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Finally had a sit in front of my screen to go through these pics for a while.

These were taken from the NYE wedding, one of my very first paid wedding shoots

Great thanks to all the help and support from this forum, of all the tips and a loan of some equipments as well. I gotta love this place!!

I was quite nervous at start but after a little while of 50 shots, the nervousness went off and got some more confidence in taking the shots as the primary shooter there (as there were some other DSLR shooter there as well). Grabbed my spots with confidence and blocked some view from the guess shooters, I guess I'm allowed to do that

No wedding dresses or serious planned event, but quite a nice and warm new family there

D70: 17-55/2.8 (35mm 1/60@f/2.8 ) B/W Conversion


D70: 17-55/2.8 (55mm 1/80@f/6.3) fill flash - no PP


D70: 85/1.4 (85mm 1/3200@f/1.4) + some PP


D70: 85/1.4 (85mm 1/320@f/2) - no PP

Yi-P,
Good work on your first paid shoot....congratulations.

The one thing I'll comment on is to be mindful of your backgrounds. This is very easy to overlook when you're under pressure and "in the moment" to grab the great shot.....but if you can see what's in your viewfinder (even on the D70 ) and make sure it's good, then you can snap away and be confident that your shots will be that much better as a result.

The shed in the background of no.2 lets this wonderful family portrait down (IMHO). Perhaps moving around to the left or right, or getting up higher (like on a ladder or chair) could have taken the shed out of play and you could have captured more of the fence.

The white pole in no. 3 I find a bit distracting. Again, another case of moving to the left or right a tad to take it out of play.

Of course, there is always the occassions where you cannot clear the background of such distractions, which may have been the case here. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

I'm sure the couple will love the photos you took.

Again, well done !

Nice job Yi-P! Did you get double time for working on NYE? Just a little tip from an old pro....See that fence line on the second image....it's best to always avoid a strong horizontal line such as fences, rooftops etc cutting through your subjects head. It rarely enhances an image so unless there is a good reason for putting it there....avoid it.

Nice work Yi-P.

Nice exposures. Well captured.

Are you able to clone the background in the second shot and also clone out the post in the third shot. Perhaps blur the b/g in the last one too.

Hope you got lots of keepers for their album. I'm sure they would be happy with these.

Cheers, Mick

Some good shots here Yi-p - well done!

Lovely Pics Yi-P,

I didn't even see the shed in No.2 until pointed out. The bride is radiant and beautiful and you have captured that .

Pity the Groom had an eye brow pierced. I find it distracting. But thats his choice.

The 85 1.4 sure gives a lovely image.

Cheers
MATT

great stuff Yip - hope the couple love the pics.

Matt. K wrote:Nice job Yi-P! Did you get double time for working on NYE? Just a little tip from an old pro....See that fence line on the second image....it's best to always avoid a strong horizontal line such as fences, rooftops etc cutting through your subjects head. It rarely enhances an image so unless there is a good reason for putting it there....avoid it.

Thanks for pointing that out, will now on keep that in mind when composing images!!

Not really getting paid double for that, but I'm happy to make it a nice finishing of a year and start up of 2007, hopefully I will get some more experience and paid jobs by then!!

Oscar wrote:Are you able to clone the background in the second shot and also clone out the post in the third shot. Perhaps blur the b/g in the last one too.

Yes I think I can knock those stuffs down with photoshop

Aussie Dave wrote:The one thing I'll comment on is to be mindful of your backgrounds. This is very easy to overlook when you're under pressure and "in the moment" to grab the great shot....

This is one thing that most I have to take care and be aware of when taking shots 'under pressure'. I seem to overlook the background too easily and focus too much on the subjects. Will try looking harder at backgrounds on my next shots

The shed in the background of no.2 lets this wonderful family portrait down (IMHO). Perhaps moving around to the left or right, or getting up higher (like on a ladder or chair) could have taken the shed out of play and you could have captured more of the fence.

I thought of that, but then couldnt find much to be standing on or getting on a higher level, forgot about the chairs tho

And thanks all for the generous comments!!

