Edition Forty Two

Wedding photography.

Weddings.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a photographer at the wedding. If you're uncertain about weddings and what it takes to make them happen - the answer is a lot. The joyous occasion starts long before the groom can kiss the bride. Booking a venue. Getting someone to cater. Hair and make-up.

And then there is the wedding photographer. I've always said to myself there was two types of photography I'd never do. First, safari & wild life. The second is wedding photography.

As the day got closer I started feeling nervous. Wedding photography isn't the same as street photography. I can always go back onto the streets and find a good photo. Weddings are (usually) a once-off event. I needed to capture the moments. I had to get the photos they wanted.

It was important to them that I bring my A game and have my boxes checked. No pressure right? If I knew all these things and the pressure involved why did I say yes?

I asked myself this question a few times but in the end it boiled down to: let's see where this goes. When it comes to my photography I often miss out on events where I would have had the opportunity to take photos.

Arriving.

Not this time though. I said to myself screw it. Even if I didn’t get all the shots - at the very least I can say I went and tried. It turns out it was a lot more enjoyable than I imagined.

Preparations.

Being ready on the day of the wedding is important for everyone.

A month before the wedding date I started making a few lists. I put down a lot of details of what needed to be done. Batteries charged. Clean gear. Memory cards formatted. Before the wedding I had some discussions with the bride about the type of photos she wanted and I started making shot lists.

My shot lists consisted of the following:

- photos at the church

- photos at the venue

- photos at the after party

These had sub-categories like family photos. Photos of the cake, the first dance, the tossing of the bouquet.

Each week had some type of activity I need to finish to prepare for the wedding. T-minus four weeks had me looking at batteries for my flash. I would spend time looking for ideas online and spoke to a friend who is a good wedding photographer. As the weeks went by I knocked off more items and got a better understanding of what was required to put a wedding together.

Family & friends.

I now understand why wedding photographers charge as much as they do. It's a ton of work.

Expect the unexpected.

With all the preparations things still go wrong.

My gear was clean and I tested it before hand. Not a problem in sight. I had pretty much all my bases covered. Or so I thought.

For photos inside the church I used my Fuji XE-2. As a mirror less camera it doesn't have a shutter. Which makes it perfect for "silent" photography. I wasn't sure how the pastor or guests would react to a continuous clicking of the shutter.

While I was taking photos I suddenly got a write error. A moment of panic because this camera is reliable AF. I did the thing which tech support usually tells you to do. Switch it on and off. This solved the problem and out of the 150 photos on the camera I lost only one.

Despite all the planning I did, an extra memory card was not on my lists. I didn't foresee this problem. My cameras functioned without issue before the wedding. I tested both of them and didn't see any sign of this error popping up.

Enjoy the moment.

Moral of the story - you can plan for all eventualities but there might still be something you miss. The best thing is to take it in your stride. It's no use panicking because you won't be able to think about a possible solution to the problem.

Enjoy the experience.

This is supposed to be a happy and enjoyable day.

If I was to walk around with my leave-me-alone face I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. It would probably have shown in my images. Or lack of images. No one would like their photo to be taken by a miserable photographer.

As soon as I arrived at the church I told myself to just go with the flow. Let go of all the anxiety and nerves. Yes, you are there to work (in a way) but it doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself a little bit.

Once the main photos were out of the way I spent some time with the guests. I had a talk to the groom's family, spent some time with members of the brides' family and friends. In a situation like this, especially if you don't know a lot of people at the event, it helps to be relaxed.

Relax, it’s almost over.

As a person which needs peace and quiet to recharge I think I mixed fairly well. I left my comfort zone a lot. I approached a few people for photos, because this was a safe space for this.

I wanted to capture different moments.

I mentioned shot lists earlier.

If your briefing is to only get a certain set of shots then stick to it. I wasn’t this tied in so I decided to see which other photos I could get. Sometime coloring outside the lines aren’t too bad.

Other members of the family had their cellphones out. Another guest brought his camera. While we all snapped away at the main moments I also looked around for intimate moments. The moments at the church were everyone was congratulating the couple. Or the evening at the venue. Cutting the cake. Snaps of family and friends discussing things like the weather, sports.

Standard small talk stuff.

This isn't an original idea but it made sense to me to try this. I think because the bridge & groom don't expect these types of images they will appreciate them a bit more once the start looking through their images.

Capture moments no-one looks for.

In closing.

As I was working on this post and editing the photos I thought back to my initial apprehension about photographing weddings.

Long story short - I’m not going to start selling my services as a wedding photographer anytime soon. It’s definitely more work than one person can handle. Being the photographer at this wedding was a learning experience for me.

I learned about planning for a shots. I learned more about working with people in a more relaxed environment. Definitely easier than on the streets. I also learned more about people - at a wedding you can watch as much people as you want to without being bothered.

I’d like to focus on documenting events or people. Perhaps a type of interview with a local person I find interesting.

Thanks for reading : )