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Slideshow Images for a Small Wedding

Lesson 49 from: The Wedding Story: Capture Creative and Authentic Photos

Davina and Daniel Kudish

Slideshow Images for a Small Wedding

Lesson 49 from: The Wedding Story: Capture Creative and Authentic Photos

Davina and Daniel Kudish

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Lesson Info

49. Slideshow Images for a Small Wedding

Lessons

Class Trailer
1

Class Introduction

03:25
2

What Are "Epic" Images?

16:50
3

The Slideshow Formula

11:04
4

First Client Meeting

08:19
5

Establish Client Relationship

20:35
6

Expectation vs Preparation

10:39
7

Pre-Wedding Checklist

06:55
8

Gear for Photographing Weddings

07:16
9

Capture The Subtleties

03:32
10

Show The Connection

04:07
11

Importance of Capturing Transitions

25:17
12

Sidelines & Story Telling Details

23:42
13

Anticipation & Patience

09:26
14

Let The Scene Develop

21:10
15

Sequencing in Numbers

08:53
16

Successful "Anticipatience"

19:52
17

Examples of Poor Reaction Time

08:57
18

HTCG in 10

06:41
19

Giving Direction

15:33
20

Have Variety With Light & Composition

10:24
21

Capture The Mood

07:37
22

Take Advantage of Natural Light

05:43
23

Be Creative With Video Light

06:47
24

On-camera Flash For The Dance Floor

05:32
25

Find Flattering Ambient Light

04:09
26

Don't be Afraid of Tough Light

04:32
27

Composition & Framing

12:07
28

Lens Choice

06:11
29

Keep it Simple

18:13
30

Purpose of the Creative Portrait

29:07
31

Scouting for the Creative Portrait

17:06
32

Maximize a Location

05:48
33

Unique Posing for a Creative Portrait

12:04
34

Experiment with Your Photography

12:42
35

Make The Image Personal

11:19
36

Post Production Overview

05:04
37

Stay Organized in Post Production

04:42
38

Full Gallery Edits

05:25
39

Lightroom Workflow Overview

06:48
40

Bring Out Detail in Lightroom

10:55
41

Black & White in Lightroom

10:51
42

Landscape Images in Lightroom

06:32
43

Bold Images in Lightroom

05:18
44

Slideshow Edits

07:26
45

Importance of The Slideshow

08:18
46

Selecting Slideshow Images For a Large Wedding

22:13
47

Culling Slideshow Images for a Large Wedding

20:22
48

Complete Slideshow Example for a Large Wedding

07:22
49

Slideshow Images for a Small Wedding

15:24
50

Complete Slideshow Example for a Small Wedding

09:49
51

Build a Business Around Storytelling

08:10
52

Portfolio for Clients

15:04
53

Importance of The Inquiry Reply

11:35
54

Price List Best Practices

21:04
55

How to Price Your Work

12:10
56

Final Thoughts

05:05

Lesson Info

Slideshow Images for a Small Wedding

We're gonna do the same process on a different wedding, just to kind of show how the same mindset really applies in different situations. We're gonna take you to Melissa and Adam's wedding in Marfa, just a few months ago, and kind of go through the same process there. It was a much smaller wedding. There were just 15 people there, including the two of us, actually, Max was there as well. And, yeah, it'll be a slightly faster process, just because there are less photos, and the story is much tighter, but a lot of the same conversations come up as well between Davina and I. So, starting up here, at the top we obviously have repetition. Go ahead. If you're not familiar with Marfa, it's this super random little town in Texas. It's got all these art installations, and Beyonce went there are few years ago, and made it extra popular. Yeah, Prada Marfa is actually an art installation it's not a real store. So, yeah, it's just this really quirky place that, you know, meant a lot to Melissa an...