YiP
Before I take any photo I try and scrutinise the background as a separate element. (I'm often guilty of being more interested in the background than my subject but it seems to pay off) Sometimes it's as easy as asking your subjects to turn around so that you can force the background you think is better. When preparing for wedding shots I do a walk-around looking for backgrounds and lighting direction so that when shooting time comes I have a rough plan. My mental process goes something like this, "What's the best background around here and where is the light coming from? How far out of focus do I want that background? If I have a choice, what's the best time of day to shoot here? Where should I put my flashgun for fill? What are the traps here (poles, wires, fence lines etc) and how can I avoid them?" Then I might grab someone and shoot a couple of test shots. When the time comes to do it for real I have a very good idea of what I am getting.
It's the 3 Ps Prior Preparation and Planning. It doesn't take a lot of time but it pays off in having more control over the process. Those 3 Ps add up to the big P...more Professional. (I've been known to walk the wedding party up the street and around the corner because the background/location is better for photography. A poor location/backgrounds can ruin wedding photographs) Hope this is useful information.

Matt. K wrote:YiP
Before I take any photo I try and scrutinise the background as a separate element. (I'm often guilty of being more interested in the background than my subject but it seems to pay off) Sometimes it's as easy as asking your subjects to turn around so that you can force the background you think is better. When preparing for wedding shots I do a walk-around looking for backgrounds and lighting direction so that when shooting time comes I have a rough plan. My mental process goes something like this, "What's the best background around here and where is the light coming from? How far out of focus do I want that background? If I have a choice, what's the best time of day to shoot here? Where should I put my flashgun for fill? What are the traps here (poles, wires, fence lines etc) and how can I avoid them?" Then I might grab someone and shoot a couple of test shots. When the time comes to do it for real I have a very good idea of what I am getting.
It's the 3 Ps Prior Preparation and Planning. It doesn't take a lot of time but it pays off in having more control over the process. Those 3 Ps add up to the big P...more Professional. (I've been known to walk the wedding party up the street and around the corner because the background/location is better for photography. A poor location/backgrounds can ruin wedding photographs) Hope this is useful information.

Amen.

Very well said

These are points that are far too often, and all too easily, overlooked.

Thanks, Matt, for making this point so well.

Matt. K wrote:YiP
Before I take any photo I try and scrutinise the background as a separate element. (I'm often guilty of being more interested in the background than my subject but it seems to pay off) Sometimes it's as easy as asking your subjects to turn around so that you can force the background you think is better. When preparing for wedding shots I do a walk-around looking for backgrounds and lighting direction so that when shooting time comes I have a rough plan. My mental process goes something like this, "What's the best background around here and where is the light coming from? How far out of focus do I want that background? If I have a choice, what's the best time of day to shoot here? Where should I put my flashgun for fill? What are the traps here (poles, wires, fence lines etc) and how can I avoid them?" Then I might grab someone and shoot a couple of test shots. When the time comes to do it for real I have a very good idea of what I am getting.
It's the 3 Ps Prior Preparation and Planning. It doesn't take a lot of time but it pays off in having more control over the process. Those 3 Ps add up to the big P...more Professional. (I've been known to walk the wedding party up the street and around the corner because the background/location is better for photography. A poor location/backgrounds can ruin wedding photographs) Hope this is useful information.

Love it

Matt. K wrote:YiP
Before I take any photo I try and scrutinise the background as a separate element. (I'm often guilty of being more interested in the background than my subject but it seems to pay off) Sometimes it's as easy as asking your subjects to turn around so that you can force the background you think is better. When preparing for wedding shots I do a walk-around looking for backgrounds and lighting direction so that when shooting time comes I have a rough plan. My mental process goes something like this, "What's the best background around here and where is the light coming from? How far out of focus do I want that background? If I have a choice, what's the best time of day to shoot here? Where should I put my flashgun for fill? What are the traps here (poles, wires, fence lines etc) and how can I avoid them?" Then I might grab someone and shoot a couple of test shots. When the time comes to do it for real I have a very good idea of what I am getting.
It's the 3 Ps Prior Preparation and Planning. It doesn't take a lot of time but it pays off in having more control over the process. Those 3 Ps add up to the big P...more Professional. (I've been known to walk the wedding party up the street and around the corner because the background/location is better for photography. A poor location/backgrounds can ruin wedding photographs) Hope this is useful information.

Thanks a lot Matt!!

Gotta note that down somewhere in paper or try to cram it into my head