My Friday -- I survived my second wedding photo shoot!
August 09, 2008 03:34 PM EDT
(Updated: September 08, 2008 02:40 AM EDT)
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comments: 29
Well everyone, I survived my 2nd wedding!
I am just saying that I survived because I really don't feel any other kind of emotion about it other than that. I am pretty darn sure I've realized that wedding photography just isn't for me. I am the kind of person that captures moments as they happen and I hate to ask people to pose and force a smile.
I never even wanted to get into wedding photography but I guess if you attend enough of your friends events with a camera firmly attached to your face, someone is bound to ask you to shoot their wedding.
Now I know that every wedding has different obsticles and that's just part of being a wedding photographer. I know that with experience, this is something that I'll learn how to manage more effectively and come up with workarounds to make things happen.
The first wedding I shot was back in February and it wasn't a fun experience at all. I agreed to do it though because the couple is friend's with my bio dad and step mom and I thought that shooting a wedding would be a nice way to build my portfolio. Unfortunately the wedding was very unorganized and I wasn't satisfied with anything I shot. We never signed a contract or anything but the couple did say they'd be paying me for my time... I never received anything at all for doing it.
Now the wedding I shot yesterday was for a very close friend of mine and I did it for her because she wanted me to, it was my gift to her. I adore Melissa and was happy to do it, but very nervous because she had a HUGE wedding party. There were 7 bridesmaids, 7 groomsman, 2 flower girls along with the bride and groom. No one in the wedding party was ready when they needed to be, so I had to make do with what I had available and again, I'm not happy with how things turned out. All the groomsmen were hot, uncomfortable and stiff (totally expected!) and since the bridemaids weren't ready yet, we couldn't travel up to the area I had in mind for the shoot. The photos of the men ended up being shot right in front of the church and when it finally came time to get the group photos done inside the church... I was finally told that one of the bridesmaids was missing from the photo! Now of course that's not her fault, she was feeding her baby... but no one told me about it. The bride didn't even notice, ha. At this point there was only about 15 minutes left before the ceremony was supposed to start and then I had to compete with wedding guests & family standing with the bride and groom to take pictures. I ended up just telling the couple that we would need to get the shots done between the ceremony & the reception so I was satisfied with that.
Guess what happened after the ceremony? The couple loaded up into their truck and left for the reception! I talked with them at the reception and let them know that if they wanted the group shots to be done, we'd have to do them outside so awhile later we were able to get everyone gathered up and got the shots done. Again, we were missing someone but the couple said that was fine. I took the bridesmaids for a few moments to do some fun shots and while I was FINALLY able to get some shots of Melissa all by herself, her mom was standing at the doorway of the reception yelling for her to come inside because everyone was asking where she was! Melissa just gave up at this point and we went inside.
Ultimately this all comes down to me realizing that wedding photography just isn't for me. It's not my style, there's too many things that can go wrong and I don't have the right equipment for it yet. IF I do decide to continue doing this, I'll need to take some classes, purchase additional lenses and off camera lighting and look into becoming an assistant photographer to someone that knows what they're doing.
So... have any of you had a bad experience with your wedding photos?
Or, if you're a photographer -- what do you do when nothing seems to go right?
~ Faith
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Comments: 29
We had a family friend shoot our wedding and she felt the same way, but the pictures were amazing.....
Family members snapped pictures for my first wedding to my ex husband. To my current husband..I only have two pictures. One of my husband and I. Than one with us and the kids my sister took.
I know how you feel when you cant get anyone to do as you ask. When I did my cousins wedding in March it was nothing but a nightmare and I was about to wash my hands of all of it before the wedding even started. I got there before anyone else. When I called the bride I got a nasty repsonce from her sister who answered the phone. Then I was to take pictures of her getting dressed and all the girls were in the little room with her and left no room for me, so no pictures there.
On top of it all, one of my Aunts told my cousin, whos got the same camera as I do to do the pictures. So the whole time I was tripping over him taking pictures and that alone pissed me off. The bride and groom didnt know about it until it was to late. I missed alot of the shots we talked about, because he got into my way and did not give me a chance to take them, only he got them. It was nothing but a nightmare and I was so tired by 8 I was ready to go home to bed.
Needless to say I feel alot like you, I would rather just go and take pictures when I felt like it. I missed everything and the only thing I seen was through my camera. On top of fightting with the wedding party all day. I just dont have it in me. The only reason I did not give up, is because that was part of there wedding gift from us. The other part was my husband and a good personally friend of ours doing all the cooking for close to 300 people.
The only problem we had with the photos was one of the ushers (not even a groomsmen, but an usher) left in a hurry after the wedding to try and be the first one at the buffet at the reception, so he wasn't in the group photos. But that was his fault, not the photographers.
I think that you just need to make sure that the couples you work for treat you as a professional and are organized. And if they're not willing to be organized, then do it for them.
I bet you did a lot better than you think you did, especially given the circumstances! Hang in there Faith. I think you would make an excellent wedding photographer!
I have learned a few things at the public events, but they wouldn't have helped you at this wedding.
I know that I need to focus on just the photos. I often get stuck filling in and doing other things and then when things I need to be shooting happen, I find myself scrambling.
I have learned to plan ahead, stake a claim on the best spots and stay there. Those watermelon contests and other things like it that I have the past couple of years get crazy. When they start, the parents all crowd around and if you aren't already front and center, you are screwed!
You are right, I search for moments and they are hard to get with a planned event where someone wants a lot of shots. I think I took about 200 shots of the contest last month and there were only maybe a dozen that had that spark for me, but the company was really happy with all of them. Okay, maybe not the one with the shadow over their logo, but other than that....
I think that it might be important to find out what the client really wants. Is it vital to have every milestone of the wedding? Do they want multiple groups photos and are they letting the people that they want in them know that? Do they want the whole darn family in every shot or is it about a few special shots of the couple?
That is what I can think of off the top of my head:)
I'm sure your photos were beautiful and that they will be well received. Maybe graduation pictures or prom pictures would be a little less stressful and still lucrative.
Knowing what the bride & groom want ahead of time, and setting limits really helps out.
Personally, I'd love to try it sometime myself! :) And despite the number of times I've appeared at a wedding with a camera stuck to my face, no one's ever batted an eye. ;) I guess I don't look like an artist!
The first time I got married, my brother-in-law did our photos. We were pretty organized and everything went well.
My second marriage. We only had my mom take some photos. We had a small wedding with the Justice of the Peace. Was so much less stressful. =)
I do hope my daughter's wedding goes well. It's not until June 13, 2009. She know's someone to do the photos. And we are putting disposible cameras on every table. To get some candid shots. Plus Im hoping to have her weddnig gown by spring. To get some photos of her outside our home. By the pink dogwood and pink willow trees..
You would do great at a wedding like mine. Mine is going to be small and I am a BE ON TIME kinda girl :)
Your work is great!!