almost Pavlovian conditioning: "Professional=competent" ??? Two decades ago, I hired a professional (store front, established portfolio, all the trappings) to shoot my wedding. She screwed up the entire shoot - I don't have a single "professional" image. I'd rather have hired Mike to shoot my wedding. He certainly did a great job of this one.

Methinks it's not only your "sensor" that is small... :)

Cheers,
-raaj
SmallSensorMan said:
I assume they hired you because you were FREE!

These images prove why you should leave work like this to professionals..........
Click to expand...
--
'Change is not Mandatory, you don't have to Survive...'
http://www.seekinglight.net
 
Thanks Raaj!
RaajS said:
Talk about almost Pavlovian conditioning: "Professional=competent" ??? Two decades ago, I hired a professional (store front, established portfolio, all the trappings) to shoot my wedding. She screwed up the entire shoot - I don't have a single "professional" image. I'd rather have hired Mike to shoot my wedding. He certainly did a great job of this one.

Methinks it's not only your "sensor" that is small... :)

Cheers,
-raaj
SmallSensorMan said:
I assume they hired you because you were FREE!

These images prove why you should leave work like this to professionals..........
Click to expand...
--
'Change is not Mandatory, you don't have to Survive...'
http://www.seekinglight.net
Click to expand...
--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
 
In my strictly non-professional opinion this is good attempt at a wedding and you have captured some natural shots that perhaps a professional would not have.

I have attempted a wedding myself with zero planning [it was a last minute thing] and know how much pressure it can be. I used an M9 and a 5DII as a 'backup'. The Canon helped me get the shots I had to like group shots that needed flash but the M9 provided the interesting shots. I don't know if you agree but I felt that the difficulty was balancing structuring the day with allowing things to happen naturally and documenting them. Its a really hard thing to do if you are not used to organising people and don't have companion.

The shots that work best in my opinion are the more informal shots. The first batch suffers a little from static poses but there are some relaxed moments - such as the shot of the bride wiping something from the grooms cheek and couple halfway up the staircase. When the bride is looking directly at the camera she looks comfortable and that is really important! One thing I did learn was 'take lots of pictures of the bride' - you did, and they are in focus and she looks happy!

The image quality on the first set is good, rich colours and the skin tones are not too pink. I assume these are from the lux. I personally would lose the white vignetting, it looks false. You have also suffered a little from cropping the bottom of the images off - something I often do!!!

The second set of the ceremony do the job, you have got the key moments of the service, walking in, book signing and kissing! Maybe a ring shot would have been good and perhaps some impromptu shots of other guests. I would have liked to see more variety. But you have not messed it up. Would you have coped if the light had not been as favourable as it was :)

Would a professional have got better shots ? - possibly. But pros can overbearing too, I don't get that feeling from these shots, people look happy, job done.

Paul
mtsullivan said:
RaajS said:
Talk about almost Pavlovian conditioning: "Professional=competent" ??? Two decades ago, I hired a professional (store front, established portfolio, all the trappings) to shoot my wedding. She screwed up the entire shoot - I don't have a single "professional" image. I'd rather have hired Mike to shoot my wedding. He certainly did a great job of this one.

Methinks it's not only your "sensor" that is small... :)

Cheers,
-raaj
SmallSensorMan said:
I assume they hired you because you were FREE!

These images prove why you should leave work like this to professionals..........
Click to expand...
--
'Change is not Mandatory, you don't have to Survive...'
http://www.seekinglight.net
Click to expand...
--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
Click to expand...
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47134895@N05/
 
I've done more than a few weddings with M8/M9. I think aside from your own artistic sense, the secret to success is to be totally comfortable with the gear you are using and the technique(s) you look to employ.

There is a definite knack to a wedding and in common with the vows themselves 'is not to be taken lightly'. A nervous photographer is never a good thing!

That's the tough side of it. The up shot is a free reign at candid photography without the constraints of normal street photography. Get it right and it will inspire the rest of your photography and your confidence will grow accordingly.

Check 'byBrett' for some great Leica wedding work.

Best,

Steve
 
And, there are a lot of good photos in the bunch. In fact, I enjoyed looking at each and everyone of them, therefore thanks much for taking the time to post and share the link to your pictures with the rest of us.

