Capturing the moment

I agree with what some people said about my first 2 weddings on here and that

I missed capturing some of the "life" of the weddings. i think this was

because of nerves and maybe a little bit of lack of opportunity although I

will take the blame... Anyway, here is a picture that I took at my cousin's

wedding. If you look real close, you can actually see his photographer (this

was one of his first weddings back then). Please disregard the smudges, dust,

etc as this was hidden away in an album and scanned at Yikes - walmart! I was

a guest at the wedding and very pregnant and shot this while seated with my

Minolta and 75-300 Tamron. I feel that this is a moment captured and look

forward to the opportunity to take pictures at a wedding in August that will

have a first dance, etc. Each wedding is unique and I know I need to look for

that special something...<div></div>

Yes, it's very nice, only the photographer between the dancers is disturbing. Nice capture.

Thanks. honestly I did not notice the photographer back then - 5 years ago, but noticed it this time. i noticed the power lines in the back and that bugged me. I just loved the look on their faces.

With a little clone stamp work, the photographer can easily be rubbed out (in a manner of speaking...)

 

Later,

 

Paulsky

"The Godfather"

That's a great photo keep it up...

Remind me to never make you mad Paulsky! Keep capturing that moment. Sometimes I stand there and watch things that are so sweet and then I think oh yeah I am supposed to be documenting this quick click, click,click.

Amy, I've looked at this thread a few times and debated if I should post anything or not....and while I don't mean to be critical, capturing the moment as a photographer is more than just recording the moment through the viewfinder. The moment that you recorded is indeed a special moment but you haven't isolated the moment by zooming into the faces, seperating the subjects from the background, and/or capturing the "energy" of the moment. While the image is a nice snapshot....I think you can challenge yourself to get better at using the tools of photography. Hang in there and keep shooting. Good luck.

Amy You can love and hate this forum I think you are stressing yourself to impress some of these photographers and the only one you need to impress is your clients.

 

I have been close to packing it in from the comments I have gotten on this forum, but one thing is they have made me push myself harder. If you ever want true honest comments without the arrogance shoot me an email. Trust me some of these guys have no room to talk but seem to think so... :)

Thanks for all of your comments. I agree it has distracting elements, but I still love it. I probably am stressing myself out too much. Not really trying to impress anyone...I just know that I am capable of being successful. I have not even marketed recently, other than myspace and have booked a PAYING wedding off of the shots I took at the last... So that alone gives me inspiration.I appreciate advice and feedback though.

For a previous discussion on "Capturing the moment"..... http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00GNkt

I think it's an excellent shot, especially for a pregnant lady that is a guest and working from a chair.

Amy

 

If you want to do this as a pro then you have to adopt pro standards. Go surf around at the big name wedding photogs or drop by the some of the older hands here. You may soon see how they do and how you do it.

 

If you are looking for pats on the back - talk to your mother - its harsh but I thinking of the client's who may be in deep kimchee because they used some one who was not ready for pro level work.

 

We all start from the ground level and work upwards. 8-)

Ouch!!!!!!!! Was not looking for a pat on the back, but I think I just got spanked.

Gidday Amy,

 

I think reviewing previous work is an excellent way of developing one's skill in taking a great image of a great moment. Learning to see the compositional elements of an image is a skill that can be learnt. Looking at accomplished photographers is only part of the solution. Being able to identify what makes the composition of the visual elements work will help you see these elements when you have to react to that decisive moment that unfolds unfront of you. Line, shape, balance, proportion, repetition, focal point, depth, negative space etc are all elements you have at your disposal. However, after the fact you have the ability to edit for impact. Cropping your images is also another way to strengthen the composition of your images and it is also an excellent way of teaching yourself to use these elements to develop well composed images. Have a go at cropping this image to remove some of the distracting elements such as the little girl's face in the bottom right cnr and the diagonal line on the left. Cloning the person out from behnd will isolate the subject better from the background. Think about what techniques could have achieved that at the time - such as dropping your point of view. This may have moved the person out of the camera's line of sight . I have learnt just as much from my images that I'm not happy with as the ones I really like.

 

Regards Greg

I agree. I have been looking at others work and I was not asking for a critique on this one, as I was not their photographer or even serious at all about photography at the time. I just wanted to share.