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I guess I missed posting this last fall when I actually did it, but I shot an engagement session for some friends of mine who are having me shoot their wedding this May. They're an awesome couple and quite an interesting one as well - Jessica is an artist and Tyler is a mechanical engineer! They were an absolute blast and I cannot wait until May 27th!

Comments and Criticism are very much welcome and appreciated - please leave a comment! EXIF is on Flickr, but all were taken with the Canon 450D/XSi, and either the 50mm f/1.8 (#3) or the 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (#1, 2, 4, 5).

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

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Really like number 2 and 4, great ideas.

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"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" - Eric Morecambe
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D7000 and too many lenses.

i love these pics it is giving me ideas

Hey Plymer,

General comment for them all - finally some engagement photos that don't look like they're a result of a "step by step how" to do book. I like that they're outside (if only even a little) of the norm. Congrats on that.

1) I like the crop on the first photo, but I do find it a bit hard to see what they're lying on. I think its cracked cement, but it sort of looks like leaf veins. Makes me look hard and might be slightly distracting, but that's just me.

2) Love the idea of this one - well done. DoF is really nice, light direction and intensity is good as well. Was this flashed or the shadows pp'd in, or was the lighting that good?

3) Nice expression on her face - his seems slightly forced, but its understandable because guys aren't so good at posing as the ladies are. Her position is really nice and cute as well - did you instruct this or was it natural? Either way, Like it.

4) Love the thought behind this as well. I do find that there is a haze - almost like a massive/highly opaque lens flare through the photo however. Not sure if this is intentional, but I don't like it.

5) I like the backround, and your showing enough detail in the faces/her hair - just the way I like it. My only complaint would be to have a bit more detail on the clothing - I can see some on his collar and back, but next to nothing on hers. I feel like if it there was no detail whatsoever it would look odd, so having some detail is good, but I feel like there should be more.

Thanks guys, feedback is super helpful, and especially thanks to Trevor... I appreciate that you took the time to go through all that!

@Trevor:

1) Fair point, but I guess I was hoping that with the "Fall" theme going on it would be easier to figure out that it was, indeed, a leaf they were resting on. The colour version is easier to tell, because the leaf is bright yellow with orange veins, but I felt the B&W brought the rings out better.

2) Thanks This was done with a bit of Strobist. I had the sun as the back/rim light and then used a LumoPro LP-120 in a 28" Westcott Apollo softbox to camera-left to get some catch lights in their eyes and keep them from going completely into silhouette. The light was just freaking amazing that afternoon though, so much so that I'm fairly certain Jess and Tyler thought I was going to start singing and dancing in the park

3) This was actually mostly un-posed, as I find often times when I micromanage a shot I manage to lose the natural moments. The only "posing" I did was to make sure that she put her hand in a place where her ring was visible. I told them just to cuddle on the bench and Tyler loves cracking jokes, so I believe this is as he's telling a joke. I love the natural moments!

4) You're right about the haze... I was using a Tiffen Circular Polarizer and I've had troubles with glare and flare in the past when using it. I had my lens hood on as well, but the sun had crept in just enough to give me an almost soft-focus haze. I loved the moment too much to trash it, although it originally wasn't going to be included in the first edit. The couple adore the shot though, so that made me happy

5) I agree about the detail in their faces... it makes the shot more intimate in my opinion and I especially like the light reflecting off of her lower lip. I wish I could have gotten more detail out of her jacket as well though, but she was wearing a black cloth-type jacket which wasn't reflecting any light at that point. His leather jacket was though, hence you see some detail... Very good point about the detail vs silhouette.

Thanks sooooo very much Trevor!

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

Number three and five are the only ones that work for me... Very emotional and the couple seems connected, super editorial.

The rest, because of the props, become more about the items than the couple.

Who carries a chalk board on a date? Why is she holding a photo of them while he's kissing her?

You hit the emotional ones on the nail, and you'll remind them down the road about how they felt before the wedding. How do you think they'll feel about the chalkboard? The random photo?

I hope this helps.....

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Thanks for the comments John and sorry for taking so long to respond!

I'm glad you liked the editorial ones... those were my favourites as well The prop-shots are ones suggested by Jess (the bride-to-be), and I do like the way they came out but I'm not sure they'd be concepts I'd take to other shoots. I don't like gimmicky photography

Thanks again!

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

I understand. It always happens to me as well, but those are photos you guys will never see

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WHO I AM BLOG, WHAT I DO BLOG
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Good call

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr