Wedding: Primes + Manual

^Joe

^Joe

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Joe
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My fianceé's cousin got married in October, and on the previous October, they were quite set on not having a photographer given their budget constraints.

They saw many of my photo's and asked me if I would do it.. Obviously I gave them the whole 'Not a pro... get a pro... expect nothing'.. but they were happy for me to do it anyway.

So after a lot of research, and hiring of a lens, I got through the day overall quite happy. Yes I made a lot of mistakes, but the bride couldn't be happier. So that means Job done for me :)

I went straight into manual on the advice of another photographer whom I trust.

5D, 500D, 35/1.4L + 85/1.8.

I even made a website just for this! :LOL:

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Full 'Blog' : http://www.jhuntphotography.co.uk/adamemma/
 
Well done, you got stuck in and have some great ideas, keep working and working. I love this one (left side, right works but the composition is not nearly as strong as the left image)

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Really nice stuff!
 
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When you say you "went manual" do you mean exposure or focus? The reason I ask is that a lot of these look soft, as if you've missed focus.
 
Thanks Andy.

Ryan, sorry, I meant manual exposure. The shots were mainly wide open, I didn't think the lens I has was razor sharp wide open tbh.

Some shots are soft as I was late seeing them, so didn't give the AF much notice.

Thanks for the feedback
 
as well as Ryan's comment above, I don't think it should be possible to tell if a photographer used prime or zoom, manual of fully auto for any job.

Also agree for your first sat they aint too shabby
 
Something that jumps out at me on the last photo it looks like there is a reflection off a handbag or something, I'd try to remove that in photoshop, it REALLY draws the eye.
 
boyfalldown said:
as well as Ryan's comment above, I don't think it should be possible to tell if a photographer used prime or zoom, manual of fully auto for any job.

Also agree for your first sat they aint too shabby
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Yeah you're right.. I'm not sure why I put it in the title to be honest... it just surprised me after the day, that I only shot with primes, and manual exp.
 
As a tip to anyone shooting their first wedding I would advise the use of zooms in the main. They help when you're not where you wish you were and make things easier compositionally. Sure, get the primes out once you've gained some experience and can start to predict what's about to happen. Zooms also have a smaller aperture which will stop you from trying to shoot moving subjects at F1.4 ;)
 
Excellent job for your first wedding. If I ever do one if I can do as well as this I would be very satisfied
 
Totally agree, very good for a first effort! I'd be more than happy with these.
 
i bet their are a few 1st time wedding photographers who wish their photos were as good as this good job (y)
 
ryanyboy said:
As a tip to anyone shooting their first wedding I would advise the use of zooms in the main. They help when you're not where you wish you were and make things easier compositionally. Sure, get the primes out once you've gained some experience and can start to predict what's about to happen. Zooms also have a smaller aperture which will stop you from trying to shoot moving subjects at F1.4 ;)
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Well done Joe!

Ryan - not sure what you mean by the above?

Cheers.
 
Well done but you should always shoot safe at a wedding. Yes push it but you need to get the shot. So moving shots at 1.4 for me is a no unless the shot is not important. You may get it right most of the time but most of the time is not good enough in wedding photography. If you hire a lens i would not shoot it wide open unless you have checked it before hand. remember the couple you are photographing only need you to be lucky once, if you start shooting lots more weddings you have to be sky every time. The best way to do this is take the luck out of the shoot.
 
FlyTVR said:
Well done Joe!

Ryan - not sure what you mean by the above?

Cheers.
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Thanks Dav. I think the underlying point is that, had I used zooms, I'd be on f2.8 and have a much bigger range of DOF, so that I am not missing the focal plane in places (y)


painterman01 said:
well done I like these very much
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Thanks

williams359 said:
Well done but you should always shoot safe at a wedding. Yes push it but you need to get the shot. So moving shots at 1.4 for me is a no unless the shot is not important. You may get it right most of the time but most of the time is not good enough in wedding photography. If you hire a lens i would not shoot it wide open unless you have checked it before hand. remember the couple you are photographing only need you to be lucky once, if you start shooting lots more weddings you have to be sky every time. The best way to do this is take the luck out of the shoot.
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Appreciate the input - I did get slightly excited by the 1.4 :)

However, I don't plan on doing any future weddings.


DSLR said:
great work!!
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Thanks
 
Nice work mate - these look a lot better to me than a number of sets I've seen so called "pro" guys put out.

You should be proud of them.
 
You should be chuffed and if they are happy I'm sure you will be.

A lot of lovely photos and as someone else mentioned, better than some "pros"!
 
I'm totally blown away, to come away from a wedding shoot with such quality (OK a few are a little soft) must be an amazing feat, I think you have done a stonking job, can't believe it's your first.

Only one question, you say they asked you because of budget, to me that don't look a cheap wedding, so just wondering really why they put little importance on the photo's at such a bash.
 
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Thanks for all the great comments - I am really proud of them and it was a great learning experience.

re: the budget.. I'm not sure if it was ALL about their budget.. but I don't think that they were overly 'fussed' about having a photographer. Plus the money they spent on the day... they didn't fancy spending £1200 on top.

Thanks for the comments again
 
Looking Good! I checked out your blog too, they're all a fantastic first effort. Tiny criticism to mimic what the others said is that the focus seems a tad off on a few of them. Primes are fantastic but best to start off with apertures between 2.2-2.8 - ish, and above. 1.4 can be a bit tricky to use. I did my first wedding with a 5dmII a 50mm and a 85mm and have always used primes since.
 
Whilst I have already said I think Joe did a decent enough job for your first go I have to take issue with the number of people saying these are "better than pros" and "all fantastic".

There are an awful lot of shots which range from slightly soft to totally out of focus. The early shot of the girl sitting on the end of the bed is a prime example. The focus is clearly on the curtains behind her. Also, the shot of the groom looking in the mirror is spoilt but insufficient shutter speed.

I'm all for encouraging people who have done something for the first time but false praise won't help the OP to improve. For me there are several shots in this set which should have been binned immediately.

Joe, you definitely have the capability to shoot a wedding to a decent standard but fundamentals such as shutter speed and focus must be improved if you ever wanted to charge money (which I appreciate you probably don't).

And I think it's also worth making the above points for anyone else thinking of turning pro. Whilst these images look fine (in the main) at small screen sizes they will not stand up to scrutiny viewed large or printed in an album. Quality control needs to be very strict if you want to avoid unhappy clients, bad reputations and a career charging below average for below average photography.
 
Hi Ryan. I appreciate what you're saying mate. I absolutely agree with the flaws you've pointed out to me, and there are a lot more. The thing I am happy about it the fact that I know what's wrong with them. I don't think they're better than they are.

As you say in normal circumstances I'd have binned them, I'm my biggest critic, but I know how much the B&G would love them so I left them in for them.

I learnt a lot from that day. Sometimes I HAD to go 1.4. I was at ISO1600 on a 5D and was struggling for 1/60th.

Ideally I'd have a 5diii and a set of 24-70/2.8 + 70-200/2.8

The main thing is, the B&G + family love the blog.. and there's some shots in there that I know will look good blown up.

Room for improvement.

And yeah, I've never, and never plan to charge for photography. I love it as a hobby and don't want to lose that.
 
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