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Horrible Wedding Photographer


andrea_polk

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<p>Hello,<br>

I have taken photos for a handful of weddings and my photos are so terrible. I love photography with a passion, so I don't want to give up. I know I can watch a million videos/further my education to improve, but maybe something isn't sinking in for me? I do watch videos, read, and try to look up as many tips as possible. I think I do well every time I take photos (wedding or not), and the photos are all horrible once I am home.<br>

Any suggestions/tips/workshops/books or ideas?<br>

</p>

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<p>Go "second shoot" for a seasoned pro. Listen to what they say about your shots (when you get a chance to shoot). You'll likely have to be gopher and bag carrier for a while before being allowed to shoot anything.<br>

But if you pay attention to what the pro is doing, how they set up the shots, how they judge the moment, what they shoot and what they don't, you might learn enough to shoot for yourself.</p>

 

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<p>Could you specify horrible?<br>

What kind of screen are you using at home? My laptops here are "horrible(!)" to view / edit images on. <br>

My 1st generation DSLR does a "++horrible" job generating JEPEGs in camera. <br>

I also noticed that software matters, if it comes to color. - Samsung RAWs look "horrible" in Picasa, but quite OK in Lightroom with an X-Rite Colorchecker profile and the Silkypix copy from the camera box seems capable to tame them too.<br>

For unknown reasons the Rawtherapee installation on my Linux machine fancies to render B&W DNGs as Black and Red(!), which is of course horrible at 1st glimpse but easily fixed. <br>

If color is your problem; try B&W for starters. - It tends to look close to horrible at 1st glimpse straight out of camera but with a little bit of contrast and exposure adjustment you'll get somewhere. <br>

Might your ISO setting or camera in general be to blame? - My APS C & bigger sensored cameras tend to do fine at their basic ISO. - Some of them do OK at slightly raised ISO and all of them produce pretty horrible results at their maximum ISO setting. - I also have 2 elderly camera phones and a 50 Euro Casio Exilim, which generate horrible results, no matter what I am attempting to do, even outdoors by daylight.</p>

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<p>Thank you dearly Charles!</p>

<p>Jochen, I can! I feel like my composition is terrible. How I see the moment is not captured at all. I don't make the best of the environment or the moment. Most are blurry, it looks my settings are way off. I will try to post some photos later if I can. <br>

I just had my computer go out and I bought a new one, a mac desktop. I own a D800. I have CC suite. <br>

I feel all of the error is on my end. Maybe I don't have an eye and I love photography?? Or maybe my composition is way off?</p>

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<p>Andrea, everyone can learn to take good photos. Perhaps not everyone can be excellent, but everyone can be good. It's like writing - most people can, with a few tips, learn how to write better. And just like how reading improves your writing, looking at photos helps you take better ones.</p>

<p>Photography is something that you discover. You need to evolve instincts. This takes time, and that's perfectly normal. Relax. ;-) Workshops are good things, so why not take one? Schools are not, so avoid 'studying' photography. Use your time and money to improve yourself instead.</p>

<p>Maybe you haven't found your groove yet? For example, let's say that you're shooting with a 28-70mm zoom. But you don't feel like you're getting the shots you want. Okay, now put on a 70-200mm zoom. Do you feel better, more comfortable? Does that simple change make more sense to you?</p>

<p>One common mistake I find with a lot of photographers is that they have too many elements in the scene. You might think that you can't control it, but to some extent, you can. </p>

<p>Think of it like this: to hell with the subject, your job is to take photographs, not to make a mere record of a thing or moment. As far as you're concerned, the subject exists for the sake of the photograph, not the other way around. Perhaps this mode of thinking - forward leaning instead of backward leaning (if you know cricket, you'll know the terms 'back foot' and 'front foot') - might help your attitude towards your craft change.</p>

<p>You'll get there. Just let it happen at your own pace. Everyone learns differently.<br>

<br />As for your comment about blurry photos, maybe it's just a simple matter of making sure your ISO is high enough. Forgive me for sounding presumptuous, but are you overly concerned with noise? </p>

<p>I hope that I have been at least of some help. If not, that's okay too. :-)</p>

