I'll explain as best I can. One of the things I have learned about doing paid weddings and portraits is that you rarely get to pick the time or place to take the pictures. But yet, you still have to produce images that will make the couple (and mother) happy. I had a little control in this case, but not too much. The time of day was 11am - sun climbing overhead - I was hoping for about 8-9 am. The weather was hot and muggy - about 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Can't leave the bride out of the AC in the car for very long or she will melt. Not being from the Baltimore, the areas are all foreign to me and I don't get any time to case them out. So we had to go to this location when they were ready and decide if the light was going to work or not.
The bridge itself, has no significant meaning about the bride's feelings. Rather, I have found that it can provide a nice way to show off the wedding dress. Certainly not the only one, but one of many possibilities. Seating her on the bridge worked quite well because hidden on the inside was a post that she could rest her inside foot and to help her balance and hold her snugly upright. When I saw the backlight on her veil and the soft lighting on her face, I felt that this was a spot to do some shots at. One other aspect of wedding dresses that can get passed over by photographers is the general shape of the dress rather than just detailed beadwork. The bridge pose can really show off the dress in this manner. Many shots are taken and then shown as proofs for the couple to look through. If they pick certain ones for prints then those might get some extra work to bring out any detail (highlights and shadows) that might be available in the raw image. The full shots in this series are here. Clicking on the 'Next' link will cycle you through them. These are all at proof stage right now. The couple has not finalized anything yet. http://www.daytonphoto.com/Galleries/Bullock/bullock_0106.htm -- Bruce Tuesday, September 6, 2005, 3:39:50 PM, you wrote: SB> Hi Bruce ... SB> The first thing that stands out is the light ... it's gorgeous and you've SB> captured it well. The look on the bride's face, the way she's holding the SB> flower is all just about perfect. However, there's a big flaw in the pic, SB> and that's the lack of detail in her gown down at the bottom. It seems to SB> detract and perhaps even ruin the way you've caught the light in the rest SB> of the photo. SB> I don't quite get where she's sitting. It appears she's sitting on the SB> fence. It appears a bit awkward for a bridal portrait. My first reaction SB> is that her sitting on the fence indicates that she's unsure about being SB> married: should she or shouldn't she ... only her photographer knows for SB> sure (paraphrasing an old hair coloring commercial). Perhaps you can SB> explain her seating a bit. SB> Still, even with my being critical, I ~do~ like the photo. SB> Shel >> [Original Message] >> From: Bruce Dayton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Date: 9/6/2005 2:53:30 PM >> Subject: PESO - The Bridge >> >> I flew out to Baltimore several weeks ago to do the photography for my >> niece's wedding. This is one of the shots from an outdoor bridal >> portrait session. >> >> Pentax *istD, A 70-210/4, handheld >> ISO 200, 1/180 sec @ f/5.6 >> >> http://www.daytonphoto.com/PAW/bullock_0109.htm >> >> Comments welcome >> >> -- >> Bruce