d Adam. They got engaged there. One of their first dates was taking a trip to Marfa. So, anyway, the location was really important. So, we really wanted to showcase that, obviously, in the photos. As part of the wedding, we took some trips to some art installations. The guy told us we weren't allowed to take pictures, and then he told me, "I'm just gonna leave the room. "You have a nice camera, but, you know," he like winked, kind of thing. So, I was like, "Okay." So, that's Max. And this is Max. And this is Max. And I think this one has the strongest visuals. I like the idea of leading into the story of the wedding in Marfa with one of these like abstract art installation photos. It kind of sets the mood, and it's very typical of that place. Meanwhile, the guys were golfing. Yeah, that's good. That's another art installation. That's Melissa's niece. It's Texas. These are actually Max's cowboy boots. There's a lot of Max in this. They are good friends of ours, so, Max is relevant. Kids playing around. Inner circle. That's Adam's mom. That's Daniel, wearing Max's hat, actually. But, so, these three guys are really close, obviously. Adam's one of Daniel's best friends. And, so, sort of the equivalent with the girls. All right, so that's pretty tight for the first day. Oh, yeah, they went and played Twister as well. I love that as a storytelling detail. And that's us. The finger cropped off though, if we're gonna critique ourselves. And this is a good one to just close off, really, that night. I like the hair on his head, her hair. Then the morning of their wedding, they actually went and put a lock with M plus A behind the Prada store installation. So, it's focused on the lock back here, but you can see them as well, so, it'll be good. Through the fake store. And this one should probably go before. It kind of serves as a transition. Yeah, so, them arriving to the lock, then the lock itself, and then close out that sequence of photos. And Adam in the shower getting ready. Here, we can start with the bride getting ready, because they basically crossed and swapped location, and so she's getting ready in the same trailer as him, so, we have to kind of follow this sequence of events. So, him in the shower, putting a shirt on, and then this is where she came back from the hair salon, and they crossed each other. It's a good transition. They had a sweet little moment. And then he left. Bye. I mean, that photo, like-- Which one? That one there. You know, to critique ourselves, I don't love that his head is cropped off like that. I like that's carrying all the blankets, 'cause that's something that is gonna throw back to the ceremony, 'cause they had blankets for all their guests. Yeah, I kind of like that detail. Okay, let's leave it. That one doesn't read as well. It's a reflection. She's getting her makeup done. It's a reflection on an artwork, but I don't think it really came out. When you're looking at it for like, you know, 10, 15, seconds, you kind of figure it out, but, again, when it's gonna pop on the screen for a couple seconds, not good enough. Here, again, I think we have a little bit of repetition. We have this one, and this one would definitely, this image, because, graphically, it's much stronger. That one's way stronger to me. And, like, the blues and yellows. And I also really like the detail of the curtain flying, like, wind is part of mood, which is part of our formula. Then friends reacting. That's good. Going into groom prep. It's abstract. More literal. Love that. That's a very Adam face. It's so Adam. If you hang out with him for a couple of days, you know that he makes this face a lot. Like, just when he's excited, he's like, "Woo!" That's what he'll do. So, that represents him very well. Yeah, totally. I love the transition. Her getting her dress on. Her mom's putting on her dress. These are already fairly tight selection. We did do a much tighter selection from the get-go. Moment with the mom. It's the first look. The hug. So, you know, with the first look, it's important, the lead up, and then the actual moment of connection. That's really all we need from a first look. Then portrait of the two of them from that setting. That's good. That's actually where they got engaged too. Yeah, that exact tent. No, I don't think it's that one. But it was one of those. Walking out, and then we have a few portraits. Which are pretty tight as well. We like this one. The energy's great. Nice detail. And then something much simpler works well. I really, really like this picture. It's kind of hard to read, but it's one of those, like you stop and look at it, love that she's like alone. People are coming towards her. Like, they had parked their cars there, because they were meeting. And I don't normally love cars in photos, but in this case, I kind of find that it adds to the story. And they kept having their guests like show up in different places. They were texting them, "Oh, we changed our mind, "we're gonna do this instead." And everyone was just going with the flow. So, I kind of feel like it conveys that. That one's similar but different. Yeah, that's good. So, here we have two images. So the lead up. I mean, definitely the dusty is stronger. So, they basically drove out for like 30 minutes to this one specific spot that Melissa and Adam had picked out for the ceremony. They did the scouting. Yeah, clients did the scouting. That's nice. Yeah, they had driven until they found a spot with a really nice view, where they were gonna do their ceremony. We literally pulled over on the side of the road, and they had their ceremony there. This is where it was basically. This is good. It's a bit similar to the other one, in terms of like the vibe, the focal length. You know what I mean? So, I'll remove this. Oh, yeah, then the hot chocolate, which we talked about. That one's good to set it up. I like the layers in that one. The close up. Obviously, the storytelling detail. And then their friend, an officiant, started playing music. So, that's sort of the beginning of the ceremony. He led them down the hill. So far so good. Yeah, as long as there's good variety in like the look of the images, then, you know, it works. This one was an attempt at something creative. Obviously, the reflection of the bride within the guitar but-- You saw it too late, right? I did see it too late, and I only had a few seconds to work on it, so, it never really came together. I think the expression could've been better. The light could've been better. A lot