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<blockquote>

<p>every time I take photos (wedding or not), and the photos are all horrible</p>

</blockquote>

<p>and</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Could you specify horrible?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I think an excellent method for you to explain some of the issues troubling you, would be to post one or two photos with a commentary from you as why you think that those two images are "horrible".</p>

<p>Photography is a visual medium - and one picture is worth a thousand words . . .</p>

<p>WW</p>

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<p><em>I feel like my composition is terrible. How I see the moment is not captured at all. I don't make the best of the environment or the moment. Most are blurry, it looks my settings are way off. I will try to post some photos later if I can. </em><br /><em> I just had my computer go out and I bought a new one, a mac desktop. I own a D800. I have CC suite. </em><br /><em> I feel all of the error is on my end. Maybe I don't have an eye and I love photography?? Or maybe my composition is way off?</em><br>

<em> </em><br>

You seem a bit all over the place describing your 'problems'<br>

Best divide it up in sections, so you can tackle them one by one, and hopefully improve on them</p>

<p>First the easy one, the techie bit.<br>

You have a very capable camera with the D800 (I have two of them) well capable of shooting good/excellent (both high ISO and AF), and well up to the task of shooting eg in a church or for PJ style reception pictures (the D800's are my standard pick for shooting catwalk, i.e. fast moving subjects under not always ideal, and often enough just plain bad lighting)<br>

And of course the 36MP makes it ideal for the formal shots<br>

(don't fall into the hype you can only use the 'top' lenses, and shoot only with 'perfect' shooting technique due to that high resolution. I next to more modern lenses like the 1.4/58 AF S, 2.8/70-200 VR2 and 2/200 VR still a.o. use old ones like te 1.4/50mm AFD, 1.4/85 AF D and 2/135mm DC on my D800's).</p>

<p>But be sure you have your settings correct, both as far as AF and exposure is concerned (if incorrect both can result in the 'blurry' pictures you mention).<br>

My experience is to have them as simple a possible, and not get drawn in exotic things as 3D AF, Auto mode AF, and likewise also keep your exposure settings simple.<br>

I mention this because I regularly meet debutant photographers who lose themselves in the avalanche of technical option modern DSLR's offer. And consequently end up with all kind of advanced/automated settings they read to be 'the best' but don't control, and as a result 'bad' pictures.<br>

I on the other hand still base my settings on what I learned with my F801 back in the film shooting days, and am very slow adapting new 'gizmo's' (only after I have experimented enough with them to be able to master them, or find them working satisfactory)<br>

The computer and Adobe CC stuff really is moot, if your pictures s*ck, all that is irrelevant.</p>

<p>When shooting catwalk, my AF settings are AF-C, 51 AF fields, and manual selection of the AF point and the camera in Release Priority.<br>

I thus can shoot whenever I want, and this is why</p>

<p>The reason I use AF-C rather then AF-S is that with the latter the camera locks focus, and waits for you to take the shot.<br>

If you don't, and your subject moves to a different spot, the focus will remain on the previous spot, and you picture/subject in the new spot will be out of focus if you the take the picture without allowing the camera to refocus (i.e. taking you finger of the release button, and then pushing it halfway again, thus refocusing, all of which takes the second/split second when you wanted to take the picture, but couldn't because the camera was refocusing, and blocking the release).<br>

But with AF-C.it will keep focusing (and refocusing) all the time, so if I keep the AF point on the desired spot (I always aim for the face or eye, that's after all the most important thing to have in focus when shooting a person) I'm good practically most of the time.</p>

<p>With the camera in Release Priority, the camera will take the shot no matter if the AF is in focus, but rather at the moment when I push the release button<br>

That's also the reason for the manual selection of the AF point, and not using 3D AF or Auto AF. In those mode the camera makes an evaluation of the image (based on the 91000 pixel 'Advanced Scene Recognition System') and autonomously decides what to focus on. That not only may not be what you want in focus, but it also gives a small delay which eg in AF-S can run you into problems.</p>

<p>The 51 AF fields (just a matter of personal preference, many colleagues use 21 AF points for that purpose with just as much succes) allow more flexibility/AF points for the AF tracking to choose from when shooting a moving subject e.g. a dancing, or romantically on an outside location running bride and groom.<br>

