I’ve been spending large chunks of time editing pictures from my last wedding at my dad’s house (which is not close by). If I haven’t already mentioned this, he’s a talented illustrator, graphic designer, painter, and author, so his computer is REAL nice! So, I prefer using it to my older powerbook when editing so many thousands of pictures.
The first step requires me to wade through a few thousand images. After that I begin narrowing them down by rating each one using my favorite tool, Adobe Lightroom. Eventually I have weeded out the bad or so-so ones so that I have the amount that I promised the couple. Then I edit!
I won’t get into the entire process, but I will say that it takes a long time and it can be fun sometimes. Playing with Adobe Photoshop since I was about 12, I’ve pretty much had my fill of extreme editing for crazy effects or head-swapping and that sort of thing. When I turned to photography, I took the more conservative approach, which meant that I only applied a tiny amount of post-processing to give the little bit of pop that most digital photos need. Now I’m at the point where I don’t really know how much to edit. I look at the work of other photographers and I often see over-saturated, high contrast, bright subjects. I usually like the way it looks, but I somehow feel guilty because it’s not quite as real that way. Some may make the reasonable argument that it’s an art, so I can make it look however I want. So, what I’m wondering is, does that still apply when documenting a real wedding? I guess it’s really up to the clients who want to hire me, but I’ll continue to ponder this. Meanwhile, I appreciate any opinions concerning my little dilemma.
Here is another sneak peek at more Orcas Island wedding photography from the wedding of Sara and Andrew. Since I see that the end is near, I thought I’d share a few more shots from that day.
I have many variations of this first one below. It was fun to play with the depth of field in this shot between the ironing bride in the background and the martini glasses in the foreground. I think I like this one the best because it puts the bride out of focus so that she becomes a part of the scene rather than the center of attention, which would normally be the case. If she were in focus instead of the glasses, the story might have a different meaning for the viewer. Of course, I already know that story, which involved the bride celebrating with the girls in the midst of her wedding day preparations. That advantage can help me tell the story how I want to with my fun little camera tricks. 🙂
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Okay, enough photo talk. On to a funny couple of photos of the groom, groomsmen, and his friends. First serious, then silly. How I often shoot. 😉
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The next shots are just a few favorites of the bride and groom. I wanted to make sure there was enough time for these after all the group shots and before the reception. Strangely enough, I’ve had more than one bride who was simply not interested in these types of shots! I had to request that we try to get a few, for my benefit if anything. This couple, however, was happy to take enough time out to get their couple shots taken care of. I thought they turned out quite well considering that we were still a bit rushed.
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To see more photos of this wedding, please check back in a few weeks for additions to my weddings gallery. 🙂
Part of last weekend was spent attending another wedding, but this time as a guest. It’s hard to resist jumping in to take a picture when you aren’t the hired professional. It’s hard for me, as I’m sure it is for anyone with a camera. And everyone has some form of a camera these days. Being all too familiar with that irresistible desire makes it even harder for me, as the hired professional, to ask guests to refrain from taking pictures while I am doing my thing. No one wants a family photo with each member looking at 5 different cameras! I do feel bad so I only lay down the law when I need to get those essential, time limited shots, and I try to get them over with quickly so that everyone has a chance, but sometimes it’s just not possible.
So last weekend, I waited patiently for my chance to take a few nice shots of the couple. It was actually kind of nice to relax with my friends and to SIT down! I did observe the other photographer while sitting comfortably in my chair. I am constantly learning and wanting to try new techniques. I liked the way he lit the room with a raised strobe behind a softbox while he moved all around with his mobile flash. I’ll have to look into that! Anyway, it was a fun time and I even got to visit and take pictures of the tulips the next day since we were up in Mount Vernon! I spent the rest of Sunday editing photos from the Orcas Island wedding. Not a bad weekend!
Two Saturdays ago, I awoke at 5:30AM to catch a ferry to Orcas Island for the wedding of Sarah and Andrew. It was a long day, but it flew by as these things often do. My non-photographer boyfriend, Dave, assisted me throughout the day wherever he was needed. Next time I hope to hire an assistant who can also shoot to show a different perspective of the day. He also chauffeured me around all over the island from the bride’s “getting ready” location to the groom’s, then to the chapel, the reception hall, back to the ferry and then home! I am very grateful to have had his help!
The Victorian Valley Chapel was a quaint setting for the wedding ceremony. The exterior was picturesque nestled in a grassy valley and the interior was beautiful with large stained glass windows as the backdrop for the ceremony.
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The weather was ideal for pictures after the ceremony and we managed to get through most of the group shots pretty quickly. The bride and groom were great about trekking up the hill for some neat couple’s shots. They did a fabulous job posing on their own and taking direction to get a combination of natural and candid shots. Here is a cute photo from after the ceremony…
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For more Victorian Valley Chapel wedding photography, please visit my Weddings gallery.
Just to remind everyone, I’m still working on the site. In fact, I’ll probably always be a slave to my site, but that’s beside the point.
I have some adjustments to make that I am aware of, but there are some problems that I can’t see. So, I invite you to comment on how it looks from your end. The more specific you are about the problem, and the browser, screen specifications, etc, the more likely I’ll be able to fix the problem. For example, because the “zoom” setting in my own browser was wrong, my header images looked off, so I easily adjusted for that.
Also, feel free to make any positive, “way to go” type of comments!
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Lou - I agree that some of those effects are overdone. But some of those looks really nice when done right and subtly. You certainly should try a little color tinting here and there, it can help set the mood.
Nice blog so far!
Lou
traciehowe - Thanks Lou, I’m sticking to more conservative editing for the time being. I do try to warm up some of my images a bit to set a slight mood that compliments the setting. I like that warm and cozy feeling. 🙂