--

"Working for God on earth does not pay much, but His Retirement plan is out of this world."

BRJR ....(LOL, some of us are quite satisfied as Hobbyists ..)


chasecindy said:
You are too hard on yourself. Weddings are tough but you did a good job.
Click to expand...
 
I'm sorry, but I can not understand and share most of positive replies. That's just looks like point and shoot (by photographer behavior) - people are just standing, sitting, posing. Very little of a story. More like tech shots of some people doing wedding.
I didn't like both sets in general.
Good luck anyway.
--
Sergey
 
Michael,

It's been over 20 years since I changed careers, but I spent nearly 25 years as a full time pro, mostly commercial and industrial. I did shoot a ton of weddings as well.

I have some observations. First, the color balance looks very blue. This makes the skin tones pink. If you're shooting available light, you need to start with white balance reference point. I use a WhiBal card and shoot RAW. In post, I start with the reference frame, then adjust to taste. That's usually a little warmer than the card. I then apply the WB adjustment to all images shot under the same light. From there, I tweak as needed. What software do you use for post? Did you shoot RAW or JPEG?

Next, I found your composition for many of the images odd. There's lots of dead space in them, such as the photos with the couple on the left and large expanses of wall in the middle. There's also not much variety - all are kind of mid shots, with few wide shots or extreme closeups.

There are too many "dead" expressions by the couple. I guess they are listening to someone off camera, but there's little or no emotion in a lot if the images.

I would never think of shooting weddings with one body (I'm guessing that's all you had) for a number of reasons. The first is simple insurance against failure. I took from four to six medium format film bodies to every wedding. Secondly, you need to be able to switch from one lens to another quickly, especially when shooting primes. You needed three bodies, one for each lens.

As you've found, there's far more to wedding photography than just photography. It is tough and I think better left to those with more training, experience and equipment.
 
Doug MacMillan said:
Michael,

It's been over 20 years since I changed careers, but I spent nearly 25 years as a full time pro, mostly commercial and industrial. I did shoot a ton of weddings as well.

I have some observations. First, the color balance looks very blue. This makes the skin tones pink. If you're shooting available light, you need to start with white balance reference point. I use a WhiBal card and shoot RAW. In post, I start with the reference frame, then adjust to taste. That's usually a little warmer than the card. I then apply the WB adjustment to all images shot under the same light. From there, I tweak as needed. What software do you use for post? Did you shoot RAW or JPEG?

Next, I found your composition for many of the images odd. There's lots of dead space in them, such as the photos with the couple on the left and large expanses of wall in the middle. There's also not much variety - all are kind of mid shots, with few wide shots or extreme closeups.

There are too many "dead" expressions by the couple. I guess they are listening to someone off camera, but there's little or no emotion in a lot if the images.

I would never think of shooting weddings with one body (I'm guessing that's all you had) for a number of reasons. The first is simple insurance against failure. I took from four to six medium format film bodies to every wedding. Secondly, you need to be able to switch from one lens to another quickly, especially when shooting primes. You needed three bodies, one for each lens.
Click to expand...
These can be very good advices , and of course every one has its own opinion .... very
reasonable......
Doug MacMillan said:
As you've found, there's far more to wedding photography than just photography. It is tough and I think better left to those with more training, experience and equipment.
Click to expand...
Doug , i don't think this is a good advice since i think you was not so good in your first wedding as you was in the last one you did ..... Advice someone to leave the work to others with more experience is like to advice someone to stop learning....

I think Michael was very sincere in his post... and he knows very well he didn't so well as a pro in wedding .... can you remember your first one ?????

Best, Gianluca
........and of course... AMEN !!!

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianlucanardini/
 
Gianluca~ Thank you for saying this!
janlu said:
janlu said:
As you've found, there's far more to wedding photography than just photography. It is tough and I think better left to those with more training, experience and equipment.
Click to expand...
Doug , i don't think this is a good advice since i think you was not so good in your first wedding as you was in the last one you did ..... Advice someone to leave the work to others with more experience is like to advice someone to stop learning....

I think Michael was very sincere in his post... and he knows very well he didn't so well as a pro in wedding .... can you remember your first one ?????

Best, Gianluca
........and of course... AMEN !!!

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianlucanardini/
Click to expand...
--
m.t.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsullivan/
 
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