Ok, so its been a while since my last “Diary of a (newish) wedding photographer” but I thought I would start on the next wedding that I did after this one, in May 2012.
The wedding was a traditional church ceremony followed by a reception at a sports club. The couple were lovely, down to earth and I wasn’t expecting any surprises. They weren’t being fussy over what photo’s they wanted and in fact they weren’t even bothered about meeting me before the day (though I have photographed them before so I did know them).
So the big day arrived and it was bright and sunny: perfect! I suffered the usual nerves as I drove over to the brides house but unfortunately no-one told my tom tom that I needed it to behave today and it refused to find their house. So after countless laps of their neighbourhood (where every house looked the same) I had to resort to Google on my phone. By this point I was starting to panic (imagine I’m red faced and sweating - very attractive) as I had to be at the house for a certain time to accompany the bride to the hairdressers, luckily with just minutes to spare I spotted it. Panic over.
The hairdressers was fine, you know how it is, the usual battle between low lighting and an ugly backdrop (though isn’t that why black and white was invented??), then on to make-up and finally back to the brides house. I often look at wedding blogs and wonder where on earth some photographers find their clients, because generally speaking most people don’t live in huge mansions with beautiful rooms that are a pleasure to photograph. So there we were in their house and again the battle of lighting commences... I really don’t like using flash, unless it’s the reception, so I spend the time moving the bride & bridesmaid around the room to get the best light. I think they were as exhausted as I was and it was only 12.30.
And then suddenly it was time to get to the church to photograph the groom and it amazes me every time how quickly the day goes. Again, no surprises yet , the groom and his friends posed for a few images, I get a couple of shots of the church, and then horror of horrors the sun comes out. Right onto the front of the church. And because everyone expects photo’s outside the front door, here come the squinty eyes and uncomfortable smiles. I just pray that by the time they come out after the ceremony that it’s a bit dull... and I guess this is down to experience and I know everyone wants sunshine at their wedding and I should be grateful it isn’t raining.
The church was beautiful, but again very dark and lit with candles. The vicar asked that I didn’t use flash (which I had already assumed would be the case), and that I kept out of the way in a corner. All well so far. The bride arrives at church, the ceremony takes place & it was pretty much perfect. However no relaxing just yet...in the back of my mind I’m preparing myself for the formal photos outside the church...I don’t enjoy the formal photos.
As we leave the church, I start to arrange the guests and family into some sort of semblance of order, when someone announces that the bus to take everyone to the pub has arrived. So after a couple of squinty photos of the guests everyone hastily departs. And I mean everyone. Unfortunately they had forgotten to tell me that we’d be going to a local pub before the reception, so I quickly grabbed one of the guests who was planning on walking there and offered them a lift. Sometimes no matter how prepared I am (I have a pre-wedding questionnaire and speak to them to get a good idea of the timeline) I feel like I’m chasing my shadow...
So I get to the pub and everyone heads for the bar. It’s a beautiful quaint little pub, all dark beams and little candlelit nooks. Finally I bring out my flash and do my rounds. We pause for half an hour to get some shots of the bride & groom on their own out in the grounds of the pub, but they ask for the formal photos to be done later on at the reception. I’m conscious of the light fading, I just hope there’s time to get the photos at the reception without flash.
So we head off for the reception. And would you believe it – the tom tom doesn’t even recognise the postcode., FFS, time to stick to that Vintage bus like glue.
The sports club is set up for a disco and music blares out invitingly and as I arrive I’m met by the clubs own photographer. Do I mind if he gets a few shots just for the venue? No of course not, by this point in the day as long as he doesn’t get in my way he could do the birdie dance too and I wouldn’t care. So after the obligatory camera gear discussions, you know the ones...”what camera do you use, which lens, are you full time???” I finally get to do some photos...and finally get the formal shots. Unfortunately by this point everyone is a little worse for wear, so I get it done quickly.
I’m starting to flag a little now, its just gone 6.30pm and I haven’t eaten properly all day and could really do with a cuppa. The speech’s and meal fly by and we’re at the first dance. I’m always conscious during the reception that people might be sick of me by then, always in their faces taking photos. But I suppose its better to feel the wrath of a couple of moaning guests (which has only happened a couple of times) than miss some of those unplanned moments which make great photos.
And finally its 8.30 and its time to go home. Time for a glass or two of wine, obviously after I’ve downloaded the photos (and resisted starting to edit them straight away...)
I think the thing I’m learning is that being prepared is important, but being flexible and calm is probably more important.
I'm writing these posts, not to moan about photography or any clients, but because I honest love doing it and have learnt so much each time something unexpected has happened. I'm just hoping that someone new to wedding photography might learn something about what to expect.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR EARLY EXPERIENCE IN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT
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