Critique A few wedding samples

Eddzz!!

Eddzz!!

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Eddy
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Technically they're fine and you got pleasing expressions, but if you're aiming to get better at wedding photography and given that all four are posed shots ...

#1 I'm assuming this is set up after the ceremony, so why aren't they looking at you? Where's the bouquet? That would have given the bride something to do with her hands. Anyhow, well done you for having avoided Candle Head!

#2 I'm guessing she was fussing about her dress trailing on the ground and that explains her missing left hand. You'll always get brides who do that, and there's only so much you can do. Incidentally, if faced with this again, try "What are you hiding under the folds of your dress?". Usually gives you a good one of a laughing bride ;)

#3 Never show the underside of the bouquet! All this one needed to be a really excellent classical wedding snap was for her to transfer the bouquet to her left hand, and him to rotate 90° clockwise then put his left hand round her waist/on her bum (so his fingers weren't visible. As it is, the viewer wonders if he's about to have a pee or has just had one.

#4 Very well scouted setting, and you've ticked all the boxes except one. They're sitting there like a couple of old folk having their Picture Took. Rigidly posed shots like this were never my forté, so I'd have been struggling too and would probably have ended up with the old faithful "Bride Sitting Pretty On Bench With Groom On The Right, His Right Foot Up On End Of Bench, Leaning Towards Bride Looking Up At Him, Smiling". That's as corny as hell, but I can't see what wouldn't be corny in this setting apart from an old favourite of mine - lose the bouquet, then "OK guys, it's a lovely Saturday evening, you're not in fancy dress, and this bench is outside the pub. How are you going to sit on it?". See what they do, and milk it for what you can.

Apart from all that, there's two things "wrong" with 'em, both of which IMO are down to the snapper to avoid on the basis that if you're going to do classic posed wedding snaps, you may as well get them as right as you can. If nothing else, that way you avoid potential customers looking at 'em and thinking "Lovely picture, but why didn't the photographer...?"

1. They're wrong way round in the first three. In formal wedding photographs, the bride should always be on the groom's left. And ...

2. His collar and tie needed sorting. You were never going to get it looking 100% on account of that collar style (i.e. the pseudo-wing collar beloved of suit hire places 10 years ago), but he needed to tighten the tie up a bit to lose that bad case of Drooping Bow. In this situation, a cheery "Oi bride, sort his bloody tie out for him will yer?" will often hand you a few worthwhile snaps on a plate.

So there you go.

HTH a bit :)
 
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Serendipitous Sid said:
Technically they're fine and you got pleasing expressions, but if you're aiming to get better at wedding photography and given that all four are posed shots ...

#1 I'm assuming this is set up after the ceremony, so why aren't they looking at you? Where's the bouquet? That would have given the bride something to do with her hands. Anyhow, well done you for having avoided Candle Head!

#2 I'm guessing she was fussing about her dress trailing on the ground and that explains her missing left hand. You'll always get brides who do that, and there's only so much you can do. Incidentally, if faced with this again, try "What are you hiding under the folds of your dress?". Usually gives you a good one of a laughing bride ;)

#3 Never show the underside of the bouquet! All this one needed to be a really excellent classical wedding snap was for her to transfer the bouquet to her left hand, and him to rotate 90° clockwise then put his left hand round her waist/on her bum (so his fingers weren't visible. As it is, the viewer wonders if he's about to have a pee or has just had one.

#4 Very well scouted setting, and you've ticked all the boxes except one. They're sitting there like a couple of old folk having their Picture Took. Rigidly posed shots like this were never my forté, so I'd have been struggling too and would probably have ended up with the old faithful "Bride Sitting Pretty On Bench With Groom On The Right, His Right Foot Up On End Of Bench, Leaning Towards Bride Looking Up At Him, Smiling". That's as corny as hell, but I can't see what wouldn't be corny in this setting apart from an old favourite of mine - lose the bouquet, then "OK guys, it's a lovely Saturday evening, you're not in fancy dress, and this bench is outside the pub. How are you going to sit on it?". See what they do, and milk it for what you can.

Apart from all that, there's two things "wrong" with 'em, both of which IMO are down to the snapper to avoid on the basis that if you're going to do classic posed wedding snaps, you may as well get them as right as you can. If nothing else, that way you avoid potential customers looking at 'em and thinking "Lovely picture, but why didn't the photographer...?"

1. They're wrong way round in the first three. In formal wedding photographs, the bride should always be on the groom's left. And ...

2. His collar and tie needed sorting. You were never going to get it looking 100% on account of that collar style (i.e. the pseudo-wing collar beloved of suit hire places 10 years ago), but he needed to tighten the tie up a bit to lose that bad case of Drooping Bow. In this situation, a cheery "Oi bride, sort his bloody tie out for him will yer?" will often hand you a few worthwhile snaps on a plate.

So there you go.

HTH a bit :)
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Cheers for the comments :) The first one was candid / journalistic style and I was stood at the back of the church with a telephoto - beyond yelling down the aisle there was not much more I could have done about this one. I completely take on board all of your other comments. This is only my third wedding and a steep learning curve for me... Certain things like the bouquet I had only noticed when I came to edit. I also need to get into the habit of being a bit more "adventurous" with the couples and having them pose more interestingly. That was a bit of a difficult thing to do with this couple as the groom really didn't want his photos taking / didn't want a fuss. I hadn't even clocked the hand holding up the dress, nor did I notice his wonky bow-tie :( And I'll be completely honest; I had no idea whatsoever of the "bride on the grooms left" formality - none at all...

What do you think of the style of editing? I have spent more time on these photos than on previous weddings and am trying to establish myself a "look" that I can replicate in the future. I'll be taking a break from photography as it isn't my main job, but I shall definitely put into practice what you suggested above into my next wedding.
 
Eddzz!! said:
This is only my third wedding ...
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In which case your setup shots are better than mine were after only three.

Eddzz!! said:
... the groom really didn't want his photos taking / didn't want a fuss ...
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Really? Never heard of that before ... :rolleyes: It's always the grooms that don't want to play. Either that, or they're complete tarts trying to upstage the bride. Just assume that every groom will be a complete woodentop, then when you get one who isn't, it'll make your day.

Eddzz!! said:
I had no idea whatsoever of the "bride on the grooms left" formality - none at all...
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Neither had I to start with - until other snappers started critiquing me snaps.

Eddzz!! said:
What do you think of the style of editing?
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I think it's absolutely fine. More to the point though, I'll guarantee that this is exactly the look that most couples will like lots. Sure, they think the effects they see on Instagram and in the bridal comics and so forth are cool, but ATEOTD, where their own wedding snaps are concerned, the vast majority of them still want something like this - clean, crisp, "natural" and won't date.

You're definitely on the right track IMO - at least where both your attitude and your ability to knock out posed shots are concerned.

Keep it up :D
 
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I quite like no. 2 - it seems like a moment when the groom might have relaxed a little?! maybe could be improved a little with guidance on the positioning of both their hands, but I bet the bride and groom are delighted with it.
 
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