david_schilling___chicago_

<p>Develop a personal relationship with them and if your work is halfway decent the referrals will follow. Marketing tactics will land you in the same company as all the other vendors that come courting their referrals.</p>

<p>I haven't done this but in the past I've spoken to a few studios who did have a set up in their studio to show family/friends all the proofs via a large projector....they would make a night of it, serve refreshments, sell print orders. The projector on the wall can really showcase how large wall prints will look when properly presented. Some of the wall prints could cost as much as the day's photo coverage. But these studios also did not post proofs online or give most of the day's prints out as part of a larger package. These studios were more upscale than most and never posted proofs online. You might want to check out Charles Lewis about a similiar model...you can find him on facebook at: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/charles.j.lewis">http://www.facebook.com/#!/charles.j.lewis</a> </p>

<p>Another note about covering the best man, I typically talk with the DJ before the toast to see if he has a wireless mike and whenever possible try to have him do his toast standing near the B/G. Occasionally if the mike is away from the table I might suggest that the B/G/MOH/ and the best man all come to the mike to share the moment and the frame.</p>

<p>Pre-ceremony I always try to get a nice portrait with the G and each groomsmen but will always give the G and BM more coverage. Occasionally the BM can also serve as my official wrangler to assemble key people and the bridal party for the formals. BTW, is anybody else a bit disappointed that this thread doesn't have any more than four photographers participating and a relative lack of comments?</p>

<p>Best man speech/toast.........</p><div></div>

<p>To feel confident about your ability you would need to complete some sort of training program, or internship, or on-the-job training with a professional mentor or with an established studio. Looking for feedback from clients is of little real value unless they have a professional eye. Likewise, family and friends that look at your photos and proclaim them to be of professional quality is of little value unless they have a history of professional photography. Also, posting a handful of images from a wedding does not represent the actual quality of a full wedding which includes several hundred images.</p>

<p>I would suggest 2nd shooting or assisting an established pro to acquaint yourself with professional quality. While you're at it, be sure to look at all the behind the scenes operations and needs of running a successful studio and running a business. Good luck.</p>

<p>Suggest that you focus on developing a personal relationship with other vendors rather than worry about personal promotion via website links.....I suspect that you'll get more referrals from a couple of vendors that you have a relationship with rather than a dozen mutual links on websites.</p>

<p>Thanks Marc & Karl.....was hoping to post something a little bit different that people could benefit from. Yes, as a generally rule I try to avoid blown hi-lites :-)</p>

<p>This one was taken at the bride's home prior to the ceremony just a moment after he had walked in the front door and saw his daughter in her wedding dress for the first time.</p><div></div>

<p>Often the problem with the daddy/daughter dance shots is you only see one face. By adding a second image to the frame with PS you can see both sides of the dance. Image below was taken with omnibounce for fill while the videographer's light added the rim lighting.</p><div></div>

<p>Additional background information on my bridal portrait of Marlene....It was taken at the reception in a VFW Hall. I routinely take a backdrop and studio lighting to receptions and will frequently use a flex-out and bounced flash at the bride's home prior to the ceremony as in the below image....</p>

<p>BTW, I have no reservations about using backgrounds and pro-lighting in my bridal portraits, the resulting images rarely get confused as possible Uncle Bob shots and even the print labs at Walmart will hesitate to make prints of these without a copyright release.</p><div></div>

<p>Here's a backdrop fav that features the bride's shoulder tattoo....</p><div></div>

<p>Needed to raise the camera high overhead to get this shot.....</p><div></div>

<p>Most of the time kids can be alot of fun.....</p><div></div>

<p>At the backdrop you may run in to an attitude now and then....</p><div></div>

<p>Kids can be fun but require you to anticipate their moments and catch them when you can....</p><div></div>

<p>I typically use a bracket and an omnibounce...there's no reason that a bracket can't also be used while you bounce the flash....the key is to keep it simple and practice enough to be prepared for whatever environmental demands come your way. Good luck. </p>

<p>Here's a shot with some text from the ceremony over an image of their hands.......</p><div></div>

<p>The easiest way to mess up on a dip pose is to get a poor angle from the camera's point of view or to miss keeping a nice profile on the faces. The free leg of the bride may be lifted rather high or kept low. The bouquet may be held close to the body or may dangle. Key is to take your time and don't rush the shot. Trying to get a nice spontaneous dip shot at the end of their first dance can be tricky establishing an angle and whirling around the couple without being a major distraction to the moment.</p><div></div>

<p>Consumers are very likely to appreciate a soft filter effect for portraits over a sharpened version however, I doubt that they would be able to recognize the difference achieved in post-processing via PS as opposed to point of capture filtering. Subtle softening is a matter of degree and personal taste together with PS skills.......PS offers the widest level of control.</p>

<p>Thanks Dave, It's possible to do a similar shot with a small wedding party, the primary limiting factors would be the time crunch and the logistics.</p>

<p>I'll try one more time to include the "Sassy" bride in this post but if unable to, the image referenced can be found here: <a href="../photo/9649052">http://www.photo.net/photo/9649052</a></p>

<p>During my film days I would routinely use one for my backdrop portraits at the reception. At the studio we would often improvise filters with nylon mesh and other home-made tricks.</p>

<p>With digital you can easily soften in addition to much more special "softening" effects with PS. Also, back in the day with soft filters or soft lenses it was often better to increase the specularity of your light source to optimize your results. </p>

<p>2nd try to add photo to post above.....unfortunately unsuccessful. was unable to add photo, perhaps a browser glitch.</p>

For fun, many brides can go from formal to "sassy" in a New York second. Here, I also changed the point of view of the camera to the side instead of shooting straight on to the gazebo as I had done for the formal shot taken a moment earlier.

<p>Shooting from an angle to the altar instead of the typical straight on view can produce interesting images....</p><div></div>

<p>Traditional formal groupings IMO are what often offer a chance for the pros to show their craftsmanship. Large groupings can follow several formula grouping compositional styles but require an attention to detail. For example, in Dave Garner's shot above, the three groomsmen closest to the camera are poorly positioned which breaks the symmetry and partially hides the groomsmen in the middle while throwing a shadow over his face. Many new shooters, myself included (back in the day) often try to rush the shot, once you've taken the time to position everyone, take an extra look at the frame and then make any corrections. Holding your camera at shoulder-level and looking over the top of the camera rather than through the viewfinder can help you to see last minute blinks and unwanted momentary positioning problems (this process can be done without using a tripod). </p><div></div>