My friends asked me to shoot their engagement photos. These are taken at Stanford University and Santana Row in San Jose, CA

Feedback welcome.

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Are you doing their wedding too? They'd be stupid NOT to ask you to do the wedding too!!!

There's a saying around wedding photographers...

"The two most nervous people at a wedding are the groom and the official photographer"

With that said, I dunno if I want that kinda pressure. Weddings are sacred and special. Full of emotions and memories. I'd be too scared that I would blow something or make some monumental mistake and I'd look like a fool if I asked for a "do-over".

Well not if they want him to be able to enjoy the wedding and not be working..

wow.. great pics.. what kind of camera are you using??

I have TWO Nikon D70's (the original D70, not the newer D70s). PRetty good for a 3-yr old camera. I never did feel the need to justify spending $$$ to buy the latest and greatest.

Most shots were with a 50mm f1.8D or 28mm f2.8. Some with the kit lens and SB800 Speedlight or gold/silver 42" reflector.

Are those photoshopped at all? If not, that camera has some great saturation settings (I assume it does, unless those colors are just that vibrant).

(I'm still learning the D80, I've got it set to oversaturate colors - which of course is almost useless right now with winter in DC.)

Nicely done.

great work KJ take the job, they'll be lucky to have such nice shots later

Photoshop never touched these. Adobe Lightroom Beta did. (gotta use it while its still free!)

I did crank up the saturation and vibrance in the colors. I'm still learning though and might revisit these for more tweeks since, although I am happy with the colorful walls, I'm not 100% happy with the skin tones. She's not supposed to look that orange.

I shot these in .NEF and used Lightroom to convert to .JPG

I did set some in-camera saturation settings up. - per Kenrockwell's recommended custom settings. (link: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d70/d70-settings-menus-shooting.htm )

Set to Color Mode IIIa and Saturation at +

I like the 2nd and 3rd because of the way the light is filtering through the trees to highlight her first and them him. And I love the last one as it looks the most candid to me.

Awesome work all around

Great shots! I would hire you to take my wedding pics but I'm already married.

I HAVE THIS SAME SHIRT AND I WORE IT TODAY! BITCH!



Just kidding. But she's LUCKY she doesn't live in my city!!!!!!!!

P.S. - Those are GREAT slice-of-life pics! I like the one where they are making funny faces. So playful and fun! They really show the couple's personality! DEFINITELY my style of photos. I'd totally hire you to do my wedding/engagement photos.

P.P.S. - See?

From an extreme amateur...
You took really great shots KJ! I think my least favorite are the ones where the couple looks at the camera. I prefer candid shots rathern than posed shots, though I know sometimes poses are needed. My favorite one is the one where they're holding hands. I love the lighting and the colors!

Now the negative... I know others may disagree & I hope my comments do not offend! =)): I would've suggested the couple dress up a little bit. Something casual but comfortable similar to what they're wearing but maybe just less baggy. I dunno why but their pants are distracting. I would've also suggested for the bride to let her hair down.

Lastly, I think you're right about being under pressure as a photographer on their wedding day. My only suggestion is to take your camera and as you mingle take some candid shots of the event. This way you can still party, you're not on your toes or worried about your camera and the couple gets a really nice gift from you later! =D

That sorta happened with my friend. A lot of us had cameras at her wedding and afterwards everyone gave her their pictures. When they showed off their album they showed off the pro pix along with the pix from friends & family. Both the bride & groom were really happy to get all those extra shots!

I agree -- her hair being down might've been a little more natural and flowed better with the photos. More laid back feel. It's like they are dressed totally casual but her hair screams "black tie affair!"

If you look at my photosite - http://www.kjdragon.smugmug.com/Weddings

I have shot candids at (probably) over 20 weddings in the last many years for friends and family. I typically shot between 120 shots (film) to 800 shots (Digital) per wedding. Then I make prints of the best shots, and put them into an album.

This is usually my wedding gift to the couple. If I did this for hire - I could probably charge a few hundred dollars for that I give to them for free.

At my best friends' wedding the brides cousin did all the photography (she's a professional as well) and she had a blast. I am still waiting on digital copies of the pictures she took (both 35mm and digi) because there were some really great ones.

KJ, you are a very talented photographer, keep it up, and I'll keep you in mind the next time I need a photographer.

looks like you are wearing a wedding Cake

Do not talk about my clothes or my fashion sense or I will kick your butt. It's all I have man, it's all I have...

:p

Great pics and great use of the rule of thirds, played well on most of the photos. keep it up!!!
Its great that the photos were not photoshop'd. That's the difference between an amateur and pro. pro's knows their equipment and spend less time editing their images.
Also, taking about equipments you don't get the best images on an expensive camera, i dont like it when people asked what camera did you use sorry, but its not in the camera but on the technic of the photographer and how he compose
his image. The Nikon D70 is a great dslr. one of the reasons that i still have it on my gear is that the D70 has a faster flash sych speed of 500 than my D2xs which is 250.
If you were to add I greatly suggest the D200 lighter than a D2Xs. or for portait a fuji s3 its a slow camera but it takes great images.
I would like to also include this site Blackbox This unit is pretty good and Al Jacobs is a great guy, fast in response. I did 2 weddings and found myself carrying 24+ AA batteries for my speedlites. Now, i have ordered this i can shoot and not worry about my batteries.
Just tell Al, Donnie Villanueva recommended you.

I wonder if you can share the exif informations on the images?

I just just finished 2 weddings last month myself. Its a great experience, i dont charge much and i dont market as much cause i still like having some weekends to relax.
But, even on slow days or relaxation i still shoot, heck i shoot everyday to sharpen my skills.

Keep Shooting!!! and Always on Manual

Had a tough time choosing a favorite 'cause they're all great but this is it for what it's worth...



One comment, meant constructively of course...many of the pics have non-vertical backgrounds due to camera tilt. In some shots it's a little and some it's a lot. It's an effective technique but IMO it was a distraction in a couple of the pics where it draws the eye away from the couple.

All in all, outstanding work and as someone else said, they will cherish these, especially as time passes.

Also, Question were you using the fong on the images? or are you bouncing? The reason i asked is photos have great tones I like seeing good distribution of light.

I think the non-vertical pictures look incredible! I think it adds to the picture and creates more of a sense of actually being there in the shot.

I am really impressed with the range of color in each picture, absolutely amazing!

I like how the couple looks comfortable in the pictures, like they weren't being photographed. You just see a couple that is happy and totally wrapped up in each other, which is perfect for engagement pictures.

Job well done!

Absolutely wonderful pics you took KJ... I personally like the series of pics where the background wall has several colors splashed all around... The choking one is classic... Maybe have both of them choking each other if you had to do a "re-do"... And the sunlight breaking through the trees is definately a keeper...

I did a similar photoshoot for my younger sister... She meet her husband at USC... She decided that she wanted pictures from where they met, had their first date, and where they hung out... All in all, it was very similar to what you shot...

Nonetheless, you did an excellent job... As an amateur photog, it's nice to see how you develop your "craft" throughout the years... And by looking at your smugmug site, you're developing a great eye on what you photograph... Keep up the fantastic work KJ... PEACE!!!

Fellow amateur photog,
Air B

PS. It sure is time to add an "XOC Fotog Forum" here... Xterra related or not, it add a bit of flava to our existing forums...