wedding on Saturday.....

[Paul Bestwick]

couple of shots......... I seem to be developing a distinctive style of shooting. Having said that, these shots
demonstrate a particular part of that style which I find very appealing.

http://www.studio58.com.au/OPF/car%20copy.jpg

[Paul Bestwick]

I haven't used this spot for a while....... it is really cool.


http://studio58:@www.studio58.com.au/OPF/Cartoon%20copy.jpg

[Asher Kelman]

Paul,

The first one has a very lean color palette and just really provides 2 boxes, one for the bride and one for the groom. That to me at least is both original and inpressive. The second image is far to complicated compared to the first one. It's at an angle, the signs on the left give a rather cluttered look.

I'd "rescue" (what a presumptive word!!! ugh!!) this picture by cropping at an angle to capture the interesting tiles but exclude the sign posts.

I'd keep the arrow on the botton right as that impliess them going on a path together.

The pattern and road can be cloned to make up for what's missing and that gives a very satisfying picture that offers power and clean composition.

Still, your second picture is FUN so it works without all my suggest effort!

asher

[Paul Bestwick]

thanks Asher for your kind remarks. & of course , here is the very interesting thing:

The elements Asher, which you suggest as a distraction are deliberately sourced & placed in the image. This is integral to the overall vision of the photographer. Interesting, & as I said in the o/p....... I seem to be developing a signature across many of my images.

[Paul Bestwick]

here is another from the shoot.....

http://www.studio58.com.au/OPF/car%203%20copy%202.jpg

[Asher Kelman]

thanks Asher for your kind remarks. & of course , here is the very interesting thing:

The elements Asher, which you suggest as a distraction are deliberately sourced & placed in the image. This is integral to the overall vision of the photographer. Interesting, & as I said in the o/p....... I seem to be developing a signature across many of my images.

I have no issue with the use of the signs. I like to do that too.

However, Paul, I looked at the first image as an archetype of your special style and then I could find no way to myself put the second image into that very clean simple classic design.

Now the second image has interesting use of metaphor if one uses the signs. That arrow on the lower left is SO powerful, and positive that I thought it might be all that is needed. The signs in the left, however, can be interpreted as reflecting confusion and different pulling of forces as to what one should do. At least, I'd have the entire signs so the possible intepretation of disorder is minimized. Again i'd argue strongly that the arrow on the lower right is so powerful, that's all one might need.

In the end, as I pointed out, the second picture id FUN! Now for sure, that is reflected in both images, but not sure I'd call that a "style", simple color palette and using the window spaces in the white car to frame the bride and goom is the style I'd go after.

Or is there something else?

[Mike Spinak]

Very nice, Paul.

While I agree with Asher that the first is ultimately the stronger picture, I am also fond of the second one, and I do not agree with the suggestion to remove the signs. While the second is more complex, it does hold together. Normally, I rather dislike tilting; however, in this case, I think it is rather innovative, the way that the tilt is done in the opposite direction of the tilting pattern on the background wall. That, juxtaposed with the arrow, and the signs, works well to playfully and vibrantly create a sense of a chaotic world. Showing the newlyweds as a unified force, relying on each other amidst this confusion, works for me.

I am also impressed with the usage of a muted color palette, while relying on line and form, to give the picture an energetic feel.

In the second picture, I feel that the weakest element is their expressions and poses. While they look good, I feel that they are hamming it up a bit too much, and the effect is mildly incongruous.

Nevertheless, they are very well done. Congratulations.

[Paul Bestwick]

hey guys... all good comments thanks. I think Mike has a more accurate interpretation of the thoughts behind the images.......
Asher there was a third posted which you may have missed. Scroll back a bit.

[William Purnell]

Dude, the skine tones are way off on these. You will correct that for the client won't you?

[Cem_Usakligil]

Dude, the skine tones are way off on these. You will correct that for the client won't you?
Hi William,

Welcome to the OPF. I hope you'll enjoy it here, although I have my reservations on that.
Don't you think that you could have chosen a more positive tone for your opening post here?

So what is your suggestion to Paul, assuming that he did not already sell these prints to his satisfied customers? How should he correct the skin tones? Better yet, why don't you show us your portfolio containg undoubtedly better pictures?

Regards,

[Kathy Rappaport]

I think you put that nicely, Cem.

William,

One of the beautiful things about OPF is that we offer constructive criticism in a way that each of us builds up one another - we don't just comment - unless we have backup to our viewpoint.

If the skin tone is off, we tell how so and how to correct if we know.

Welcome ot OPF ...

[Mike Spinak]

Originally posted by William Purnell

Dude, the skine tones are way off on these. You will correct that for the client won't you?


