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Friday, April 10, 2009

Constructive Feedback

Over at I Heart Faces they are doing a Constructive Feedback Friday. I decided to play along, and actually add my link. I've been "playing" without linking.

I_Heart_Faces_Feedback_jpg

This is a photo where I had turned to do something else, or change position ... something! When I looked back at the bride and groom this is what I saw and tried to quickly snap it before they were aware of me again.

Obviously the camera and I weren't ready for the low lighting conditions.

Here is the original

Copy of W2 069.o

And here is my edited copy

Copy of W2 069.1

I look forward to hearing any suggestions on how to improve this moment. Photography I love, editing I'm still struggling and learning day by day! :-)

What I did - lightened the couple, removed some distractions - ie, the truck that drove by, gave it a soft focus and cropped. Again, I truly welcome ideas! Like what can I do about that sky - it was raining and overcast or any other great suggestion. :-)

2 comments:

Drew said...

How neat that you caught such a candid moment! I think you did a great job with lightening the skin and getting rid of distractions. You could probably add blue sky, but I'm not sure it would look realistic. I like how you have this shot composed. I think you could also do a horizontal version focusing on the faces and the bride's arm . I really don't have any specific suggestions because I think you did a phenomenal job with your editing.

angie {the arthur clan} said...

I think you made a problem photo looked very, very good.

The things that bother me in the edited photo would be the other distracting elements (the post growing out of the hubby's head) and the overexposed sky. One quick fix for this problem would be to burn the edges of the photo or to add a vignette. I think that would really help to put all of the focus on the beautiful couple.

I am in complete agreement with the other two commenters. One of the biggest "photography moments" for me was when it clicked that indirect light and open shade were the types of lighting situations I needed to find when shooting my subjects.

That said, even when you are using indirect light (ie. standing next to a home where the light can bounce off the siding) and open shade (ie. sitting on the shaded driveway next to a home) you need to look for the source of light at all times. See what direction the light is coming from and then let that light capture the catchlights that you'll see in your husband's eyes.

By always looking for the indirect light that can be captured in the eyes of your subject, you will see your photography transform for the better!

~Angie
co-founder of I ♥ Faces