RMThompson
the TPF moderators rock my world!
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2006
- Messages
- 1,888
- Reaction score
- 11
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
Wow.
That's all I can say really, to everyone on here who gave me tips about wedding photography. People warned me, they told me how DIFFERENT it was than portraiture, they told me about Bridezillas (which I didn't get much of thankfully) and evil family members who think they should've been the photographer. You all warned me about lighting, aperature, capturing motion, not missing the special moments, battery life, equipment, memory cards, drinks, eating and how to pose....
But nothing anyone said could've possibly prepared me for my first wedding. It was all in one the scariest, most difficult photoshoot as well as the most rewarding, most fun and most rewarding shoot I've ever done in my life.
A little play-by-play. I arrived at the location of the wedding with my wife in tow, my assistant for this shoot. I was at the Lions Club, at 4:45. Directions from the bride were to meet her at her HOTEL at 5, which I was told was "across the street" but in actuality was a 1/4 mile down the road I just traveled... but I made in time to have me and my wife help the bridesmaids up to the room. The wedding starts at 6, and an hour before the bride is taking a shower, shaving and getting ready... I was booted from the room, sans wife, so they could get ready, and waited outside of the room until... 4 minutes before the wedding was supposed to begin.
Inside the bride was bleeding from an accidental cut on her arm, almost in tears, and the bridesmaids (and my wife) were swarming the bride with last minute touches. There I finally got some decent, albeit rushed, pictures of the bride.
My wife and I headed to the Lions Club again, where the Groom and Groomsmen had started cursing me for not showing up, literally I walked into a room filled with men saying "Where the hell is the photographer!"... they didn't know I was with the bride.
It's now 20 minutes after the ceremony was supposed to begin, and we are waiting on an important family member to show up.
The Bride and her girls were driving around the block waiting for the grooms grandfather, and people were standing around. It was good for me, I was able to test the light, and understand how little space I was going to have for this shoot. It was a crowded area, with about 40 chairs for 90 guests, which left a bunch of guests standing around in a non-photogenic sort of way and a very narrow point of access:
But it was still beautiful: (The sand was for a sand mixing ceremony that was forgotten by the Officiate... her dress was also SEE THROUGH in the sunlight... but I didn't tell her, she was a very nice woman who also served as a wedding-planner that day!)
Right before 7 the ceremony began and it was BEAUTIFUL. The beach was nice, the music was elegant, and the bride was walked down the aisle by her autistic son since her father and mother had passed on several years ago.
The ceremony was SHORT, and I had to deal with a family member playing photog, showing up in every shot and if it wasn't him, their were people on the public beach behind him:
But got some good shots of the ceremony and immediatly following:
Then we moved inside, and she greeted about seven million people, and I went off to take a picture of the cake:
And because no one told me, almost missed the signing of the marraige certificate:
So that's all I have from my first disk... I am sure I will be posting more from the ceremony as I edit them. I took over 1100 pictures, so It might take me awhile.
Please comment and leave some C&C on the photos!
Thanks for everything guys. If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone else doing a wedding, it would be, THINGS MOVE QUICK, TAKE THE PICTURES!
:mrgreen:
That's all I can say really, to everyone on here who gave me tips about wedding photography. People warned me, they told me how DIFFERENT it was than portraiture, they told me about Bridezillas (which I didn't get much of thankfully) and evil family members who think they should've been the photographer. You all warned me about lighting, aperature, capturing motion, not missing the special moments, battery life, equipment, memory cards, drinks, eating and how to pose....
But nothing anyone said could've possibly prepared me for my first wedding. It was all in one the scariest, most difficult photoshoot as well as the most rewarding, most fun and most rewarding shoot I've ever done in my life.
A little play-by-play. I arrived at the location of the wedding with my wife in tow, my assistant for this shoot. I was at the Lions Club, at 4:45. Directions from the bride were to meet her at her HOTEL at 5, which I was told was "across the street" but in actuality was a 1/4 mile down the road I just traveled... but I made in time to have me and my wife help the bridesmaids up to the room. The wedding starts at 6, and an hour before the bride is taking a shower, shaving and getting ready... I was booted from the room, sans wife, so they could get ready, and waited outside of the room until... 4 minutes before the wedding was supposed to begin.
Inside the bride was bleeding from an accidental cut on her arm, almost in tears, and the bridesmaids (and my wife) were swarming the bride with last minute touches. There I finally got some decent, albeit rushed, pictures of the bride.
My wife and I headed to the Lions Club again, where the Groom and Groomsmen had started cursing me for not showing up, literally I walked into a room filled with men saying "Where the hell is the photographer!"... they didn't know I was with the bride.
It's now 20 minutes after the ceremony was supposed to begin, and we are waiting on an important family member to show up.
The Bride and her girls were driving around the block waiting for the grooms grandfather, and people were standing around. It was good for me, I was able to test the light, and understand how little space I was going to have for this shoot. It was a crowded area, with about 40 chairs for 90 guests, which left a bunch of guests standing around in a non-photogenic sort of way and a very narrow point of access:
But it was still beautiful: (The sand was for a sand mixing ceremony that was forgotten by the Officiate... her dress was also SEE THROUGH in the sunlight... but I didn't tell her, she was a very nice woman who also served as a wedding-planner that day!)
Right before 7 the ceremony began and it was BEAUTIFUL. The beach was nice, the music was elegant, and the bride was walked down the aisle by her autistic son since her father and mother had passed on several years ago.
The ceremony was SHORT, and I had to deal with a family member playing photog, showing up in every shot and if it wasn't him, their were people on the public beach behind him:
But got some good shots of the ceremony and immediatly following:
Then we moved inside, and she greeted about seven million people, and I went off to take a picture of the cake:
And because no one told me, almost missed the signing of the marraige certificate:
So that's all I have from my first disk... I am sure I will be posting more from the ceremony as I edit them. I took over 1100 pictures, so It might take me awhile.
Please comment and leave some C&C on the photos!
Thanks for everything guys. If I had to give one piece of advice to anyone else doing a wedding, it would be, THINGS MOVE QUICK, TAKE THE PICTURES!
:mrgreen:
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/41/41423-156eb6e5a056cd1cbcf60e12a03f9d56.jpg?1619739809)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/42/42471-71fb529e01fae8170cc2a98655bd05e7.jpg?1619740193)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/35/35264-5ade32b7036391926536661aeb7491c3.jpg?1619736969)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/34/34142-948c6bafdf60862125009004d5a06e46.jpg?1619736315)
