Very nice article that still applies, even with today’s cameras I guess. I have one question about spot metering. Do you point te spot at a neutral area of the scene like greyish, or do you meter off the focus point? Example: the b/g come in the church, doors wide open contrast couldnt be bigger. Do you spot meter the face of the b/g at that moment or use + compensation dials.

I liked your article very much by the way.

Well executed shot Mr. Colegrove.

G.

Keep the posts coming. I’m sure I’m not the only one waiting to hear of your next adventure!

Dave

Yes… Reflecting on it I guess I should have put “The Outlaw” rather than the “Hell’s Angels” on the theater marquee in that mock up… But what I really want to know is: Did you see me peeking around the corner?

I honestly don’t know if I’ve mastered anything but I can tell you I worked pretty hard to get those shots… Panning on a three way axis is discipline I don’t think can be taught… Kind of like the Hula Hoop… You can explain it, but in the end, it’s just something you have to get the knack of.

And hey… Thanks for reading this stuff, I sometimes wonder if anyone get’s what I’m saying and I really appreciate the feedback.

I have been subscribed to your blog for a while now and I love the way you put things. I’m not sure if it’s just the dry humor or the unique cadence of your writing. Also love that faux antique you did too, but I hope everyone realizes that it’s the Howard Hughes film and not the motorcycle gang the marquee is referring to… Or did you mean the double entendre?

You really nailed the shots of this wedding and it’s impressive that you were able to preserve any detail in that dress under those lights too.

After looking at just these few images and checking out the exif data it is clear you have mastered some really tough skills. Have you considered doing some teaching seminars for this kind of shooting?

Dave

I have read your blog and the articles on your website for a while now and a few weeks ago I photographed my second and last wedding.

I enjoy photography and It seemed to me that wedding photography would be a good way to pick up some extra cash doing something that I liked.

It seemed to me that I could charge by far less than the going rate and still do pretty well, I mean, 8 hours at $100 an hour looked like a pretty good deal for everyone involved.

Well after doing the first one I quickly found out that the computer I was using was insufficient for processing RAW images, then I found out that my monitor was not calibrated correctly and I had to buy a thing then print everything again. so that wound up costing me about $500 over and above what I made not counting the fact that it took me 6 weeks working every night to get the pictures finished.

This last (and my last) wedding pointed out that my camera is insufficient to really get the pictures I was trying for, especially in low light, every single picture without flash is blurry and the flash I was using wasn’t powerful enough for the diffuser I was using so all the pictures just suck. I actually don’t know what to do with them, I’ll probably end up refunding all the money.

I’m not a total novice at photography, and I know how to get a good picture, I just had no idea what to expect and wasn’t prepared at all to deal with the conditions as they came up and even with all the right camera gear I doubt my skills are honed enough for this type of photography anyway.

So now I know.

.

My Canon AE is collecting dust. I still shoot some film with my Elan. I can find decent film with no problem. Finding someone to develop that film is like finding a a sunken treasure.

I like digital for the most part however to me it just does not have the quality that film has.

I remember when editing was done in the darkroom and it took talent and creativeness to do so, now any hack can edit with Lightroom, Photoshop, etc.

I think the saddest part from the transition from film to digital is too many have lost what the art of photography means. To them it is not art, it is graphic illustration.

With digital the art of photography has been lost except with us old school film shooters. We still know what the art of photography is and it is not making your models, potraits, wedding portraits, etc look like they belong in a video game or on the Cartoon Network.

It seems like too many are over processing instead of using digital the same way that they used film but then again alot of the digital shooters now a days have never shot film so they have no clue to what the art of photography consist of.

Too many hacks with cameras. Back in the old days we went broke trying to afford all the equipment that we needed, Now a days any hack can get a digital camera at a low price and call themselves a photographer.