Engagement Shoot

[manwez]

Hi There! I was asked by this couple (friends of friends) to shoot their wedding next March. They had hired a "professional" who did an engagement shoot with them and they were really unhappy with the pics. I told them I'd do a shoot with them and if they were happy, we could talk about weddings. They are really happy with their pics, though I can see several things I would do differently if we re-shot!

I have a set on flickr, here and welcome comments on any pics in the set. But for thread purposes, here is the pic I want critiqued:


Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash: On, Fired

Questions for critique:

Is it too "blown out" or does it have that over-exposed look that is popular these days?
Is the sign/jetty in the photo distracting, should I crop or clone them out?
The main feature of the photo that I was really trying to draw attention to was the shadow. Should I crop it differently so the pic is actually just OF the shadow?

Thanks in advance!

[See & Wonder]

Hey Manwez,

I like the composition. I am not a real fan of the overexposure, because the couple is main focus I would prefer to see some additional detail there. As for the horizon I would recommend straighten it, as it was the first thing I noticed.

To me the focus is first the couple then then dock, and the didn't really notice the shadow till I read your right up... I would cut out the sign.

Hope that helps,
CW

[manwez]

Thanks CW. It does help! I am going to have to track down the original RAW file and re-try. I am not a huge fan of the over-exposure either, and don't typically like that look in general. I'm going to try again and this time crop from their waist down and include the shadow. That will eliminate the dock, wonky horizon and the sign, and also make the shadow blatantly obvious. Will post what I come up with. Thanks for your help! I didn't even notice the horizon. Duh!

[Bekkie]

I am a big fan of the high contrast black & white and am working on how to do it. I really liked the concept of this photo. I think you've got a good creative eye. I didn't notice the shadow at first either. When I saw the couple I noticed at camera right his arm and her hand is seem to disappear perhaps the feet as well. I really didn't see any of her facial features. As CW mentioned, the horizon should be straight (something I'm learning as well). The small sign could be taken out but I personally like the dock on camera left. Please remember I'm just learning as well and this is just my 2 cents worth; take it with a sack of salt.

Do you still have the original of this photo or was this the way it was shot? The reason I'm asking is that you can take the original into Photoshop and work on the levels to bring out the contrast you're looking for. I think this could be developed into a great shot!

Bekkie

[manwez]

Thanks Bekkie!

The biggest problem is 1. it was way overexposed when I shot it and 2. it looks like i've saved over the original RAW file!!! DOH!!!!

Here it is, re-cropped and turned the brightness down a bit, but the sand is still way blown out.

[Bekkie]

Manwez, that certainly takes the focus to the shadows. Have you tried to play with the levels or the burn tool? Just a thought.

I'm sorry you lost your original, it is so easily done. I try to save my original images to a portable hard drive first then copy them to my working drive. Not that my photos are worth anything to anyone else but to me they are priceless.

Bekkie

[srt]

I really like the second cropped image, it draws attention to the shadows beautifully and also his hand around her waist, I think it's sweet.

[arcusx]

On the posted shot, yes, to me, the shot is a little too blown out. If that's what you were going for, it's not all bad. I like the crop that you did with the shadows. The only other thing I don't like about the posted pic is that the horizon is not level. This may be able to be fixed via cropping as well. The jetti doesn't bother me a bit.

Others in your Flickr set:

General Comment; The whole set could have been better if you had shot during the hour before sunset. Light would have been much more flattering, and harsh and resulted in less squinting.

IMG_6825
Next time, bring her left hand down about 3-4 inches so her hand is more flat on his chest. This would better emphasize the ring and the fact that it's an engagement pic. Another variation: after this shot, same pose, but make them go cheek to cheek and/or even forehead to forehead.

IMG_6820
You almost have the cheek to cheek thing going, but it almost looks like she's pulling back a bit.

IMG_6830
Nice moment. Would have been better farther back and/or vertical.

IMG_6859
I've used a similar pose often. For this pose, I don't worry as much about composing them on the 1/3 line left or right, but more center. Have them both look back, and maybe even go more cheek to cheek. She's looking, but he's not, which takes away a bit, in my opinion.

IMG_6877
Crop it so you are cutting them off just below the waist, rather than at the shins. Shins = bad, thighs = okay.

Overall, not bad for a first try.

[daddyoproductions]

Oh man, so weird, I was thinking to myself that you should crop it to the waist and put more focus on the shadow as I was reading, and then saw the post that you did it! Great minds think alike I like the high contrast fad, but this is a little too blown out IMHO. I really like the crop but would like to see it recovered just a bit.

[manwez]

Thanks everyone again for your comments.

John thanks for taking the time to offer some critique on the photos in the set on Flickr. Great points, all of them! Funnily enough, these were taken between about 4:30 and 5:15 pm. I purposely shot that late to try and get the more flattering, less-squint-inducing light, but it was still too bright. Probably 6:00 might have been better, but then I would have been stressed about losing light! The couple is really happy with the shots, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so things that bother me, like shadow on his or her face in a couple of them, or the pier in the back of some of them really annoy me! Hopefully I get the chance to do a lot more shooting before their wedding in March!

Thanks again for all the great feedback and critiques!