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Here's a different perspective on an engagement shot.... does it work for you? I like it, purely for the fact that it's not something you see everyday and a different way to look at your engagement. The client hated it, but each to their own.

What do you think?

http://www.nikonaustralia.com/gallery/People/DSC3316

I like that it's different, and relative to cliched stuff it works, but I don't know if I really like the photograph...basically I'm saying it doesn't really work for me. Maybe if the faces were a little more in focus, they are just so drastically out of focus.

I agree with dooda, A bit more focus on the faces would be nice

It actually made my eyes hurt looking at it

MATT

thanks for the input dooda.... perhaps it's an artsy side i like... not sure...

i think if it was at f4 or 6 the client would have liked it... but they were the same as you... too blurry... good idea.. but too blurry...

cheers

Hmmm, good to try something different.

I am not to sure if I personally like it, I think if the faces were all in focus as well as the hands it would be a great shot.

In situations like this I would think it be best to get the "safe" shot, for the couple, and then experiment.

W00DY

thanks matt.... and sorry about the eyes

ta woody.... i'd finished the shots for the clients, and they were happy with what they had... but i quickly got this in before they left they've actually got the same shot but at f12 (from memory), but i didn't personally like it with everything in focus...

cheers

Sorry to disagree with every one else but I actually love this photo. If I was the client I would use it, very different to the traditional poses.

I quite like it - although you definitly went for the risky shot there. You will probably find some couples that would love it heaps that wouldn't.

The number of risky shots you take depends on what you really want to do. If you are shooting for a client to get sales .... then throw in a few but make sure there are plenty of safe winners as well.

I often play with DOF in portrait work but usually not from shuch a close perspective. Well done for experimenting.

As it stands I am not enamoured with this shot, but if I could make a suggestion. I would have shot higher concentrating on the hands being together and had the engagement ring in sharp focus and then in PS placed a small star burst on the edge of the diamond. The other way would have been to use a wide angle such as the 12-24 and had both the two people and the hands in sharp focus as an extended perspective.



Chris

thankyou for the comments guys... much appreciated...

chris... you are making it very hard for me... another lens i'll need to convince my wife i 'need'

cheers

Interesting.

The first place that my eyes went was to the OOF faces. I had to look for the hand and engagement ring. Maybe if the hand was a little higher in the frame and faces were not quite so OOF.

Cheers

Matt

hey Xerubus,
love your image! - works for me!

I know exacttly what you mean, I did something similar (forgive poor resolution / size) for my friends engagement invitation...



throwing them out of focus looks so much more dramatic in your photo! Well done!

JD

jdear wrote:hey Xerubus,
love your image! - works for me!

I know exacttly what you mean, I did something similar (forgive poor resolution / size) for my friends engagement invitation...



throwing them out of focus looks so much more dramatic in your photo! Well done!

JD

This is a very novel idea for an invitation... The couple in a toilet

W00DY

jdear - I like your shot because it has a focal point (engaged) and this is what I was trying to say re xerubus’s photo and the ring.

Xerubus - as has been said before you have a beautiful wife and I am sure she will allow a little lens lust.



Chris

very creative jdear. I like it

jd... that's thinking outside the square... well done...

thanks, sorry didnt mean to hijack your thread

you wouldn't believe the "toilet" humour that came out of it... they loved it though.

They weren't quite in the toilet, i opened the door a little so the engaged sign was visible.

JD

Hey xerubus, you should have given them the boke(h) talk - veerrry mysterious, cutting edge in photography, highly sought after, requires great skill, some lenses better than others, etc etc

Seriously, I can see why the client might not have been keen on your artistic approach. It's all about them, and if they're all bokehed up, well, it could be anybody. I think engagement/wedding photos need to be primarily record shots. If you can do that in an artistic context, OK, but if the artistic overrides the record, I think you will be struggling to have a happy client.

Just one man's opinion xerubus. It is a totally different issue to the quality of the photography.

thankyou greg... and much appreciated....

I just find the normal yadda yadda pose sooooo boring...

xerubus wrote:thankyou greg... and much appreciated....

I just find the normal yadda yadda pose sooooo boring...

Yep, and I find driving a desk boring too.

I know what you mean Mark, but even van Gogh used to paint houses to make money

(OK that's stupid, but I couldn't help it)

G'day,
I really like the idea, something different, although I first looked at the faces and then down to the hands...

I think Chris' terrific idea of a starburst affect on the ring to grab your initial attention would make a big difference but really like the idea though, something different from all the same photo's just with different faces in them for each couple, very artistic and something individual too... Wow, wish I had your creative mind to think of those sorts of things... sigh...

Cheers,
Mudder

For what it's worth I like it too. What lens did you use?

Really love #11 as well.

kurokaze204 wrote:For what it's worth I like it too. What lens did you use?

Really love #11 as well.

50mm f1.8... great lens... it's cheap... get one!

i don't like the framing in #11.... i'm working on a new site at the moment, and that shot is heavily cropped to show more of the subject than the tree....

cheers

Xerebus. I loved it. Its different,, and I really like the concentration on the hands and the ring. Isn't this what an engagement is? The ring 'binding' the hands together.

Regards
Meic

thanks meic... i'm glad you enjoyed the shot...

Xerebus, I like it and like the concept. I would have made the ring more visible and would make a nice 2nd division shot in the album to show the ring off. To be honest, if you want to sell the photo, ask who their jeweller is and ring him up, now he would love it!

thankyou glen.... btw... my wife is the jeweller, and I gave her a few macro shots of the ring prior to it going to the happy couple