Wedding Critique of the Week--RINGS!--11/21/11

<p>As suggested, I am assigning a theme to this week's POW--rings. So post your most creative rings shot. Make sure it is 700 pixels or less in width and/or length - AND - make sure to enter a caption in the caption box on that page where you've uploaded. Some details about the shot would be helpful.<br /><br />By posting - you agree to allow your image to be chosen for discussion and critique for the week. One will be chosen at random. This is not a contest - but simply an image that we'll discuss. Positive as well as constructive suggestions are what will occur. HOWEVER - IF you wish to post your image but DO NOT WANT to be considered for critique - please say so in your caption. Images that show as a link will be deleted and you'll be asked to re-post.<br /><br />Newcomers and Pros are both welcome to post in this thread. The thread will be closed late on Tuesday. Look for the choice on Wednesday. Please do not start the critique in this thread ;-)</p>

<p><strong>Moderator Note:</strong> OK, from the suggestions recently made for sparking more interest on the forum, I am again opening up comments about all the images posted--pick one or all--let's talk RINGS...</p>

<p>

Camera model:<strong >Canon EOS 5D Mark II</strong>

Focal length:<strong >28 mm on 24-70 L</strong>

Exposure:<strong >1/160 at f/2.8</strong>

Flash:<strong>580EXII fired remotely from above</strong>

Exposure mode:<strong >Manual</strong>

ISO speed:<strong >ISO 100</strong>

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Don't like the lighting thats blowing out the words and it seems like there may be a focus issue with the rings,but that could look that way with the blown out words.Its hard to avoid lighjt washing out some of the writing., but you may be able to use photoshop and bring back some of the blown out areas.

 

My favorite part of the shot is the rings form a heart shaped shadow Thats really cool! Well done.

<p>Here's mine for the week from a wedding I shot last year in Denver. Nikon D700, 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, natural light, shade</p><div></div>

<p>Nadine -- great idea to have a theme... rings is a good choice... I'm looking forward to the others!<br>

Melissa, Vail -- nice photos!<br>

I already posted my rings on corks shot, so here are the bride and groom admiring their rings.</p><div></div>

<p>Lens baby ring shot with bleeding hearts.</p><div></div>

<p>Here's an old fav ring shot.............</p><div></div>

<p>Here is a fairly standard ring shot, only using available light at the reception. ISO 400, f/8, 60mm macro, 6-second shutter!</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Moderator Note:</strong> OK, from the suggestions recently made for sparking more interest on the forum, I am again opening up comments about all the images posted--pick one or all--let's talk RINGS...</p>

<p>ok, so just making sure, we should now post our comments here? there won't be a separate post after this, right?</p>

<p>Yes, go for it!</p>

<p>Melissa, I SOOOOO love yours and will have to do that some time. Perfect lighting.</p>

<p>Alan, I thought about doing that shot at one point after I saw a nuva ring ad that was similar. But the distortion that happens with the size of their hands is a bit off putting to me. Either perhaps their faces need to be even more blurred with less DOF, or the distance between them and the rings should be decreased perhaps? With his finger nails seeming pretty dirty, I wouldn't have picked this couple to do this shot with. </p>

<p>Alex, with your logo, now I see the DC is for your name, not your location. ;) I love the use of the bleeding hearts. For the use of the lens baby, if you have a really artsy fartsy couple, I could see them loving this. But if they are more traditional, I would be sure to have more than just this shot where there is less blur, because I think it would be somewhat risky.</p>

<p>David, while funny, it makes the rings so small it's hard to see the details. I think the same comical effect could be accomplished by having a closer up shot of the hands doing the same gesture, but making it so you could still really see the rings. </p>

<p>John, this is a really tricky one. I would have a hard time showing this one to a client. I like the dreaminess of the colors captured by using the available light, and you captured some of the diamond's facets beautifully, but as is often the case with rings, the placement of them makes all the difference. From this shot I can't tell what is the engagement ring, which is the bride's band and which is the groom's band. Since the 3 rings are so similar, I would have probably just have gone with the 2 rings instead, or done a different variation of stacking. Having the smallest, and what I'm guessing is the bride's band, be totally out of focus just doesn't work for me. It's like it's just background noise, rather than being one of the stars of the show. </p>

<p>When placing rings, I always try to figure out what the order is saying about it. Having a big heavy male band on top of a delicate female band looks like its being crushed. So most of the time I have the smaller band on top of the male band, or the bands not touching at all. Even if they aren't touching in a floral arrangement, I tend to have the smaller band on the top, rather than the the other way around. Some wedding bands have a shape to them that fits around the engagement ring, I try to be cognizant of that, and usually have those dips oriented like an upside down U rather than U. </p>

<p>As to what I do for creating a shot, the amount of time I have is the biggest dictating factor. </p>

