My first engagement photoshoot - Amy & Ollie

sduk

sduk

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Sammy
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Last night I did a photoshoot for a friend's daughter and her fiance who only recently got engaged.

I felt totally out of my comfort zone but decided it would be good practice and nice to put myself to the test!

Here are a few of my favourites from the set. I would really appreciate feedback on them..

1.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

2.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

3.Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

4.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

5.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

6.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

7.
Ollie & Amy Engagement Shoot by Sammy Donaldson, on Flickr

Sammy
 
There are so many ways to do this but you should be pleased with these. I like the sun flare shot which has come out well. Your imagination was good and I like the composition of the first one. Hopefully you have a few of them looking at the camera too?
 
+1

Lovely angles and some creative thinking makes for a lovely set! Well done!
 
Really lovely set of photos, couple must be very pleased. I especially like number 5, works beautifully.
 
#6 and #7 for me.. .. I'd have liked to have seen the feet on number one and possibly a bit more of the guy on the same picture, but it's easy for me to sit here and be picky. To say you were out of your comfort zone, you've done a good job there.
 
Good job there, being picky the fringe from the scarf in the hand picture is a bit annoying to me, but guess if you know what you are doing- not me- would be easy to edit out
 
A really great set of photos! #1 and #2 have a very surreal feel (probably compounded by the fact that I was listening to Perfect Day by Lou Reed while viewing them). It's almost like the couple are cut and pasted in, but not in a bad way, more like an artistic, dream sequence way.

Love the shots of the legs/feet and the bums/holding hands. They're really sweet. :)

#6 is also gorgeous with the sun. Great job! You should do more of these!
 
sduk said:
I would really appreciate feedback on them..
Click to expand...
•

TBH, the truth is that I'm divided; pleased with some things
and uncomfortable with others.

The only two pictures that show some tonal expression are
#3 (my favourite btw) and #7. The other takes have only the
DoF to separate the couple from the surroundings as the to-
nal renditions are rather flat.

#1 Were her legs too long to fit in the frame? Is the guy so ?
to hide him… This is a very or could have been a very strong
symbolic image.

#2 Right idea but ugly location, too central and tonally flat.

#3 Very sweet image, proper DoF and tonally dynamic.

#4 Why the colour change on the tree? I know why it is there
but I don't know why it is still there- The couple is playful and
this is always pleasant to see… but no tonal separation!

#5 Again good symbolic but not supported by the rest of the
image… and the same flatness.

#6 Here you tried to reproduce an old cliché photo and it did
not work. For a backlit photograph, the DR is set too high, not
a successful nor convincing conversion.

#7 Good tonalities but the frame is too big, the pylon should
not be there and the immense sky does not contribute positi-
vely to the scene.
​
Of course, these are only subjective opinions. You granted me the
privilege to express them and you are perfectly right to ignore them
if you fell so.
 
These are my kind of photos that I like to take with my "People" photography and I frequently make the same mistake you made with No1, I love 'em.
 
On first viewing, I thought they looked wonderful - as individual photos and as a set. I then looked again trying my hardest to put a "photographer's" hat on... and thought there might be a few tweaks here and there. Reading Kodiak's post, I can sort of agree with a lot of what he's saying... to make these the very best photos that could be taken in the circumstances, there are a few things that could be changed, however it does not take away from the fact these are still a very good set and you should be rightly proud of them.

In a way, you have the dream outcome: a really strong set of images which you should be pleased with given it was out of your comfort zone - and I'm 100% the couple will be amazed by. But also, some opportunities to refine and improve next time around, which would take your photos to an even higher level.

For what it's worth, I love the "backlit" shot #6 - it might be processed to achieve that level of detail which would otherwise not be achievable, but personally I think your processing has strengthened that image. The dynamic range makes this photo - had it just been a silhouette (as it probably was in camera) or gently backlit with the sun hidden, it would be different and far less compelling image for me.
 
I agree about the feet in #1, but what a stunning image nonetheless. A cracking set of shots, you've caught some lovely moments (or posed them well) and the intimacy and love between the couple shines through each image.

I have seen some sets on here where the couple look like 'mates out for a walk' and without it being in the title you would have had no idea it was a couple that are engaged.

Very well done! You should be pleased with these....I'm sure the couple will love them.

As for Kodiak's comments, he seems to analyse things like a computer program, without a thought for what emotion or feelings have been captured....images are made for humans to enjoy, and you've created shots that I think are beautiful and would be on my wall if they were shots of me and my fiancée.
 
Speaking as a retired wedding snapper ...

#1 has everything going for it - except you can't see their faces, you've chopped off their feet, and it almost looks like he's trying to headlock her. Placing the couple at this sort of angle to the camera is rarely a good idea. All this shot needed was for you to get them to rotate 45° anti-clock, for him to put his arms round her waist, and for you to include the feet.

#2 is let down only by her seriously wonky legs. I doubt that would have happened without the ribs across that bridge (why is it upside down?) preventing them walking naturally, but in any case, with this kind of shot it's always a good idea to rattle off a good few frames (by which I mean quick single shots, not a burst).

#3 is clichéd to hell, but still perfectly OK.

#4 is fine if you like that sort of thing. Way too corny for me, though.

#5 is spot on - but she's going to wish he'd pulled his jeans up a bit.

#6 is fine, but personally I'd make it black and white rather than dark grey and light grey.

#7 is OK, but I 'd be tempted to crop it a bit tighter (keeping the aspect ratio) to place them better in the frame ...

sdukcrop_zpss03zwotr.jpg


Seems to me that you've got the photography skills sorted, and all you need to improve on these is more practice with people. Just try and remember that what you're trying to photograph is a relationship. It's all about emotion, feelings and so on on. Tune into that, go with it, and the snapping will look after itself.

All things considered, you did OK :)

HTH a bit.
 
Last edited:
You can fix #1 by cropping higher up their calves, cutting out the bank and then clone out the grass leaf(ves?) that's left. Then it looks like you've done it on purpose and they're standing on a higher bank :)
 
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