My personal favorite image from a little courthouse wedding. I did both a low contrast and a high contrast black-and-white, the bride and I agreed that we liked this high contrast version better. I’d love to get feedback from our community on improving my black and white conversions. I am somebody who very much enjoys receiving criticism so that I can continue to learn. Thanks family!
Critique the Community
Valentine's Day Love
Submit your best image with a love or romantic theme for a chance to win a free Fstoppers tutorial.
Submission Deadline: Thu, 21 Feb 19 04:45:00 +0000
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Dang, all these votes and not one critique. I love you all but how can I improve if nobody wants to talk?
Picture technically is good. They seem to be in an awkward transition towards a kiss. Background is a little blah which is not anything you can control so I would crop in and fill the frame with the couple. I think if you had a shot of them embracing you would convey emotions which this moment is lacking.
Thank you for the feedback Justin. I’m beginning to understand that an image that is mad3 significance to my client by context of the day is not necicarily going to translate when presented in these competitions. For instance, you are not the first person to give me feedback on images from this wedding that my backgrounds are “blah”, but my clients loved this image because it included the entryway to the council chambers where they were married. Plus the bride really likes the lights. I’m learning, that all of that makes me a better wedding photographer for these individuals, but it doesn’t necessarily have any significance to anybody else. I really appreciate your comment because at least now I have something to take away from this competition… Other than my free to tutorial I’m going to win that is. 😉
Oftentimes items, locations etc. that clients have sentiment towards are meaningless in such competitions, that doesn't just apply to photography, so you work with what you've got. I do agree that a tighter crop would fit better and I'd like for them to look more natural and into it - outside the mandatory posed photos, such event shots have more impact if you manage to capture a truly intimate moment, something in their own 'couple language', let's say - it could be a gesture, a smile, just something small that would spark that emotion. Of course, nerves play a huge role so you have to be patient and as less intimidating as possible, speaking from my own bridal experience. Think of it as the paparazzi style, mixed with the technical skills of a pro :)
Thank you for the feedback. What’s interesting is how multiple people have told me that this felt like a posed shot. So they gave me the advice of trying to catch a candid moment between the two of them. That is good advice, and that’s why I employed it to get this shot. I told the couple that I was changing some settings on my camera and this was them goofing around just before we took the other photo I submitted. So it’s interesting that this is the cropped in candid version of my other image. However perhaps I was not aggressive enough in my crop. I hope none of that sounds like I’m making excuses I just thought it was something interesting out chair with you. Thank you for taking the time to write it to me. I will definitely continue to try to improve on capturing these in between moments.