<ul>

<li>If I have oodles of time in the morning as they are getting ready and have not expressed any specific requests for shots (i.e. rings in the bouquet), then I try to get creative with things like programs, or other things I can find lying around, or if the bridesmaids haven't put on their dresses yet, I ask for one of the dresses and I place the rings on the dress as a background so it matches the wedding colors. If there's a book around (in hotels there are usually bibles by the bedside tables) I may set up that cool heart shadow trick that I posted this week that my 2nd shooter actually taught me (thanks Shawn Black!)</li>

<li>If I have about 2 minutes and have nothing to play with from the wedding itself, I'll put it in one of 3 agates I bring with me that have holes in the center that allow me to quickly place a ring (either engagement or bride's band) facing up and the groom's band on the actual agate. </li>

<li>If I have 30 seconds, then I have someone hold them in the palm of their hand, or hold them in their finger tips. </li>

<li>If the rings come from a place like tiffany, I make sure we get a shot of the signature blue boxes before they are opened with the nice bows in tact.</li>

</ul>

<p>Post more pictures? Or not?</p>

<p>Herma--sure.</p>

<p>Melissa -- I really like your concept and hope to use it in the future. I like how it places the focus on the rings and gives you a nice flowery out-of-focus background. This could be really handy for albums where you're looking for a photo you can float other photos on top of. That said, I'd shoot several variations with the ring in various corners, etc. I've seen many others that have rings and flowers in the background. The shot works very well when the profile of the ring is interesting. Any ideas of how to feature the stone more prominently?</p>

<p>The rings aren't as sharp as I'd like, but I'm guessing that is the jpeg compression down to 700 pixels and your full-res image is very sharp. Mine suffers from the same problem, not to mention that my groom's hand were pretty rough looking! :-)</p>

<p>Vail -- very nice. To get a sharp shadow, you need a point-source light, but a point-source might cause glare on the letters. I wonder if you could take two shots, one with point-source and one with a soft box, and then merge them in photoshop... er... all this in 5 minutes while you wait for the bride getting ready, eh? ... and would it look better with a tilt-shift lens so all the text can be sharp? hmmm... we've got 5 minutes to pull this of, eh? would it be better to move the rings forward to make them larger? and how about using post-crop vignette or some creative burning around the corners to focus attention.</p>

<p>John -- nice composition. is the ring on the right the engagement ring? (with a higher stone) ... challenge with these is always d-o-f and sharpness. I'm sure you're on a tripod with a 6s exposure.</p>

<p>Melissa, John -- Both of you are using a 60mm macro lens. Do you prefer this for wedding work over 105 or is it just because that's what you have? I have a 105 macro lens. Years ago I had a 50mm macro, but I don't have it any more and it was for a film camera any way?</p>

<p>Rings Shots... 60mm or 105mm: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1062928</p>

 

<p>Here is one of my favorite ring shots. Taken in March 2011. f 4.5 iso 100 1/250. Used a 7D and a canon 17-55 2.8</p><div></div>

<p>And here is another, same day, same settings, but with an open bloom. Can not decide which I like better. Thoughts?</p><div></div>

<p>Ring set ups were always something I took a lot of thinking to do. In addition to rings with flowers, I try to come up with something that I think that the couple might have liked based on either their personality or the decorations they chose. I strive for whimsy in some of the shots if I think the couple will like it. Some cake toppers, the candy bar set up, are things I use as well. I always shot the rings during dinner, that way I wasn't afraid of missing something during the reception. Forgive me for posting a collage - since I no longer have anything new to contribute, I'm taking liberties, haha.</p><div></div>

<p>Aura, without a doubt I prefer the open shot. FABULOUS lighting.<br>

Maira, I love the cake topper one, great placement choices for the rings. And I like the candy bar one particularly the idea behind the marry me one although I think that would could have been executed better. I love the colors of the rock candy one. The one of the couple sitting in the rings made me laugh, but looks kinda 80s to me. Ifyou had a couple with a great sense of humor they might really enjoy that.</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments Vail. The comment that made me laugh was the 80's comment -- not sure how that looks to be an 80's type of photo, care to elaborate? Did they do that in the 80's, did they do it with multiple enlargers, Uelsmann-style? Yes, the couple had the personality to appreciate this photo, otherwise I would not have created it.<br>

Also, I'm not one to insist on precise placement of rings. It all depends on the setting and what I'm working with, and the mood I want to represent. I think some people get too caught up in that, and it may hinder creativity. By the way, the marry me one was my idea -- I brought the sweetheart candies with me to the wedding. It was just something that I wanted to do.</p>

<p>@ David Schilling</p>

<p>That's the greatest wedding photo I've ever seen</p>

<p>I like this format - good way to get lots of interaction -- ready for the next group as I missed this one...</p>