Urgh! First wedding assist lol

[SeraphX]

Oh and i was best man too,

Anyways, i was assisting my uncle with photo's for my younger brothers wedding yesterday, Camera was a D5000 with 35mm nikon 1.8 for the most part, i know some of the pictures could have been a lot better, but i was almost drunk for most of it, and trying to learn the new lens etc etc so i've picked the ones i like the most to post here for some nice comments etc etc lol


First Dance 1 by Seraph82, on Flickr

First dance 2 by Seraph82, on Flickr

First dance 3 by Seraph82, on Flickr
^^ i love this one! i think it could use cropping down a tiny bit but i love it anyhows lol


DSC_0154 by Seraph82, on Flickr

DSC_0138 by Seraph82, on Flickr

DSC_0132 by Seraph82, on Flickr

 

[theheyes]

Rather than just reel off a list of what may or may not be wrong with the photographs, I thought it might be helpful to share just two things I would do differently.

The first is exposure - the last two photographs are very under-exposed. I personally very rarely nail it in-camera, so I shoot RAW to help correct my mistakes in post. It’s worth investing some time in understanding how your camera evaluates exposure, the histogram and how to use your exposure compensation button/dial.

The second is composition. While there is nothing strictly wrong with having someone slap bang in the centre of the frame looking down the lens, it can be more pleasing to place the subject off-centre. The “rule of thirds” is a good place to start.

I’ve included below side-by-side with the original how I personally would have handled what came out of the camera, just taking the last picture as an example. (Please note that I am not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination!)

Hope that helps

 

[Paul11]

agree with the above, some good feedback there

also, the shots look like they were taken in auto mode, would be worth getting to grips with AV mode (aperture priority) and M mode (full manual) mode to be control the light better

and getting to grips with using flash...

 

[OG]

Yup as has been said above, as these no way look like they were shot at 1.8! Hopefully this sort of experience has made you aware of areas you need to improve on as some of these shots could have potentially been very good, its just the harsh flash and the under exposure that has ruined some of them!

 

[bloodline76]

No offence but don't give up the day job. These are really poor. I think my 2 year old has taken better pictures with my iphone by mistake.

 

[FidelZastro]

My best man got married a couple of weeks ago and he wanted me to be his wedding photographer, he even wanted to pay me a decent salary for the job. I turned it down, mainly for two reasons: firstly, I am not a wedding photographer. I am a good photographer and could make great pictures, but I can't guarantee to get decent pictures of the most important moments (like swapping rings, the kiss, or cutting the cake). Second, I wanted to celebrate his wedding as well and photography is hard work while which you can't enjoy a party if you're doing it right. In the end, a good friend of mine (she is currently doing an apprenticeship as a professional photographer) covered the job with my gear, and she did a good job.

I think, you should have done the same. No offense, you undoubtedly are able to get good shots, but for the really important ones there is no second chance to do it right. And, of course, you wanted to have fun by yourself. Good thing about this: you've just been the assistant, so the couple probably will get quite decent pictures after all. But if this teaches you something, it should probably be:

Never ever become a wedding photographer unless you are capable of and willing to deliver 150% of what you are used to and the couple is expecting you.

 

[SeraphX]

Yup as has been said above, as these no way look like they were shot at 1.8! Hopefully this sort of experience has made you aware of areas you need to improve on as some of these shots could have potentially been very good, its just the harsh flash and the under exposure that has ruined some of them!

I dont think any of them were shot at 1.8 either tbh, i'll have a look at the originals to find out, some of the pictures were used with flash, the dancing ones were not, ISO was 2000 roughly to give me a fast enough shutter and the lighting was from a mobile disco off to the right. i borrowed the lens from my uncle and had roughly an hour before the wedding to mess about, bit of a lame excuse, but i've never really shot people in this setting with that lens before, so it was a proper learning experience

No offence but don't give up the day job. These are really poor. I think my 2 year old has taken better pictures with my iphone by mistake.

Thanks for taking the time, are you a photographer? did you get brilliant over night? no you didn't, try thinking before posting in future

My best man got married a couple of weeks ago and he wanted me to be his wedding photographer, he even wanted to pay me a decent salary for the job. I turned it down, mainly for two reasons: firstly, I am not a wedding photographer. I am a good photographer and could make great pictures, but I can't guarantee to get decent pictures of the most important moments (like swapping rings, the kiss, or cutting the cake). Second, I wanted to celebrate his wedding as well and photography is hard work while which you can't enjoy a party if you're doing it right. In the end, a good friend of mine (she is currently doing an apprenticeship as a professional photographer) covered the job with my gear, and she did a good job.

