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Recent Wedding – PJ Style
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I know the validity of this PJ wedding work is still in doubt amongst a good few wedding photographers. These may not be the best examples to convince the contrary, but curious of the opinions just the same.
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thanks for looking
23 shots…and all worth the effort. As far as wedding portfolios go I’d be quite pleased with this one.
Alan
These are gorgeous, exactly the kind of thing that comes to mind when I think of photojourno weddings (with the exception of 21 & 23 obviously, which look posed but in a casual way, not regimented). Love the processing too, real clarity and bite to them. I just love the concept and excecution of 23, top class stuff! (same goes for no. 1, fantastic expressions and a great use of the bride’s vest).
Did you do the whole wedding in B&W and if so was this a specific request from the couple? I found the colour balancing indoors very tricky in post, I had a grey card with me but didn’t get time to use it properly and would have been much happier converting to B&W to avoid the problem of getting nice skin tones vs punchy envionrnment etc.
When the bride is coming down the aisle, it looks like just natural light, I assume no flash and high ISO? Do you shoot a burst at high fps or wait for just the right moment?
Only comments to make are very minor, first time I looked at no. 5 it looked to me like the guy fixing the button hole was wearing surgical gloves, I’d be tempted to darken down the hands :) In no. 8 I cant really tell what’s going on, is it a bouquet shot or are two bridesmaids doing some kind of ‘cheers’ thing?
Congrats on another set of very memorable images!
thanks for the comments guys…
Ken…the wedding was a mix of bnw and color. The ratio varies a bit for me, but I’d say about 40-50% of the end product is in black and white. I think couples are expecting that considering that it’s apparent in my portfolio that bnw features quite prominently. It does have a positive spin when it comes to dealing with church WB but really it’s more for style than anything. Has to be said though, getting WB right in a church is a nightmare, I’ll generally choose whatever the closest pre-set is.
All those shots are environmental light (except for 21), I let let the auto iso work up to 6400 on my d3 and 1600 on the d300. For important shots like the bride coming down the isle, if I notice the iso going too high I’ll pop a couple with flash just to be sure. I have one of the function buttons on my d3 set to turn the flash on/off so I don’t even have to take my eye away to do that.
Most of the time I use single shot mode and wait for the moment. Although, recently I’ve been trying a new technique for more “action” type situations. I’ll set burst more to take a max of 4 shots. For whatever reason (camera shake possibly) I’m finding is that the 3rd + 4th shots are generally the keepers. I should also mention I’m using the servo focus mode with the ‘focus on’ button.
You’re right about no. 5 – I didn’t even notice the hand being so blown out. I wish the focus was on the button hole on the grooms hand rather than the one being pinned onto him. Number 8… I see what you mean there as well, if I’m honest I don’t know what’s going on there either…
here are a few of the colors…
a couple of my favorites BnG from the day….
and I think this is my favorite…and it has very little to do with the wedding itself…
thanks again for looking…….sorry for all the photos, lost the run of myself there. :shock:
Excellent shots there Savo..and very informative. I personally like this Reportage style. Wish I’d had shots like this from our wedding. The formal shots are nice and have their place, but I think these kind of shots have a more interesting and long term feel to them.
Robbie
8)thanks Robbie,
I agree, when done well I think PJ style is very attractive (and it is challenging to do well). I’m still in the middle ground as far my work goes, not quite setting the world on fire. But every wedding I try harder and employ some new techniques for getting angles and being in the right place at the right time. The worst is seeing something great happening and being too far away or obstructed somehow. :shock:
For me, I’d much rather have a photo like no. 16 framed and hung then a standard couple type shot. Like you said, there’s a timelessness about the style and perhapes a touch more integrity for the subjects.
Something I’ve done in the past that I really liked was to take 50 PJ style shots from a wedding – printed them at 5*7 then mounted them in 9*7 mounts. The photos where then individually numbered + signed + bagged and put into a 10*8 presentation box. This then acted as the couples wedding album. It looked sweet.
Some wonderful examples of PJ style wedding photogreaphy – http://www.wpja.com/
They look great to me-
the one with the veil stands out-
but they all sit well together to give a really good account of the day-This style is a really good way of letting the day flow, and not interfering too much-
well, at least until the formal groups…How do you manage those?
I think thats a really great set of images honestly i think they are brilliant full of energy and convey the excitement of the day capturing those moments that those posed images cant ever convey.
I would imagine its a fine line between success and failure getting the shot and getting everyone to relax around you very impressive stuff this is the sort of thing that reminds me that I have a lot to learn :)
Where is that we are not worthy icon…. :)
I LOVE the 7th shot in the second lot, I have gone for this kind of colouring in my most recent wedding and really really like it.
I do like the reportage style to an extent. I think you do it very well and have many times looked at your portfolio to help nudge me in the right direction although I feel I am quite 50 – 50 of reportage and more traditional posed shots. I tend to focus so much on getting everything perfectly sharp and technically correct that I’d pass on some shots that others find good.
I would guess that your albums are something else, and yes I do wish I had some of that style in my own wedding but as I had my camera before the ceremony and in the evening I was able to do some of this myself.
Well done, amazing set.
been out of internet land for a short while – thanks for the comments.
jb7 – I do the formals as quick as I can :D . Really though, I recommend around 6 formal shots, but ultimately let the BnG make the call. I let them know the longer we take on the formals, the less time we’ll have for other things. You know yourself, everyone is different and have different priorities on the day.
Pitmantic – yes, very fine line between success and failure. I think the keys are positioning and timing. When you have both you’ll get a great shot, if one or the other is out – well..then you get about 500 photos that aren’t so great. :shock:
Rachel – I’ve never been a technically focused photographer (thankfully :D ). I find some of the time it’s the technically incorrect aspect of the photos that makes them feel so real.
Obviously you have to shoot for your market but I have to say, if my day ever comes, I’d be looking for a photographer like you. So many shots here, I couldn’t choose a favourite. The technically incorrect, like you say, gives them some life and this last one with the girls is a great example. Something about a blurry image..so ephemeral.
Great Savo
Hard to pick a favourite but I am leaning toward shot 16 with the bng kissing on the pews and the dude looking in from behind.
The veil shot is also excellent as is the colouring on the second shot setReally like your fav from the day with the screaming baby, messy house, food on the table. anyone who has gotten married can vouch for the panic and mayhem in both sets of homes
Dee
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