Author Topic: My first wedding  (Read 3122 times)

My first wedding
on: July 12, 2010, 12:35:15 PM
Was at a wedding on friday and the official photographer looked like she didnt know what she was doing, had a D40 with a kit lens, taking photos during the ceremony with the on camera flash and the sound on on the camera so it was beeping all the time during vows. So I thought Id be a bit more proactive about my photo taking and Im really pleased with the results.

I also discovered the wonder of RAW and Lightroom. It works wonders on relitively dull photos.

Ill post my results tonight but the important thing is the bride and groom love them. Feeling pretty pleased.
Formerly sexytw

Re:My first wedding
Reply #1 on: July 12, 2010, 13:07:31 PM
sounds like you saved the day :)

 :cheers:

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:My first wedding
Reply #2 on: July 12, 2010, 13:39:42 PM
Lightroom?

Its a shame the bride and groom cant pay you and turn around and tell the professional one to bog off.

Re:My first wedding
Reply #3 on: July 12, 2010, 14:50:30 PM
Quote from: zpyder
Lightroom?

Its a shame the bride and groom cant pay you and turn around and tell the professional one to bog off.


Adobe Lightroom, Ive always heard people banging on about it but never shot in RAW so not done much post processing. Its actually unbelievable how much better photos can look with a quick tweak to the black levels, saturation and maybe exposure. Also adding vignetting always helps. Its all so easy in Lightroom, not to mention being able to download loads of pre-set filters online to get specific effects.

You can get a free trial from Adobe, I highly recomend having a play.

I may be wrong about the official photographer, but I cant see her managing anything spectacular the way she went about things. Ill have to wait and see.

Might post some before and afters later as well so you can see how much better lightroom makes stuff.
Formerly sexytw

Re:My first wedding
Reply #4 on: July 12, 2010, 14:56:06 PM
Lightroom is one of the more popular RAW converters, Ive never used it but Ive been told its very good indeed and being an adobe product Id expect it to integrate well with Photoshop.

I use RawTherapee and UFRAW (the latter is less polished but has dark frame subtraction which is helpful for astro shots). Both are free and so offer unparalleled value for money. I find they are more than capable enough for my decidedly amateur needs.

Re:My first wedding
Reply #5 on: July 12, 2010, 16:54:19 PM
lightroom is superb

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:My first wedding
Reply #6 on: July 12, 2010, 19:26:38 PM
So is lightroom like the full version of Adobe Camera Raw? (or is CR the old version?) From the sounds of things it does the same stuff as lightroom and is also adobe/integrated into photoshop and Adobe Bridge etc.

Re:My first wedding
Reply #7 on: July 12, 2010, 20:11:11 PM
Light room isnt just raw processing it has a lot of editing post processing tools. I dont know about camera raw though.







full set
Formerly sexytw

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:My first wedding
Reply #8 on: July 12, 2010, 21:41:21 PM
Sounds similar, unless you mean it has a UI/tools that allow it to do stuff a bit like in those apps for iphone/android where you click a button and it processes the image to look all old school etc.

Those photos look good, last one looks a bit...brokeback mountain....

  • Offline BigSoy

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  • They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm.
Re:My first wedding
Reply #9 on: July 13, 2010, 00:08:45 AM
Quote from: zpyder
Sounds similar, unless you mean it has a UI/tools that allow it to do stuff a bit like in those apps for iphone/android where you click a button and it processes the image to look all old school etc.

Those photos look good, last one looks a bit...brokeback mountain....


Thats exactly the extra that lightroom does have - plus clearly a lot more flexibility and control than youll get on the iphone.

Best way Ive come across to process RAW files - quick but good level of control. To be fair, havent tried the free apps though.

EDIT: sexytw - meant to say - really nice set, looks like you did a great job stepping unto the breach. Did you have any lighting gear with you or is pretty much all naturally lit?

"Within your 'purview'? Where do you think you are, some f**king regency costume drama? This is a government department, not some f**king Jane f**king Austen novel!"

Re:My first wedding
Reply #10 on: July 13, 2010, 00:15:09 AM
Lightroom is awesome, its a whole photo suite, you can tweak loads of things about the photo, also allows you to apply the usual effects, but also can simulate lens filters, you can also paint adjustments on to it, so if you want to play with the exposure etc, for one part of the photo you can paint brush a filter on.

It also manages you photos, you can import all your photos from a shoot go through and rate them, helping you to filter out the rubbish shots.

I rarely use photoshop, unless I want to do something PS specific. Also has support for dual monitors if you are say taking pics of people, they can see the final image, and you get all the tools on your screen.

Really great piece of kit, anyone who takes photos get a copy!

  • Offline Sam

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My first wedding
Reply #11 on: July 13, 2010, 00:37:40 AM
So all this talk of RAW. Is it better to take pics in RAW than JPEG ?

Re:My first wedding
Reply #12 on: July 13, 2010, 07:22:02 AM
Quote from: BigSoy

EDIT: sexytw - meant to say - really nice set, looks like you did a great job stepping unto the breach. Did you have any lighting gear with you or is pretty much all naturally lit?



No lighting gear, I was lucky with lots of direct sun on the day. Used the on camera flash for the couple of dance floor pics but I generally try and avoid it as Ive rarely achieved good results with it. Most of the shots were taken with my Nikon 50mm 1.8 and a few with the stock 18-70mm (Nikon D70).

Formerly sexytw

My first wedding
Reply #13 on: July 13, 2010, 08:29:09 AM
Quote from: Sam
So all this talk of RAW. Is it better to take pics in RAW than JPEG ?


This was the first time ive shot raw, I never bothered before because I couldnt be bothered with the post processing. The main advantage I found is because Im trying to always shoot in full Manual I often get the exposure wrong, with RAW I can tweak it back to where it should be. I didnt want to miss a shot because Id got the exposure wrong, this way I can make up for my mistakes after the event.
Formerly sexytw

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:My first wedding
Reply #14 on: July 13, 2010, 09:11:35 AM
Reading into it, Camera Raw is a plugin, whilst Lightroom makes use of the plugin with presets and a better UI. Will have a look at it!

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