I think, you should have done the same. No offense, you undoubtedly are able to get good shots, but for the really important ones there is no second chance to do it right. And, of course, you wanted to have fun by yourself. Good thing about this: you've just been the assistant, so the couple probably will get quite decent pictures after all. But if this teaches you something, it should probably be:

Never ever become a wedding photographer unless you are capable of and willing to deliver 150% of what you are used to and the couple is expecting you.

I totally agree with what your saying, i only really started this whole lark 6-7 months ago, the photo's weren't paid for, it was all a learning experience, i don't plan on doing any weddings any time soon thats for damn sure, but thanks for posting

Rather than just reel off a list of what may or may not be wrong with the photographs, I thought it might be helpful to share just two things I would do differently.

The first is exposure - the last two photographs are very under-exposed. I personally very rarely nail it in-camera, so I shoot RAW to help correct my mistakes in post. It’s worth investing some time in understanding how your camera evaluates exposure, the histogram and how to use your exposure compensation button/dial.

The second is composition. While there is nothing strictly wrong with having someone slap bang in the centre of the frame looking down the lens, it can be more pleasing to place the subject off-centre. The “rule of thirds” is a good place to start.

I’ve included below side-by-side with the original how I personally would have handled what came out of the camera, just taking the last picture as an example. (Please note that I am not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination!)

Hope that helps

thanks very much, now why can't everyone offer decent feedback like this more often

as i said above, never really done anything like this before, my personal tastes are more macro/landscape etc etc so, wanted to experiment and find out.

agree with the above, some good feedback there

also, the shots look like they were taken in auto mode, would be worth getting to grips with AV mode (aperture priority) and M mode (full manual) mode to be control the light better

and getting to grips with using flash...

Indeed

all of the shots were taking in A mode on my camera which is Aperture priority
i never use fully automatic. as for the flash yes it's the camera body flash, so not a whole lot i could do with it, but heyho Learning lol

Thanks for all the comments, everyone starts somewhere !!

 

[AHarvey]

No offence but don't give up the day job. These are really poor. I think my 2 year old has taken better pictures with my iphone by mistake.

Let's see your wedding photos then? They are not really poor at all, they aren't professional quality but by no means poor.

As for the OP, first piece of advise, DON'T DRINK if you want good photos.

Secondly, when you have a bright window behind the subject, use spot metering on their face. This will completely blow the windows out but your subject will be properly exposed. For posing, try not to pose people with a bright background behind them unless you want a blown look to it, turn them around and use the light to light their face.

The 35mm 1.8 is a cracking lens. however at 1.8 it can be hard to nail focus up close. Practice as much as you can with it before hand in the future. The 1.8 is used in 2 ways, the first is the typical use when shooting a photo, creating a low depth of field and letting a lot of light in. However, if you set the aperture to 4.5 for instance, the camera will use 1.8 for focusing then use 4.5 for the photo, which makes it great for focusing in low light

Another trick, is normally people use centre point focus, focus on the eye and then reposition the camera. When shooting at 1.8 this can and does lead to focus issues, as in the face of the girl. So instead, frame her face, then use a single focus point that appears over the girls eye. My D60 had only 3 focus points, my D700 has 52. Not sure what yours has but this will nail focus.

Don't use on camera flash, buy yourself any cheap hotshoe flash that allows you to rotate the head and manually alter flash output power.

As for people saying don't jump in to weddings, that can only depend on the person. I shot 1 as a guest, 1 as a second then blew £7k on gear and started on my own. I am becoming much happier with constantly hitting a high standard of shots, never had any complaints and more importantly, I love it

 

[GSXRMovistar]

As for the OP, first piece of advise, DON'T DRINK if you want good photos.

I dunno about that, maybe if you are being employed professionally but if you are a guest and doing the bride/groom a favour there's no reason why you can't mix the two activities.

Most of my wedding related pics have all been taken whilst heavily under the influence!

 

[Raymond Lin]

I don't know how to put this.

Obviously, if I were to judge this on a professional level, these are all destined for the reject pile. The first 3 shots are virtually identical with the latter 2 of the 3 being missed focus, the cake is in more focus than their faces. Then there is the exposure problem, the composition also needs work.

