A Little Tricky

Editing someone else's photographs can be a little bit tricky. Photography is an art as well as a science. We attempt to capture with our cameras our interpretation of the scene before us.

But lighting, especially at an event like a wedding, is not necessarily the photographer's friend. That's the case for this particular shoot.

The photographer captured some really nice expressions and some very sweet and playful moments. Unfortunately, the exposure was off in many of the shots.

There also were problems with white balance. Many of the shots were simply too blue. The wedding party was moving from bright sunlight to deep shade. It's certainly not easy getting both types of shots correct.

Weddings should be a day when dreams come true. In an environmental shot like this, I wanted to convey that dreaminess. I liked the composition of the original - it was just a bit too harsh. A fast lens with f-stop wide open to give a shallow depth of field and correct white balance would have gone a long way toward making this a dynamic shot and would have saved editing time and expense. I'm a big proponent of getting the shot right in camera and only using Photoshop for special effects.

M., you were a beautiful bride. Thanks for allowing me to prove it!