consoling the mother of the groom IMG_5788abw

An interesting photo for the family but it has a number of issues for a detached viewer I feel. First it's rather dark and contrasty. There are shadows from the flash and the groom isn't positioned in a good spot. I realize these are candid shots and not staged so they are going to have issues and will rely on the captured emotions of the subjects for their impact. I think correcting the exposure and contrast help a lot. Also diffusing the light and perhaps a vignette to reduce the clutter on the periphery might help. Did a quick edit to show what I mean. Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards

Greg  

Greg,

Thanks for your time and input. I also felt it was a little too harsh, but was unsuccessful in toning it down without compromising  clarity. I feel your attempt also went a little too far, as, at least on my monitor,the skin tone has now turned rather deathly pale :).  All the shots I took at this friend's wedding were candids, as they had hired a professional to do the posed ones - I didn't want to be responsible for that. I needed flash a lot of time since the lighting was so low, and this can also present challenges.

Anyway, thanks again.

G