And yes, if you want to take photos, do not drink, ever. It is a golden rule of mine. Either there to enjoy or either there to work. Mixing it means you might as well not bother. I know you were not paid and was there to assist but drinking gives a really really bad impression to the couple if your task were to take photos. Not to mention the quality of work suffers, you are also carrying thousands of pounds of equipment, none of which you want to lose or damage.

I mean these are passable as a guest point of view, as an assistant however, if I was to have one, I would have asked him to go home when I see him pick up a drink.

What about the day shot? You said you assisted him? It must be more than 3 hours in the evening? Shooting in low light is hard enough, shooting in low light on a crop body with no notable flash is even harder. Although having the 35/1.8 would help, but not a great deal in terms of focusing without IR assist from the flash unit.

In terms of how I would have shot with what you had?

Put it in aperture priority and wack it in 1.8 (which you didn't) and a high but useable
Iso and just go for it. Leave the setting as it is, pay most attention to emotion, storytelling and composition, then keep a conscious constant reminder on exposure in back lighting and this is where the skill of knowing the camera well comes in. You need to be able to dial exposure compensation up on the fly, without looking, feeling how many stop you need to expose extra and put that in and shoot in the moment. It all takes place in less than a second. If you hesitate you will miss that moment. The latter part comes with experience.

Although saying that, I have seen worse, a lot worse from a first attempt, so don't get disheartened, it is not a bad start per say, but it is not portfolio worthy either.

 

[divuk83]

Good post theheyes, well said. Wedding photography is so much harder than it looks, it involves some of the most difficult lighting conditions and having to work in the moment and capture things quickly with no second chances. I went to 2 weddings this year and was amazed at how crap almost all of my pictures were, it is a very steep learning curve. The main thing you have got out of this is the experience to know what doesn't work for next time, thats actually a useful thing (as long as your not being paid to do it!). Its also tricky to be a guest and a photographer at the same time so that doesn't make things any easier.

While we are on the subject, I dislike the growing trend for anyone with a good camera and a flashy website to proclaim themselves as a wedding photographer. One of the 2 weddings I went to this year was not very happy with what they ended up with from their "professional" photographer and the other was amazed by how good their photos were from a semi pro doing a bit of weekend work in his spare time. There are some very good photographers on here who not only have the abilty to get what they want out of the camera but to get the interaction with the people they are photographing which is one of the most important things about wedding photography. I much prefer landscape photography where I can fanny about as the subject is static, this might be why I was so crap when I tried to use my camera at 2 weddings this year!

</end of rambling>

Dave

 

[PermaBanned]

On the subject of drinking - it's fine as long as you only drink slightly less than two pints

And the Ballmer Peak, of course. That probably effects more than just programming skill, right?

 

[Paul11]

Indeed

all of the shots were taking in A mode on my camera which is Aperture priority
i never use fully automatic. as for the flash yes it's the camera body flash, so not a whole lot i could do with it, but heyho Learning lol

Thanks for all the comments, everyone starts somewhere !!

ok, well if you are in Aperture mode , firstly open up to the lenses widest aperture available , and second learn about exposure compensation when shooting into light

investing in a proper flash would also go along way

apart from that, there is lots of good advice in this thread.

 

[bloodline76]

Let's see your wedding photos then? They are not really poor at all, they aren't professional quality but by no means poor.

I wasn't the one posting pictures up for everyone to see and comment on. But if I attend a Wedding a will take some and post them on here. But if I took about 700 pictures I am sure I could come up with three of four that looked half decent.

Ok I was a little harsh, a tongue in cheek comment but sorry but these are really poor. The OP says that they have been only doing it for six to seven months. Seriously I wouldn't continue if these are the best you can come up with after that period. I know it sounds mean but that is a nice camera he is using and should be able to produce a couple of nice pictures.

There is not a single good shot out of any of them. They are poorly taken, no idea about lighting, and the most unflattering photos I have seen. There is no thought going into the pictures what so ever.

You are going to get some bad shots when they are dancing, presumedly for the first dance but those were the best that he got? It looks like he has got some wedding cake in his teeth and she is trying to get it out for him.

The best photographers blend into the party without being noticed but there must have been a few chances when they were posing for the proper photographer to get some better shots than these.

Show us some more pictures, maybe the OP just grabbed a few without going through them. I don't want to seem mean but I am not going to lie and say that they are good. I wouldn't even say they were ok. I wouldn't show them to the happy couple and certainly wouldnt post them on the internet.

