Reflected Pool

I photographed Shannon and Charles at about 4 in the afternoon. That's a bit too bright for great pictures unless you know how to work the image afterwards. It was shot at 28mm to capture the city behind them -plus of course, their reflection in the water. My f/stop was 2.8 at 1/3200 of a second (this way I get the background in focus) I considered the city to be partnered with the couple and a part of the image. If the background didn't matter, I could have shot them in any junkyard with a blurred-out background. My ISO was 250.

My Recipe: I increase the exposure +.60,  increased the blacks slightly, and upped the contrast and clarity. I  also manually went to the greens and increased them for a more spring-like look. Using the adjustment brush, I brought out the clarity of the clouds. I also made a slight manual correction by eye, of the lens calibration in LightRoom to keep the building straight.

Of course, Shannon and Charles provided the fireworks!

Kiss in the Rain

Elida was in panic mode the day before her wedding, rain was forecast. Even though we knew rain was considered very lucky, she desperately wanted me to create images outside the historic chapel in Lewisville (Special Moments). I suggested that we can get a great shot in 60 seconds under an umbrella. "I'm headed to Target right now!" she answered. After the wedding we stepped outside and I quickly shot off several shots. The resulting images were of course flat because of the rainy day light. But a few minutes at the computer help make stunning images.

This was shot under an umbrella (me) at ISO 800, 28mm at f3.2 at 1/100th of a second.
In LightRoom I boosted my fill light to 60, recovered highlights at +66, and increased my blacks to 12.
Brightness was adjusted to my liking...about +17 with contrast at +48.
Then with my adjustment brush, I increased the intensity of the clouds, her gown, and his pinstripe suit. (Up close and personal -you can really see streaks of rain across his suit...cool looking! It's going to look great as a 20x30 in the den!) I went to hue and greens to make the grass more lush. A different brush setting made the wet gravel look cool.

One great aspect I didn't expect, was that in changing the look of the image, the doors of the chapel suddenly had new life. Compare how they look before and after. It's subtle, but it tells the story. It really looks like they just left the chapel! In the first image... It's just not there. In the second...wow!

Coppell Wedding Photography

Dana and Stephen were married just 20 minutes ago. The sun was down, but there was still a touch of light, and the courtyard had a few lamps. Dinner with family and friends were next. But wouldn't it be fun to stop for a few pics in the courtyard? It had been a wet day, and moisture still soaked the sandstone walls. A gorgeous opportunity to bring out the textures in the stone. And one last chance to get images while hearts still glowed from the vows. This is the toughest time to urge "Hurry! We're loosing light!" without sounding like you've gone from a quiet photographer to someone gone bananas.  

Recipe:

Shot at ISO 8000, 60mm, f7.1 at 1/60second, fill flash. After capture, I ran the image file through a noise reducer and boosted the exposure about 1/2 stop, and raised the fill light. I find the exposure is destructive, and prefer to add fill light in LightRoom when possible. I employed a small lens vertical correction to correct lens distortion on the church lines. Using the adjustment brush I added clarity and contrast while darkening the area everywhere but where the couple stood. I erased a cigarette butt from the cobblestones, and darkened the grounds to erase the evidence of the flash. I darkened - for clarity- her dress to bring out detail, while lightening his vest which had a design built in...plus darkened his hat, which has lightened up with a slightly grey tone. Added clarity and "black control" brought out the texture of the wet stone walls.

Vette in Huntsville

Today I'm revealing a couple engagement images from Huntsville, Texas. Above is a favorite image of mine. I shot this at dusk. Had to add a little fill flash. Of course, many of you know that adding flash often lights up the foreground more than you want. Using the graduated filter in LightRoom can be a blessing! This image was shot at ISO 500 with 32mm Nikkor, at f4.5 1/200 of a second.

Recipe: I used a noise reducer to remove artifacts and improve skin tones. Using LightRoom 3, I boosted the greens to bring life to the evergreens which were suffering from the Texas drought. I used the adjustment brush boosting clarity (added black to further clarify) details. The gradient filter was used to improve the sky detail, and to lower the detail in the flash foreground. 

The image above was enhanced in virtually the same way. Shooting into the sun can lead to really bland images. Highlights can be lost, and people can end up in shadow. Shooting from any other direction was out of the question because of undesirable backgrounds. Finding a work around allows you to find the dramatic.

And of course, the obvious question...Jim you are an idiot! Why are you shooting this shot at 3 in the afternoon? You are right...but...I am a Dallas wedding photographer. When I travel for engagements, I may end up spending the day with a couple exploring the city (and college campus in this case) where they live. It was about a 3-4 hour drive, and I'm not the type to go to a park, shoot for 40 minutes and say "Thanks, that will work - goodbye." These are images of a time in a couple life they can't get back. These images are forever, and represent their romance...the time they fell in love. I must be able to shoot over a period of hours and "make it work".

Email me if you'd like to see their webcast - engagement slideshow with music. jim@jimrode.com

First Recipe

That's it! I do not intend to bow to the pressure of emails saying "if we use you, can we have the pictures in a week?" No. I won't do what others do. I am thrilled with what I create. If it takes 3 weeks...so be it.

Your wedding day images say a lot about you. They define who you are. You can wait 3 weeks for me to  bring out their finest qualities. If I plan on only 2 weddings per month, you must realize I sacrifice for your wedding. I will not punch them out every week. I could make twice the money...but I would feel less "good" about myself. Plus, it goes against common sense to sell you associate weddings shot by someone less capable. I would just have to work twice as hard to try to fix what I didn't create.

And yes, I enhance every image. No surprises with 70 images made great...and then your guests go online to see all the blemishes... No surprises with a Dvd of blahs...

The recipe for the image above shot at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Kansas City, Mo.

The shot shown second was captured at noon at ISO 640, 18mm Nikkor lens at f/3.5 - 1-60th second.

In the enhanced shot, I opened the raw file in LightRoom, removed noise, and did a manual adjustment of distortion for the columns. I brightened the image about 45%, add contrast, and upped the black slider. I played with the graduated filter and adjustment brush on the ceiling columns etc. I upped the green foliage with Color, before adding clarity. (While using the adjustment brush, I will often add or subtract clarity and contrast to bring out an HDR effect. As a wedding photographer, I don't have time to do true HDR with 3-5 bracketed images...and as I understand HDR, it doesn't work well with people anyway...as people are living - breathing - beings who can't hold perfectly still!

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