Raymond Lin's Wedding Thread of 2010

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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I have more than a handful of weddings this year. Just shot the first one last weekend and rather than starting a new thread every fortnight i thought I would consolidate them all into 1 thread. I will try and keep this thread updated as I go along. I might not post entire weddings in one go, instead of half a dozen randomly chosen ones that pops out of the collection or something that i find interesting as I go along so I apologise for may be some lack of order in some posts.

 
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Wedge said:
Ditto!

Im second tog at a wedding this Saturday, really looking forward to it, any top tips Ray?
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Apart from don't do the same shots the other guy is doing...

1 - Get you next memory card in your pocket ready.

2 - Pay attention to how many shots left. If you know the confetti shot is coming up and there is 10 shots left, change and write off those space on the card.

3 - Be nice to people, there will be lots of people grab you and ask to take a shot when you just want to do candids. Just do it anyway, if its good, keep it, if not, bin it. Shoot, smile and move on. Besides, the bride likes those...they are Facebook like, but better lol I actually got a couple of nice ones from that.

4 - Don't get sucked into the atmosphere. If you are laughing at the speeches meaning you are MISSING the laughter that you should be photographing.

5 - Same as above, like Photo No.7 & 8 above, I should have really helped them (carry the dresses up the stairs and hold that mirror up), but then i would have missed it. See the moment, capture it, don't get involve.

6 - Watch your ISO ! The reception was in this marque and one side was black (disco), the other side was White. When I point the camera at the black background side I was over exposing, and when i point the camera at the white side i was under exposing. I really had to adjust the exposure compensation on the fly constantly. Same as moving in between outdoor and indoors. If you have Auto ISO, use it, but watch your shutter speed, as Canon uses 1/focal length.

7 - Details, Details, Details. If the bride had the idea of putting pedals on the table or ribbons in benches then photograph it.

& Hydrate whenever you can !
 
dannyjo22 said:
I find the brightness of the window behind really distracting in 2 and 3 but otherwise very nice. As said 15 is excellent, I'd be more than happy to have had shots like that from the photgrapher on my wedding day.

Is the corner darkness in some of the shots intentional as in a feature of that lens or did you add it PP.
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I will try to explain.

The brightness for photo 2 and 3. Why is it so bright, the reasons are 2 fold. First, technical, the light is coming from the window. Back lit, the light in the room is not switched on, it is 11am after all. In real life it actually was not that bright in the room, the sun is not actually shining directly into the room. So, to get enough light into MY side of the subject, i had to expose it more. The result is blowing out the window. That is not a problem here because the window has clutter, apart from the mirror on it, there were other objects, and not to mention the garden and trees outside. I wanted the sisters doing make up as the main source of focus, which is the artistic reason for blowing it out. If i had not, and follow the camera's own metering, i would end up with a half silluette, which is crap.

The vignetting in the photos, they are mostly intentional, some are not when shot on the 16-35 at 16mm with a uv filter on i get a bit of vignetting. I add it in for artistic reasons. Mainly because there normally nothing of interest in the corners, and this draws the eye towards the middle.
 
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greedy123 said:
Also, did you use a diffuser on the flash like a sto-fen or a lumiquest one at all?
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Oh, sorry I missed that.

First, the flash question.

I don't use any Tupperware :p, I bounce it off the ceiling most of the time. :)

As for holding the 135L and have it sharp. I shoot most of the time with a single focus point, and have that point land on my "target". And that target is often the eys. it's almost muscle memory now to have that point land on the eyes or head of the person without i even thinking about it.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Do you focus and shoot straight away and then crop in post to ensure you get optimum focus everytime? Or do you focus, hold focus, frame, and shoot?

I do the latter but of course you risk things moving in that time and losing focus when shooting wide open.
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Err..

Normally, I see a person in the crowd or the bride and try and picture the picture in my head. Basically, i know what i want to shoot a couple of seconds before i do, then dial in the focus point in accordance to portrait or landscape, hold camera up, watch through the viewfinder and shoot when i see that moment. It takes practice to know what they are about to do, a lot of time they can be already doing something interesting like dancing so i shoot straight away. Soon as i hear that beep i press it all the way.
 
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Oh, i rarely crop. I do rotate so its level but i seldom crop it much. 99% of shots are uncropped. When i do its not because I shoot wide to begin with and "make a photo" out of it later. I crop to remove clutter on the edges, or a annoying bit of void of space on the side.

I frame it as i shoot normally.
 
Sp00n said:
Excellent shots, I bet the bride and groom's are very happy with them :)

May I ask what lens you generally use for shooting these?
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Today my 24-70L died at 11am....error 01, right in the middle of the bride getting dressed....the next 12 hours it was 16-35, 50 & 85.

I am so glad i bought the 85/1.8 yesterday.
 
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Wedge said:
Done my first wedding today/yesterday, Saturaday not looked at results yet, but Ray mate different class, seriously everything u post makes me want to sell my kit.

Thats a little (only a little) tounge in cheek.

Top top work!
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I am sure you will have a few gems there, and you are too kind Wedge, thanks for your kind words, again !

My first wedding, 3/4 years ago now, looking back, it was done with a single 30D, 28-105 Mkii and a 50/1.8. The results was average at best looking back and i had to process some shots quite heavily to get them half decent. I have learn a lot from it too. I can't blame my kit (slow, bad ISO), but i also didn't know what i was doing really. Second wedding was better, and 3rd was okay. What I really really learn was the one with Ruth and Andy. I took it on all by myself, jumped in with both feet, and pulled it off. (phew).

What I also learn, and i am REALLY REALLY REALLY glad i did, was when i went to Hong Kong back in April and use nothing but my 50mm on my 30D for a week. It turns out to be an exercise that was worth doing !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raymondlin/sets/72157623738640615/

And I learn a LOT from using that focal length. It certainly came in handy yesterday when my 24-70L broke and I was basically stuck with primes - 50/85/135 from 11am to midnight.
 
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Jamesbcd said:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7045/38026116646941715991100.jpg

Still no? Sorry, a bit OT. Was just a weird coincidence. :p
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There was no live band with drums there.

Namistai said:
Ray, just reading your post about correctly exposing the subject (people) at the expense of the background exposure - do you tend to use aperture priority and spot metering to achieve that? Or just use perhaps evaluative metering and keep a close eye on the exposure and then use exposure compensation?
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I tend to use aperture priority, unless in situation like this where i would go manual. :) It takes a little longer but I have a few seconds to get it right when they are doing to makeup anyway. So it works out ok.
 
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