 

[33L]

what could have improved these shots, spot metering and an external flash or 2 with some sort of modifier.

the last 2 i would have used fast glass, no flash, spot meter, focus and then compose the shot. As mentioned above the windows would have blown but enough can be brough back if shooting RAW, enough to see the frames of the window and not just a white space.

The First dance, its all about the light and depending on the venue depends on the lights i use! it might just be bounced flash, through a ring flash adapter (in my case an orbis ring flash so i can maintain focus assist. Or off camera flash through softboxes. There is a technique to balancing flash and ambient light. There is no one formula for this and you need to gain a feel for it. Dial in a rough setting and tweak for the desired effect.

To be honest if its something you want to do, you have some work ahead of you and its practise that will get you there. it doesnt have to be with weddings. take portraits of people in difficult conditions, backlit, dim tungsten light. A perfect palce for this will be a pub. afternoon in front a window and then evening to get the atmospherical lighting with lighting from a flashgun.

There is some basic kit you need as well. Wedding can be some of the most demanding images that need to be captured. real time action in bad light. Such equipment as good fast glass, high ISO, low noise camera body. flash gun. for example, my slowest lens is f/4, i hardly use it, im normally at 2.8 or faster. I would love Raymond Lin's trio of lenses but i cant afford them all just yet!

 

[An Exception]

I think some people here are avoiding the elephant in the room.
Even with the best lighting the below picture just isn't going to look good.
I personally don't see how any photographer can make the below dance look good, the posture and body positioning is just all wrong, I would say what I think it looks like they're doing but I just don't know how I can put it into words...

Imo, your best chance would have been to use a long lens and get in tight, to crop out the awkward body positioning. I partly blame the bride and groom for these shot's, especially the groom.

 

[AHarvey]

blah

Yes the OP might have had their camera for 6-7 months, doesn't mean that they have made a massive effort in learning all the in's and outs of photography.

I had my D60 for a good 6 months before I really started getting in to it. Since then I have read a lot, improved greatly and I am constantly learning.

However, more importantly, I have NEVER told someone they should stop taking photos, that has to be the most idiotic thing that I have ever heard!

An extremely high % of wedding photograhy has nothing to do with the camera, its about people, spotting what they are doing, knowing how a wedding works, what is going to happen when, how will people do certain things. This is stuff that you learn through experience.

You need to give him a break, entry level camera, on camera flash, a lens he had never used and stupidly, had been drinking.

Seraph, I am not up to the same level as Raymond Lin (although trying to ) but feel free to email me if you need any advice or help! I am more than willing to help however I can

 

[An Exception]

Seraph, I am not up to the same level as Raymond Lin (although trying to ) but feel free to email me if you need any advice or help! I am more than willing to help however I can

Good man!

 

[33L]

Sometimes you need to create your own light when it gets so dark.

I had a go at off camera flash at a wedding the other week. I had 3 flashes going, 2 off camera, one on. Obviously, things need to be put into perspective, the cost of gear to this shot could get you a quite nice second hand car!

A similar shot to the OP in terms of composition.

what setup are you using these days ray, i mainly use two flashes off camera and you results are as always inspiring

 

[bloodline76]

Blah blah blah

There is being polite and there is being honest. Sorry but you don't need to know all the in's and outs of the camera to take a better picture.

It just doesn't look like he has a good eye for what makes a nice photo. It's not just about taking a picture, it's about choosing the right picture to take as well.

Remember for him to be posting these on here, then you would think these are his best pictures. You don't put your worst pictures on for people to comment on about being your first wedding.

This isn't just a guy randomly taking photos at a wedding, he is attempting to produce professional standard pictures, or at least experiment and see what works and doesn't.

There is nothing experimental or interesting about the pictures. They could easily just be a photo taken by your Gran or someone who you handed the camera.

If you truly think these are ok pictures then you have very low standards my friend. Personally I would rather say the data stick was corrupt than show the bride the pictures if these were the best ones all day.

An extremely high % of wedding photograhy has nothing to do with the camera, its about people, spotting what they are doing, knowing how a wedding works, what is going to happen when, how will people do certain things. This is stuff that you learn through experience.

You need to give him a break, entry level camera, on camera flash, a lens he had never used and stupidly, had been drinking.

So you say it has nothing to do with the camera and then you use the equipment as an excuse for the pictures