Hello to you all, up to now I've been daily reader of the forum. I have encounteres a glass ceiling in my wedding photography skills - any help would be much appreciated. I use Pentax K-5 with set of bright zooms (Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 mainly, Sigma 10-20 mm, Sigma 70-200 mm f/2.8 and Tamron 90mm f/2.8 for details). As you can see these are fairly good lenses, all with fast HSM autofocus, I try to use flash only when necessary and don't bother with ISO up to 3200 or even 6400. Over three years of wedding shootouts are behind me and I still cannot keep up the quality of real pro's. Currently thinking about switching to FF (Nikon D600) with bright prime (f/ 1.4), but I really love Pentax for other reasons - it's the perfect camera for my landscape photography and I really doubt I need anything else for this purpose.

What's your thinking? I'm aware my poor postprocess skills may be the case, but I cannot get the results to be seen from FF pros. Especially colours and "crisp" of the image is really hard to compare. I use own Nik Software bundle recipes with LR and PS. I'm really stuck right now and wanted to use this season break to resolve this problem.

My first set here - Kathy & Chris

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[GeoJerry]

A really nice set of wedding photos with very unconventional compositions. I really like #7 and especially #9.
I think Pentax seems to take slightly soft pictures, which is not a bad thing, but I also usually like more definition so I'll routinely sharpen up most of my pictures. I'd suggest Topaz Detail for really nice sharpening effects. My only other comment is on #5, where I like the composition but I think there is too much highlight in the bride's and especially the groom's faces. I would try to darken them slightly, just enough to distinguish them from the background wall and lights.
There appears to be a certain "look" that's in fashion right now on the photo blogs, with lots of saturated color, very sharp lines, and dreamy lighting effects. Some of these are really fantastic. But your pictures have their own look and appeal, so I wouldn't necessarily try to imitate the style of others. If this was my wedding I'd be pleased with the results.

[carrrlangas]

I am no pro, nor have done any weeding but maybe you could start using some lighting equipment? Why limit yourself to available light only? Even then, a fill in light is always welcome.
You already have nice lenses. Perhaps the better lowlight AF of the K-5II would also be of help? It wouldn´t mean a lot of $$ after selling the K-5.

I really liked the pictures. You know when to click and it shows
Just my 2 cents,

[robjmitchell]

Your doing a much better job than our wedding photographer. Its probably PP and flash use were you can get the most gain for the least cost.
Other wise you are going to need some pricy glass, FA ltd in pentax can get you some results that you won't find elsewhere but the logistics of using primes in a time constrained environment is problematic.

[wyrzykus]

Thank you for a nice feedback, polite comments are welcome, but I'm not 100% satisfied with results. It's true that Pentax takes soft pictures - I will definitely try to sharpen it more, maybe in Color Efex Pro through contrast.

As for my strobing gear - I use a silver/golden diaphragm for outdoor sessions when possible and in dark insides a Metz 50 with large Rogue Flashbender. I think about LED videolight for the future, many photographers use it on a daily basis.