Hey Tim!

I love the word "apprentice"! That's exactly how I started my career in professional photography. It's very best education and experience you can get- if you can get it. I'ts too bad that there is not a formal apprenticeship program in photography- like they have in some of the European countries. When I started out in New York City, however, there was kind of a tradition or pecking order whereby the rookies would learn form the veterans. I was fortunate to have a formal academic education in photography. At one point in my life I though of photographic sciences as a career so after my military service was over, via the GI bill, I went to Rochester and earned degree in photographic technology- chemistry, optics and that kinda stuff. At that time the applied photography course was new but I managed to take in some of those classes as well. I still take in workshops and seminars whenever I get the chance. While I was apprenticing, my fist boss and mentor sent some of us to the Winona- the PP of A School in Indiana. Those courses were taught by working master photographers. All the schooling was great but I have to admit that my early on-the-job training is where I garnered must of my practical day to day knowledge- the stuff that you just can't get in classrooms or books. This especially apples to wedding photography and portraiture where people skills and just as important as technical savvy. If if you need to travel in order to work with an experienced shooter- believe me, it's a good investment.

In the wedding photography business, the money issues are funny! Firstly, let me tell you that back in the day, as a rookie, I got all the low-priced wedding jobs at the studio. I cut my teeth shooting wedding for folks that did not have allot of money to spend. Working for the so-called "poor folks" gave me some great perspective on life and work. I found that if people are resourceful and willing to put some food and drink to together and create their own decor and entertainment, they can pull off some festive and beautiful weddings. I learned that hard working folks appreciate other hard working folks. Most importantly, I learned that every bride and groom and their families, deserved my best efforts no matter how modest their weddings are.

So...my point it that I have nothing against folks how can't spend a whole lot of money on their wedding photography. Oftentimes, however, potential customers will balk at the price of photography and claim that the don't have the money to sped. Then we go to the wedding and realize that they are spending a fortune on food, booze and all the trimmings. If the son'r prioritize their photography, I can understand that but oftentimes this attitude is the local; photographer fault in that the don't promote their product and services and may some photographers simply under price their own services and create bad buying habits in their own service area. In other words, the money is there but the clients are spending it elsewhere!

Also, nowadays, what with social media, the Internet and advertising in wedding publications and online sites, you are not restricted to any particular neighborhood. Good word of mouth recommendation can bring you work in a significantly wider market.

Keep up the good work and keep on learning.

Hey, Jay!

Nice detail shot! In my own method, I shoot for wedding albums and slide shows like cinematographers shoot movies, that is, using certain detail shots to set the scene for the next sequence of images. I like your shot because it sets the scene, the venue of the wedding ceremony with the stained glass widow in the background and components of the bride's attire as the subject. The flowers have some cold (blue) tones which contrasts nicely against the warm tones in the background. Nice selective focus as well.

Here are some suggestions for improvement: The image needs more density. This is a problem that goes back to the film days where most color labs tended to print on the lighter side. When you would PRINT DOWN to maximize detail in the highlights, color correction becomes more critical and with portraits, more blemishes or irregularities in the skin tend to show up, thus requiring retouching. Thing is, both negatives and digital files, usually have significantly more INFORMATION on them that never gets onto the final print or screen image.This often results in images with less texture, depth and viewer impact. Nowadays, most of our editing software allows us to precisely control density and also enables "custom printing controls whereby we can see the results immediately on our monitor screens. In the olden days, this would require many test prints and re-makes. If certain images should require retouching of blemishes, there are so many useful plug-ins that replace the need for difficult manual negative and positive retouching. We can therefore, easy "print down", so to speak and achieve images with beautifully saturated colors, rich skin tones s and incredible textures.

Just as a side note- When I judge at professional print competitions I find that many of the prints that don't quite make the grade, fail because of poor printing or editing techniques. The composition, lighting, the creative concept and the "information" is all there but never made it to the final image.

I took the liberty of "custom printing" your shot- printed down and burned in the background.
I am not sure how it will show up on your monitor but hopefully you will get the idea and take a crack at editing.

Shoes: I'll put on my commercial photographer's hat for a moment. To show the design of a shoe it is best to show the outside of the shoe rather than the front or the part where the arch curves inward. Of course, you can show a pair with each shoe at a different orientation or angle to suit the design of your shot and the position of the other props. Laces or buckles should be carefully styled.

I hop you will find this information useful.

This is another one of my favorites. It pretty much fits the bride's personality to a "T."

This wasn't from the last wedding, but the one before that. I am working on their album and stumbled on this gem. I think I may tone down the highlights a touch, but will need to do a sample print first.

Anyway, the story with this one is that the bridesmaid wanted a photo done with her and the groom, and Brittany showed that Jake was now "her man." You can get a feel for the personality of these people, it was a lot of fun.

Taken at my daughter's reception hall. OCF camera left. Not cropped yet, this is just the raw images converted to JPEG. I don't crop until I know how I'm going to use the image.