CC Recent E-Session

[agillette]

I recently had the pleasure to shoot this E-Session for this couple. I enjoyed it, and i am sure they did as well.

Here is a collage i had to put together using the 2 images they picked. Well we only needed 1 image, but they just could not decide on which one, and we are close to the deadline. So i put this together for them, and they loved it.

Any CC is welcomed..

Well, i could not get is any smaller. So here is the link to it: IMAGE

Don't know if i am allowed to post it as a link or not. If i am not, then i am sorry, you can just delete the thread.

[DannyRaphael]

Just got to this one... Thanksgiving and all.

I'm not to be confused as an expert by any means, so take the following non-pro observations and suggestions with a grain of salt. Since the couple loved it, that's what matters.

* I tend to subscribe to the practice of avoiding putting subjects dead center in a photo. A little off center looks better to me, but that's personal taste kind of thing.

* The blurred BG is effective in drawing attention to the happly couple; you're on the right track in this regard. The effect here looks somewhat unnatural to me as though a result of a heavy handed application of filters rather than narrow depth of field achieved from lens aperature settings in the f/2.8-4.0 range. One way to get more control over a BG blur effect is to duplicate your layer, blur the duplicate significantly, lower opacity to taste, add a hide all layer mask and airbrush with white on the mask in areas where you want the blur revealed. Easy to adjust opacity of the blurred layer if needed after doing a test print.

* The film strip effect is a creative touch. I like the look when you can see some lighter background through the sprocket holes, but a lot of the effect (bottom left to about midpoint) is lost becase there's little difference in color between the film strip layer and the image below it. Consider selecting the sprocket portions, isolating them on a separate layer (ctrl+J) and sharpening.

* I think I would have swapped the positions of the swan and rings. (Especially good shot on the rings, btw.) The sharply focused swan and water looks out of place. At first I thought the swan was under the bridge, not a separate image. If the swan was placed on the other side and/or you shifted the color of the water a bit like I did, it would reduce the likelihood that one's brain would get confused trying to account for sharply focusd water under the bridge with the closeby out of focus background.

* The white letters against the darker BG certainly stand out... Maybe good, maybe not so good. Here it draws one's immediate attention -- away from the subject. Consider downplaying the text a bit, if nothing else offer your customers an alternative.

* Speaking of text and assuming a photo will be framed. don't forget to take into account framing lops off a little of the top edge. In this case I'd lower the text a bit.

Hope this gives you food for thought. Here's a quick hack to chew on. I truly admire your ambition and creativity. Keep up the good work.