Photo Critique #5: “Fall Wedding” | Wedding Photo Critique
Aaron
I admire anyone who can photograph weddings and do so in an aesthetic way. Events, especially weddings, are difficult for a variety of reasons. You are asked to be creative without any time to be able to think and process. Your subjects often run late. You don’t get to choose much about your location or time you shoot. And you don’t get to choose your models! Basically, everything that a commercial/lifestyle photographer would have meticulous control over – a wedding photographer has next to none.
For those reasons, critiquing wedding imagery is a difficult task simply because I’ve been there. And it’ so easy to armchair quarterback a wedding shoot! Here are some suggestions for improvement with this image and most of them are very subtle but are also entirely within the photographer’s control.
The direction of your light is coming from the right, as evidenced by the highlight on the bride’s hair and the shadows on the ground. The hair looks great illuminated like this, but I always try to remember to put the darkest object close to the light and the lightest object away from the light. This position helps even your exposure and helps avoid overexposing the white dress. Black suits can take the sun hitting them directly; light dresses have a harder time not losing the detail in the highlights.
The rest of my suggestions deal with how your clients have been posed. There are a couple of things that just might help out the mood of this romantic image. The groom’s hand is in a fist and isn’t holding the beautiful woman in front of him. I tell all my grooms that it looks odd to have such a divine creature in front of you and you aren’t holding her like you care about her. I would also recommend having her bend her arm that’s closest to camera. This eliminates the fatty spot between a woman’s breast and armpit and it also follows the famous photographer, Patrick Demarchelier’s advice, “Anything on a woman that can bend, should bend.” (http://www.demarchelier.net/) The bride’s hand on the back of the groom’s head is a great idea, but have her flatten her hand and her thumb. Her thumb sticking up in the air is a little distracting. I think the tree would also made a nice framing device if you’d included more in it. It looks like that branch hanging down would have done the trick.
The way you chose to warm the image up was a great call. I love the warm tones. I also really like the way you softened the background a little to help the subjects claim the center of interest and not have to compete with a busy background. This can also be achieved by using an extremely shallow depth of field. You composition is strong and I appreciate how you placed the couple along the path line. Your ability to handle the exposure of the sky and the dress and still retain detail in your shadows is also impressive. Great image Kate, I’m sure your clients were pleased!
Megan
The post work on this image has made an ordinary wedding day look slightly surreal in its warmth and glow. I really appreciate your stylistic touch to this image. This image has a bit of a cinematic feeling to it, with that said, I personally would love to see some of the foreground cropped out to take it that much further. The leaves in the top of the frame I would take out of the image if you are sticking with this crop. There are a few other tiny aspects I might edit out if this, such as the leaf in the foreground of the shot which is right on the edge. I would also address the highlights and shadows in the tree. As the image was warmed, the focus changed and the bright spots start to catch my attention.
The couples gaze is lovely along with the light that catches their faces. With an embrace like that I am really wanted the guys hand to be open and holding her, instead of his finger tucked into what looks like a fist. As for her hand positioning, I would like to have her hand embracing him a bit closer, so her hand doesn’t look like it is giving a thumbs up. These are just a few of the aspects I would consider during the shoot and in post.
David
Jason
This wedding image has some really beautiful light. Seeing the original file, the enhancements were good adjustments. The skin tones could have been a bit muddy and cold, but it was adjusted well to bring back the warmth in the image. The photoshopped softer focus helped bring the attention back to the wedding couple, which could have had a more distracting background if left at the original depth of field. The adjustments really improve the image to make it pop.
One consideration is the placement of the couple. While they rest on the rule of thirds, they seem to sit mid frame. The horizon cuts the center of the image and I’m left wanting more sky. It’s a battle of attention to the bouquet and the bride’s face. Giving just a tighter crop loosing a bit of the grass could help the couple from floating so high in the frame and give more attention to the interaction between the couple. To me, while the background is an amazing location, there is a bit too much grass on the bottom.
This image has a lot going for it. The couple should really love it. The right moment, the right light, the right place. The adjustments are small, but that attention to detail is what makes this photo shine.
