<-Click here • Jessica & Greg were married in Middlebury, Vermont last Saturday. Jessica was an astonishingly elegant bride. I was lurking around with my camera during the event, trying not to get underfoot of the accomplished and hard working professional who was the official documenter. I've known Jess since she was maybe 12 or 13. That's when we became friends. Like her slightly older sister julia - these two had an intelligence which let them pierce their way into mature conversations virtually as equals at an early age. They were, and remain, bright, charming - and as you can see from this image, strikingly beautiful. However... I lacked a high powered strobe, a reflector and all the rest of those things which let photographers capture a stunning woman appropriately. So, without the gear to do pre-processing, I'm forced to make up for the snaphot quality of my shots in post processing.
Now... here's the question. While both of these images retain the production values of snapshots... Which captures Jess better? Why? Hulp...
5 comments:
Thanks John... there's something about the misty effect that is just so... appropriate... for bridal portraits. You seem to express it well. I am torn. I agree with everything you write. And yet I go to the sharpr image and kind of like the elegance of the setting and the way it reinforces the very special presence of this bride. But then again.... sigh... It is a puzzlement.
Ted
Definitely #2 for me. My problem with #1 is not the blur, it's the tonality. Everything gets a little muddy, though Jessica does stand out, but probably a little too much for me.
Btw: Sunday evening when I went to Vienna by train I heard Craig's three "Light Diary" podcasts so far, and I was very pleased hearing him plugging your site. Well deserved :)
Andreas
Andreas is referring to Craig Tanner's: Light Diary blogsite (you'll find a link on this ImageFiction homepage). Craig was very generous to me in his second podcast... Craig does podasts almost weekly to compliment and explain his image making.
As for the image... I can see how you and John can disagree, I'm also torn re. the two different approaches. I finally went with something in between to send to Jess's parents who are dear old friends. I'm hoping they enjoyed it.
I vote for #1. My eye darts to the background less in this one. The softness suits the expression and turn of her head better in this one also. And finally, #1 just looks more like a Ted Byrne image to me.
Hmmmmm.... Thanks John, you write with the lighting nuance of a competitive biker. I notice how much more attention to detail I have as I ride my new bike.
You know what? I am growing schizzzy about these two images. Your points convinced me, and then I went back and looked at each and DAMN! I can see why the BigTime fashion photographers render their settings in tack sharp detail to imply max elegance. And yet there is something so romantic about the candlelight misty....
Grumble... Maybe I should do a big print of each, frame them up and live with them on the wall for a while?
Thanks, really appreciate your perspective.
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