From my first wedding gig

[Rajah Sulayman]

So I shot my first wedding this weekend (favor for a cousin -- isn't that how it always starts?) and would love some feedback on the photo below.

I shot it with a Nikkor 14mm and did some basic post in PS CS3. One of the things I would especially like feedback on is the monotoning. I'm never fully satisfied with my b&w conversions, and would love some input on things I did right or things I missed.

And while you're at it, what do you think of the selective coloring? I'm normally verrry leery of it as a technique, but I felt it kinda worked here because the item was pretty small and subtle, and a somewhat focal point of the photo.

Thoughts?

Nikon d80 · Nikkor 14mm · 1/125s @ f/4.5 · ISO-400

EDIT/ Added both the colored-garter image and the full bw image for comparison.

[tomw]

How did you convert it to B&W? There are many MANY ways in photoshop, only a few of which are really good. The best in CS3 that I can think of is the black and white adjustment layer. Kind of self explanitory. Other good ones are Gradient Map, and Channel Mixer.

On selective color: since I have the technique so much (I really do ) I'll hate it anyways, but I think the best option would be to have the whole bride in color rather than just what is now. She's the focus, right? Not her leg...

[Rajah Sulayman]

As much as the B&W Adjustment Layer is a huge improvement on the old Channels Adjustment Layer, I still find it yields somewhat flat images. Not to mention the fact that I'm never quite sure if I'm doing it right.

I think my biggest issue is that I don't have a solid idea in my head of how the image I'm working in is supposed to look in B&W, so I just sorta wing it until I find something that I think looks passable.

The image above was a combination of a BW Adjustment Layer and an Action I downloaded long enough ago that I can't remember where I got it. I basically run the action, slap the adjustment layer atop it, then play with layer opacities until I like the result.

My biggest question here is what people think of the final result -- good contrast? Too much? Not enough? Too dark?

I'm basically trying to train my eye to know when the image looks good in B&W and I'm curious how close I was this time around.

RE: selective coloring -- I'm actually not a fan of it, either. I feel it unnaturally pulls the viewer's focus, and that it also loses its effect if the colored item is too large. This isn't a huge issue for photos where there's a specific subject and the subject is small (like, say, an image of a hand in B&W while the ring is in color), but for a photo like the one above where you want the viewer to survey the entire scene, having a colored element seems more distracting than enhancing.

[Pentaxian]

Nice pics Rajah, I like the selective color one. I'd love to see some more!

[FrankenPengie]

Looking at contrast alone I'm for the second shot, but the blue must go. The dress has the right amount of contrast to highlight the detail and the darks aren't all... dark.

The tilt has my brain askew. For me, too much towards, and especially past 45deg is just hard on the brain.

[pinkrose]

some of the photo is a little busy with things around the room

I like the second photo with the blue highlighted

[jiminyClickit]

rajah sulayman,

My imagination is not strong enough to know what a bride would think about this (who else matters?) but I'll guess she is happy with the edit work. Did you happen to also shoot just bride and bridesmaid (?) in portrait orientation? From a foot or so to your right, they would have made a nice tableau, still showing garter, less of room detail.

If this were on my viewscreen, I might worry about the too-white highlights on dress and the too-dark shadows blending lady on left into the furniture, and then go for the portrait to eliminate that lady. Oh, the possibilities in hindsight.

[Jory]

I like the angle you used with this shot. The one without the added colour to the garter is the one I like best.

[Rajah Sulayman]

Originally Posted by jiminyClickit

My imagination is not strong enough to know what a bride would think about this (who else matters?) but I'll guess she is happy with the edit work. Did you happen to also shoot just bride and bridesmaid (?) in portrait orientation? From a foot or so to your right, they would have made a nice tableau, still showing garter, less of room detail.

I actually did. I haven't gotten around to doing any work on it, but I do have one.

The reason I included the woman behind the bride is because that's the mother of the bride, and thought it added a nice balance -- bride in the middle, maid of honor/sister helping her with her garter, and mom behind, watching.

If this were on my viewscreen, I might worry about the too-white highlights on dress and the too-dark shadows blending lady on left into the furniture, and then go for the portrait to eliminate that lady. Oh, the possibilities in hindsight.

Actually, a lot of that happened in the post (I think I pulled the Contrast a little too much). Here's a copy of the original color version of the shot, to show you where I started.

[jiminyClickit]

rajah sulayman,

You're right (and wise) to include MotB in as many as possible; curious about one without.

Yes to the color, it does have your satiny highlights and shadow separation. Gives you options, anyway. Starting to see the tilt as indicative of how a wedding day can feel.