You can see the border

This is the same photo as a colour and a sepia version. If you look closely, just between the bride and groom is the venue for the reception. You may just be able to recognise it from the photos earlier this week, but regardless of whether you do this makes it particularly fitting for their background.

Whenever I choose a photo for the gift of fridge magnets to take back in the evening I look for close-ups because the magnets are small. This was a definite contender but I actually chose the photo seen on Monday. I don't have long before I go back for the evening reception but you know that I thought about the sepia image for the magnets because I put a black border on the photo. Welll you have to know where to cut the photo and you can't see the border when you use a vignette.

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More on the rings

These manipulations are fairly easy. For once the blur is genuine. As I am taking the photo very close to the subject then there is a small depth of field. This means that there is less of the photo in focus. I always find it better to take a photo in focus and amend it on the computer as per the photos in yesterday's blog, but no such manipulation was needed today.

There is a similarity between these two photos in that I put a white vignette in both. The main difference (apart from the flower) is the angle at which I took them.

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Photo Manipulations

I have a few photos that I like to manipulate on the computer. If I like any photograph I tend to convert it to monochrome or maybe sepia. On the left you can see what happens if you leave part of the photo in focus. I often use this technique for the first dance but here is an example of keeping the ring in focus.

If there is an aspect of the photo that stands out then it may be left in colour as with the photo on the right. It is a fairly easy technique but isn't everything when you know how to do it. It is even simpler to also add fully monochrome versions to the usual colour version.

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Reading a photo

On the left is a variation on the photos from yesterday. Even though it is a much tighter cropping you know that the car is still there as well as the Midland Hotel. On the right the car is more prominent. Look a little closer and you will see the church in the background.

I want to mention two aspects of the way we look at photos. The first is that we read from left to right and we tend to 'read' photos in a similar way. So as we look closer at both photos we will be led to the bride and groom. The second aspect is the rule of thirds. I like this rule which means the photo is more balanced if a major focus is where the horizontal and vertical thirds coincide. This is roughly the brides eyes in both photos. If you get your ruler out on the right then you may decide it is not following this rule. Well rules are made for bending and I amended this photo because there were members of the public that I cropped out of the photo.

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A helpful driver

At last week's wedding I was really pleased with the support from the hotel at Bowness because they drove me with the bride and groom to the lake. This week I want to say that the driver was really helpful. He would have taken us anywhere (I was following in my car this week).

You may recognise the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. The driver squeezed into a small space which was not a designated parking space but it certainly makes for a prominent place in this photo. I have tidied the pavement a little. I am sure that you can't tell what needed tidying. As for the photo on the right, a couple of clicks and the colour version turns sepia.

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High Contrast

For the last two photos from last Saturday I have chosen two high contrast photos. It is an unusual technique which I think works well for these two photos. It doesn't work well for every photo and not everyone will agree with me that it works at all. The point is that it is up to the bride and groom to decide whether they like the technique. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I like the way that the high contrast concentrates attention on where you want attention concentrated. If you have the software then try it yourself. Gradually increase the contrast and brightness and see how some areas are less prominent. You may even choose to make these areas disappear. It is entirely up to you. You may even choose to convert to monochrome or sepia.

Happy snapping

Yesterday's photos

These are the photos that I meant to include in yesterday's blog. When I like a photo you can tell that I do because I give variations such as monochrome and sepia. I commonly place a white vignette around the sepia version and less commonly I separate the flowers and keep them in colour.

In general I would choose the usual colour version as my favourite, but it does vary from photo to photo and from person to person. If that is the case then the easiest option is to supply all variations.

Happy snapping