of things could've aligned differently. So, failed attempt. And we'll leave it at that. Close up reaction. Inner circle. That's like a family portrait. A great moment. Wider moment. All right, so they did this thing, where, he's from Denver, so, he wrapped her up in a Broncos colored blanket. And she's from Texas, so she put a cowboy hat on him. And sort of like an exchange of welcoming each other into the other family, which is sweet. So, we definitely want to keep that in. And, then, they had all of their friends and families come up, and do a blessing, and tie a string around their wrists. So, that's what all of these moments are. His mom. I think we could probably choose one though, right? Did we pass two? Oh, yeah, we have two of her mom. Yeah, we have two of the mom. So, we have this one, and that one. Yeah, the other one is way stronger. This one also repeats in terms of, you know, for you, keeping this one, it's very repetitive? Mm-hmm. I'll narrow that down. And then they had their vows. And in decent light. Meh. It's all right. Some music. It's like of those like goosebumps-including moments. You know, you're just like, "This is real life." Texas light. It does get a little bit repetitive, but the moments are all so different, that I think we could get away with playing all of them. Then their first kiss. This one's gonna break it up nicely between this image, and then the one of them coming out. And this is my take on this photo. But, obviously, this one is the better one, as we've seen as the opening slide to all of our presentations. As you know by now, we kind of like this photo. This was definitely a hard, you know, like this one its own is definitely like a really strong image. And we normally, it something that we would be really proud of and include it, but, again, going back to this image, which really captures the scene, and with the amount of people that are in it, and sort of like the quintessential, like, recessional photo, like, we don't want to take away from it by including a different version of that same photo. So, we have to be ruthless with our own decision, and, you know, take it out. Kissing. This is good transition out of the ceremony. This is a cute little moment. Family hugging. Yeah, her mom with Adam. I love that too, like, moments between the opposite families, you know? Then quick portrait with the last bit of sunlight. And, again, meh. Coming out of the portraits, and then into the reception. I think the only change here, is we should definitely put them first. Yeah, coming in. Yeah, it's like them leaving, and then them entering. Look how close we are here with that finger. Ooh, so close. And we have space here. So, in an ideal world, you would want to shift a little bit to the left. But you can't always predict where that hand is gonna go. Or how far it'll go. Maybe just the first dance. We have two images. We have this one and that one. The moment is definitely stronger here. This is cute too, but we don't really know what they're reacting to, and if we don't have a followup to this image, from a storytelling point of view, it kind of lacks a little bit. I prefer where they're connecting. For sure. Let's just hide the red ones. So sorry. Come back. All right, with his friend. With his mom. Playing with his mustache. Storytelling detail. Yeah, it was so cold. And, again, we're from Canada. We went to Texas. We didn't think it was gonna be that cold. And the reception was like indoors, half outdoors. So, we thought, like, "Ah, finally, we'll get warm." But, actually, no, it was really cold. But there was a fire, so, I like this detail of them like warming up their hands. People hanging out by the fire. Cheersing. Cake. Max eating cake. I really love this photo, but I think we could probably cut it out. I think we have a personal attachment to it for some reason. He's so excited. He's so excited. He basically went to Texas for the cake. This whole trip, he knew he was going to a wedding. He knew he was going to eat cake. Another storytelling detail. So, they still haven't signed their marriage papers, so, they went ahead and did that. So, that detail definitely tells the story. They had their parents over their shoulders. Their moms, yeah. Yeah, their moms. Love that moment. Yeah, again, this is what Davina was saying before, like, where, you know, one side of the family connects with the other side, so, the groom's mother connecting with the bride. It always makes for a special photo, because that's what wedding's are all about, right? The two families really coming together. I love everybody's expression. Oh, day after session already. This is where we drove to White Sands, three hours away. And we had quite a few portraits. This is one's definitely gonna be good to transition into the day after session, to suggest that we went several hours away. Yeah, I love behind the scenes of portrait sessions as well. Like, something like that photo, where they're getting dressed in the parking lot, you know, you can see the dunes behind, she's tying her bra. and we're just photographing them. And we had this one, which really came out great, like the colors, and the dancing. So, this one feels a little bit repetitive, so, we can go ahead and cut that. I think it's gonna be pretty tight. That, as we know by now, was a failed attempt at silhouetting them in a perfect ball. I mean, it's not failed. I still like it. No, no, it's definitely a good photo. But to be repeated another time. Here we have a couple of closeups. This one, the connection-- It's way stronger. No doubt. I really like the colors in this one, the blues and yellows; the way they're framed within that. That's similar. This one is a little bit repetitive, right? Ooh, guys, go back. That is my block. I'm using it just on its side to like refract the light. So, sometimes I shoot through it, and get the light to leak through. It's multifaceted. I think this one came out pretty good. Yeah, that one's stronger though. It's okay. Still gotta give my block a shout out. Like the colors in this. It feels like it kind of matches her dress, the pink. Her dress had a bit of a pink hue. Slow shutter. I know you like that one. I'll let you have it. I don't love it, but that's okay. Perfect. So, we had it down to 91. Can't quite remember which we opened with. I think it was, or this one. I think it was that.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Wedding Photography Contract
Albums Contract
Pre-Wedding Checklist
Five Discount Codes

