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Wedding how to judge a photographer?!

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AllieLuv83

AllieLuv83

Brilliant_Rock
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Jan 22, 2007
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Well I got my engagement photos back from the photographer we are considering using for our wedding. Out of 100 pictures I like about 50%. Not because the pictures are bad but because I look weird/awkward/chubby in some of them. Some of them my face is hidden in FI chest etc. Is a photogs way of making you look good no matter how awful you might look something that should be considered? I am not the most photogenic of creatures and am happy with some of the pictures. I guess I am just worried because I don''t like ALL of the pictures. We booked her for the e-session under the pretense that if we liked her work we would book for the wedding. What do you all think I should do? Am I being overly critical?
 
Hm. Okay, so I guess you need to try to narrow things down and figure out if it''s the angles you don''t like (which sounds like that might be case) or if you''re just a bit self-critical. Could we maybe see a few and help out? If not, why don''t you try your most brutally honest friend or family member and see what they have to say about the photos? If you don''t like the majority of the photographer''s angles and choices of shots then that might be a sign that it''s time to move on. Hope this helps some!
 
Here is what my most brutally honest friend and Man of Honor Jim said about the pictures "Some of the posed pictures are awkward and pretty weird looking but the more natural ones are very pretty and I like them a lot." I do feel rather awkward posing, like she had us do this thing on a bench and I knew it would end up being weird. Maybe if she was able to give more feedback about what looks weird and what doesn''t, I bet that would help heaps.
 
I have to agree... it sounds like you're more upset with how you looked as opposed to how the photos came out. If that is indeed that case, then sitting down with her and discussing which angles you prefer would be the best option. I'm not sure what to tell you about th eposing pictures. Sometimes it's just akward, but also sometimes having a connection with a photographer can make a world of difference.

However, if the photos were out of focus or the color was all wrong, then I would continue to browse other options.

ETA: You can also help out a bit, by going online and researching poses that you think you might like to try, or what you thought was very flattering.
 
Thats the thing...it not it at all, the composition, the colors, are all beautiful, I just look goonish. Maybe if I sat with her and explained what I liked and what I didn''t like. She didn''t really give us much direction like after the posed us, in terms of move your arm, pick up your head so I can see you better. I have a folder of pictures which I love to send to her so I hope that this will help in terms of getting the particular poses and such. She is a fun photographer but it was our first time being shot so we didn''t know what to expect.
 
Jim''s favorite...I hope that the CD she sent won''t have the PROOF marks on them.

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He calls this one the stalker shot!

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Are you really wanting an honest opinion? If yes, continue reading...

I don''t think either look like pro pictures, they look like a friend was just snapping a couple of shots. I don''t see any depth to the photos, and it appears there is no real emotion. Obviously you two are celebrating an engagement with photos, there would be a lot of emotion, I just don''t think it was captured quite right. If you are not happy with these, you will not be happy with wedding photos from the photographer. I think it is very important you hire someone you feel has a connection with you and your FI, otherwise your happy day will not be captured quite right.
 
Thank you for your opinion, can you please explain what you mean by honest emotion I am just curious. I definitely want that to be captured on the day of the wedding. I guess it is possible that the day the pictures were shot I was not giddy with excitement and that might have shown in the pictures. We have been engaged for like 8 months now so its like yes we are engaged but not newly engaged. Could you possibly show and example of a professional shot? I don''t really know what to think!
 
It''s hard to judge from just the two photos you posted, but I agree with Dreaming of the Day, I don''t think the photos themselves are very well done. Nothing to do with how you look, everything to do with the photographer. A good photographer will be able to put you at ease so you don''t look awkward/posed, and will also capture you when you don''t have your face hidden, have goofy expressions, etc.

As a contrast, take a look at any one of the portfolios of the photographer I''ve hired...see the difference in colors, sharpness, and depth? Not to mention spontaneity. Granted, these are wedding shots, not engagement photos, but you''ll get the gist. http://www.mattkim.com/
 
Would you mind looking at her website and let me know what you think?

www.dorielynnphoto.com
 
I feel like at a wedding there are far more opportunities to capture candid shots and real raw emotion where as in the 1 hour that we spent together shooting these pictures, I mean sure it was fun but I felt it hard to get over the fact that we should act natural with someone being just three feet away from us.
 
one more

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Okay, I've looked at her website, and she's not bad at all. Remember all of this is just MY opinion, I am not a professional or anything, I just know what I like. You may like something completely different; photography is so subjective. Anyway, I like the spontaneity in her shots. She seems to have done a good job of capturing emotions in the photos on her website. What I don't like is how grainy and not sharp a lot of her photos seem to be. I also don't like the colors; they all seem a bit "off" to me. Again, that's just my opinion.

ALSO, keep in mind that the proofs you are looking at may not have been retouched at all. The colors and other things might need to be adjusted, and that may make a huge difference. All the photos on the website of the photographer I posted the link to have gone thru some editing.
 
Do you mean the colors on her website or the colors and sharpness on my pictures?
 
The ones on her website. The photos you posted seem sharpl...the last photo of you by the tree/pond seems like it could have better color saturation. But she can fix that with some editing.

ETA: Actually, now that I've re-looked at your photos, they seem a bit grainy to me also. Again, this is just my personal preference!
 
Could you check out this guy as well? He is another photog that we were considering.

Catch Life Photo
 
Could it be that she sent me low res proofs rather than hires files which are coming to me in the mail on DVD?
 
Here's my opinion of her work... When I look at her photos I don't see a sinlge one that I said" Wow, that would look great on my mantle." She doesn't have a single engagement photo posted where both the groom AND the bride are looking at the camera, which is something I noticed in yours as well. They just don't have the Wow factor, to me.

ETA: I think that though she does have some good photos, she may be little shy with making the colors really pop. They seem to be very muted. This coud also be becasue like you said, they are the ones you will be getting on the DVD.
 
I personally don''t like shots where the bride and groom are looking directly at the camera. I told her that. Soooooo that is a personal preference.
 
For some reason none of the photos from Catch Life Photography would load on my computer.
 
try this www.catchlife.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/catchlife-photo-now-booking
 
I think that out of 100 pictures, a success rate of 50% is pretty good. One of the way that photographers get good pictures is by taking lots of different ones so you can choose your favorites. Out of an engagement shoot, you really only need a few images that you love and can use for announcements, framing, wedding website, etc.
 
I know I guess I am just a nervous nilly.
 
Her wedding pictures are very pretty. I think once you get the DVD with the actual quality you will be very happy. Like they said above, liking 50% is great!!!
 
No, I still could not get any of the photos to load. Don''t know if it''s because I''m on this at work and it''s a firewall issue, or it has something to do with the fact that his site is a blog instead of a "regular" website with galleries to view.
 
For additional comparision purposes, here is another photographer whose work I think is excellent: www.joelflory.com.

See how smooth the photos are? Not grainy. Sharp but not unnaturally so. Nicely saturated colors. Good depth in the photos, natural expressions and poses, even the posed shots look good.
 
oh I am sorry I should have mentioned that his website is not up and running yet but he does have many pictures on his blog maybe he is working on the website as we speak and that is why it isn''t working!
 
I will post more shots when I get home, once again I am hoping the grainyness is just the fact that these are proofs. So we will have to see!
 
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