I usually have my camera in Matrix Mode,under challenging conditions I might use 60/40 Central or Spot (takes more experience to master those, but that's where the LCD comes in handy)<br>

For exposure mode I shoot in Manual mode under natural and available light. I thus can control the DoF by manually selecting the desired aperture, and sharpness/movement unsharpness by deciding myself on what shutter speed to use) and Auto ISO (have bee using this since I got a D3 in 2008, found it near flawless most of the time on my D3, D800, DF and D7100)<br>

When using flash I also shoot in Manual mode, and also set the ISO manually (In my experience Auto ISO doesn't go well with flash)<br>

I have my flash units in TTL-BL mode,which gives me the advantage of TTL mode, and with the BL mode a flsh output which is more in balance with the available light.</p>

<p>The composition etc bit is harder to quantify.<br>

It of course starts with having the 'eye' for it, but given that with wedding phootography we are talking about a very specific branch of photography, that can be learned to master, or at least emulate.<br>

Again it starts with the technique, although in a more visual way, and that is lenses (Although I prefer FX, I'm quite conviced that a DX body is just as fit for shooting weddings, so I'm not going to 'discuss' that)<br>

Although basically every (modern) lens can deliver a sharp picture (although the older ones, eg 1.4/85 AFD, 135mm DC can do that too) the thing to keep in mind is the way the image is rendered.<br>

Especially with wedding photography catching the mood is more important then 'sharp from corned to corner' or 'lines per mm'.<br>

Here too doing it the simple way (especially when beginning) is the best. Get a fast (1.4) standard 50mm lens, and a short (85 or 105mm) telelens, and maybe a wide angle too.<br>

The 50mm is great for PJ style photography (the reception) the 85mm is great for the formals (close ups and formal 'environmental' portraits like eg the couple in a park) and the wide angle (not too wide due to the risk of optical deformation) is handy for group shot outside and (in particular) inside.<br>

The basic versions of the lenses mentioned won't cost you an arm and a leg, and you of course can in a later stage, after having found your personal style upgrade to more costly exotics like the 1.4/58mm AF (IMO the perfect wedding photography lens) or 135mm DC</p>

<p>Image wise, if you don't have an idea how to get what you have in mind, don't try (and fail, and get more frustrated) again and again, but (try to) copy (or emulate, or be 'inspired' to put it more politically correct) others people work to begin with.<br>

Copying the work of the masters over the centuries has always been a starting point for budding artist to learn/improve their skills (in the Renaissance people looked at the Greeks and Romans) and many painters in those days (and eg the 17th century, the Dutch Golden age with eg Rembrant) employed students who also copied their work (hence the regular discussing on the authenticity when another 'old master' is discovered)<br>

By copying the Classics/their masters work, the pupils/budding painters would learn a basic set of skills, and along the way discover/develop their own style/taste.<br>

<br />So I would recommend to do some research on the top wedding photographers, not only look at their pictures, but try to analyze what makes them appealing to you (mood, sharp/unsharpness, lighting?)<br>

Many, like e.g. Ross Harvey http://www.rossharvey.com/ , are quite forthcoming on the techniques and equipment they use, so that's one hurdle gone.</p>

<p>With regards to the images, try to imitate them to begin with. Not during a (paid) wedding shoot of course (IMO the last place to experiment with new techniques and ideas) but e.g. with friends and family eg on a Sunday afternoon in the park, or as an unpaid 2nd shooter at a wedding (unpaid = no obligation to come back with the 'perfect'/'official' pictures).<br>

Play around, try to remember what you did (maybe use a small notebook to write down the techie details/make a sketch of the set up) and critically look at the pictures you took afterward<br>

Compare them with the one you tried to emulate, and analyze where and why you maybe might have failed to do so (or maybe you did emulate them perfectly, in which case,hooray!)</p>

<p>I e.g., despite shooting catwalk for many years, still go out to small shows to take pictures (unpaid) where I then can experiment, try out newly purchased equipment, or new technical set ups I have been thinking or have read about<br>

No one complaining if I fail (except me), and when it works out, another piece of usable experience in the pocket.</p>