The muted blue cast tones were obviously purposefully chosen, not a haphazard error. In my opinion, your notion of technical accuracy would be at some expense of the artistic vision, in this case. Technical accuracy is not always the highest goal.

[William Purnell]

Hi William,

Welcome to the OPF. I hope you'll enjoy it here, although I have my reservations on that.
Don't you think that you could have chosen a more positive tone for your opening post here?

So what is your suggestion to Paul, assuming that he did not already sell these prints to his satisfied customers? How should he correct the skin tones? Better yet, why don't you show us your portfolio containg undoubtedly better pictures?

Regards,

Not meant as a negative. The skin tones are as i say way off and well worth pointing out from one photographer to another.
Are you seriously asking how to correct skin tones? The photographer is pro so would know that information.
Skin goes blue when someone dies. It may have been intentional but it does not look that way to me.
I'm sorry if an opinion you may disagree with should come off as offensive... wow, very small.

[Cem_Usakligil]

Not meant as a negative. The skin tones are as i say way off and well worth pointing out from one photographer to another.
Are you seriously asking how to correct skin tones? The photographer is pro so would know that information...
Hi William,

No, of course I wasn't seriously asking. I was just being sarcastic.

What you've stated above is a contradiction in terms. If Paul is a pro so that he should know how to correct skin tones, he should also know that the skin tones are indeed off and thus does not need reminding to start with.

Anyway, it was not the content of your message I've objected to, it was the tone/style of it.

Regards,

[Ray West]

Hi William,

I guess since you've been here since January, you've seen more of us than we have of you. As you are from the same part of the globe as Paul, and afaik you could be close buddies, it is the use of the greeting word 'Dude' that doesn't sit easy with me, but may well do with yourselves. ('Dude' apparently originated from the German word for 'fool', which is probably not what it meant by you wrt Paul) other than that, and the cryptic nature of your first post, I think it is correct that you say what you think. It made me look at the images again. Of course, one reason for publishing imperfect images on a public forum, it is easy for them to be stolen. Thanks for explaining, and welcome.

Best wishes,

Ray

[Tim Armes]

couple of shots......... I seem to be developing a distinctive style of shooting. Having said that, these shots
demonstrate a particular part of that style which I find very appealing.


Hi Paul,

Some very interesting and clearly thought provoking work. With my thoughts provoked, I thought I'd add my comments.

As many have stated, the first image is the strongest and I find it the most appealing. I would certainly be interested in seeing a version with slightly more accurate skin tones (while not affecting the tonality of the rest of the image), if only for comparison purposes.

If you're feeling adventurous, I think that it would also be interesting to try a similar shot with a remote in-car flash adding some directional light to the faces. My main criticism would be that I finding the lighting on the happy couple to be lacking a little something.

As a photographer, I find the halos around your subjects to be strange. A first glance they appear to result from a flash being used to stop the action. However, they're found on both sides of the subjects, not just one side as would be expected. Did you add this in post processing?

For the second image, I think that you could have definitely improved the result with an off-camera flash. The couple are slightly underexposed and my eyes are giving all my attention to the background. I'd like to the the image with the couple exposed a little more and the background dropped back a stop or two.

The blue skin tones of the third image disturb me. I feel that this image would be very interesting with the couple warmed up, leaving the background blue. Now, whether this style would be considered appropriate for a wedding is another matter - it really depends on the tastes of your clients. It would certainly set you apart from the more classical photographers.

One way to achieve this is to set your white balance to a warm value, which cools the background to a blue, then warm up the subject with a CTO-geled flash. Dave Black is a big user of this technique, you can find more information here:

http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/02-2006.htm

Of course this are just my thoughts, and you may duly ignore them if you feel that you've achieved your aim in the way that you intend. The photos are certainly worthy. However, if you're someone that likes to push their work that little bit further then I think that it'd be worth further developing this style.

All the best,

Tim

[Paul Bestwick]

thanks ALL for the feedback........ Good comments. those halos are from the massive blur which has been applied. The images are pretty raw & I haven't done any correcting.
Often, when I post an image it is something I have just taken & am posting it cos I have seen it & thought it was worth showing. I don't care about the colour cast, I am interested in the overall composition & the creative content......... that is what gets me excited.
PP is time consuming & I shoot a lot of jobs. To be honest, I wish I was making more $$$$$'s so I could get someone to do the PP for me.

Cheers,

PB

[Damish Brooks]

Hi ,
I am also impressed with the usage of a muted color palette, while relying on line and form, to give the picture an energetic feel.

In the second picture, I feel that the weakest element is their expressions and poses. While they look good, I feel that they are hamming it up a bit too much, and the effect is mildly incongruous.

Nevertheless, they are very well done.

Congratulations!!!!!!!