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Holy Moly! I have been very familiar with Davina & Daniel for several years and I also work closely with Image Salon for the past 3 years. I loved their relatability, raw honesty, human connection, and their teaching method. It was also super helpful to see the GoPro footage on a real wedding day and walk through their thought process with them. A refreshing wind of inspiration has now flooded my mind and attitude. I am excited to begin my 8th year of weddings with a clear mind and full heart. These two are the REAL deal and I am so happy I made this investment. Thanks, CL for always bringing the BEST of the BEST.

a Creativelive Student
 

I’ve been following Davina and Daniel’s work for years and suffice it to say, they are in my top 6 all time favorites. I was so excited to watch this creative live and it didn’t disappoint. From their approach to shooting through the moments, to their stunning locales and minimalist gear, there is something for everyone in this class. Both Daniel and Davina have a tremendous knowledge of photography and their willingness to share and educate is second to none. Oh, and just so you know, they are also the nicest people on the planet. Super sweet, amazingly talented. Thanks for having them on.

a Creativelive Student
 

Davina and Daniel are fantastic presenters as well as an exceptional photo team (plus they are super nice people, too!). I love their approach and methods and felt like there is so much value in this course. Even though I've been photographing for a long time, I took away a lot of great value gems from their course and look forward to applying several to my own business!

Student Work

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