<p>So in short, begin with keeping your technique simple (so you are in control as far as that is possible).<br>

Imagewise, don't start by trying to reinvent the wheel.<br>

Especially in wedding photography, clients in the end always expect a certain type of, defined by the general taste that unofficially but nevertheless exist in wedding photography, pictures.<br>

Look at what your peers are doing, begin to try and copy, hopefully emulate them, and while doing so, if all goes well you'll find your own preferred technical set up, and the kind of shooting style and as a result the pictures like the ones you have in your head<br>

<br />Be frustrated along the way, but persist, and just take pictures<br>

And on a side note, don't chimp after each shot taken. It will lure you into fiddling around with your settings (you have a big computer and Adobe CC, so you can do plenty of corrections afterwards), hinder/interrupt your flow, kill the mood (a very delicate thing when e.g. shooting a already very nervous wedding couple)<br>

<br />my 2 cents, sorry for the long post :-)</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>In over 60 years' photography, both as an amateur and pro, I have scrupulously avoided wedding photography :-) (I have in fact done 4, all friends). My crude but effective technique is to have my camera on program mode all the time, with flash on TTL mode, and never look at camera settings except before the start. The reason for this, and the thing you can't learn from books, is that the most important factor is how to marshal people around efficiently but without annoying them and hold their attention while you are photographing them (which of course presupposes you are familiar enough with your photo gear to work quickly). I find this gives much more relaxed and spontaneous results. Like others, though, I would like to see some of your pictures - very likely there are no technical deficiencies - from a technical point of view wedding photography is easy, it's the people skills that count (same for portraiture and press work).</p>
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<p>Andrea<br /> You should absolutely follow the instructions I was given when, as a tourist, I posed the question: “How can I get to Carnegie Hall?” The answer was: Practice, man, practice. You have a camera with an unlimited number if exposures compared to the roll film box I have done weddings with so take a friend or two out and set up dummy wedding shots and blast away. No matter how much you read….when you are at a wedding shoot the pressure you encounter aligning the subjects could easily be a distraction. You will learn more by shooting, reviewing, shooting, reviewing, etc.</p>
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<p>As a Software Engineer (and an amateur photographer) I've seen people tackle the SE job with no training. Some manage it, but they are usually very smart people with amazing inherent talent. That said maybe there are some local classes you can take to build basic skills? I've done that a lot with photography and the exercises alone helped. Likewise membership in a local photo club and their competitions also helped motivate me to practice. Just a thought. I've never tried to do weddings, the stakes are just too high. Good luck.</p>
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<p>You say you're reading and watching videos, but how much are you shooting? As Erwin says ^, practice, practice, practice. Take a class or two where you can get your images critiqued as well as getting instruction. Having others look at your shots and point out what's good or bad about them can really help. If you can translate that from viewing them after shooting to seeing the issues before you press the shutter, then you'll learn.</p>
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  • 2 weeks later...
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<p>I feel the same way as you Andrea, but just keep reading and practising and bit by bit</p>

<p>I'm in the same position as you Andrea but keep reading and practising and little by little things become clearer. Must feel like a massive responsibility taking wedding photographs. Keith</p>

<p> </p>

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  • 1 month later...
This will sound strange, but if you are doing it to learn and not for pay, try to capture moments that you find meaningful or emotionally moving. If you know the people well, capture relationships and interactions that the Pros can't know. Concentrate on proper exposure and white balance. Obviously there are lots of views on composition, but that can be easily altered after the fact. Recognize that if you are thinking of doing Weddings for pay, the stress is substantial. Best of luck & keep shooting!
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I would like to add one thing to Sandy's insightful input, if I may. He mentioned the stress that the photographer is under - it is in my view important to realise that the 'happy couple' are also under immense pressure, and the photographer can be a great help in calming them down, thus resulting in a calmer atmosphere all round. On a First Aid course, I was told that 'the first rule is to re-assure the patient - this also re-assures the First Aider' !

 

If you appear to be calm, competent, confident and collected then everyone else will respond to this, making your job far easier, and hopefully resulting in images with which you and the couple are happy (Mothers-in-law are a different matter !) Good luck, and please post your new, improved results.

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