Passionate iconic images!
Passionate iconic images!
When do you know that it’s the right time to move to the next shot? Is it something you wait for and plan to act on or is it spontaneous?
With event coverage it has everything to do with planing and seeing the moments before they happen. After a while you start to notice a pattern.
For instance your entire wedding day has gone off without a hitch and everyone is eating so it is time for speeches. Your sitting at your table with the amazing person you decided to spend your life with. The DJ hands the mic to your father and you immediately burst into to tears. I’m there so of course i get the picture (haha kidding) this is not about me. This is about the DJ that is standing with his headphones on behind your father ruining the shot.
I know what your thinking and yes it can be photoshopped but my point is a lot of images I see photographers taking are not composed or directed well. Maybe they are inexperienced with people or not familiar with the ceremony. The list of excuses can go on but do you want excuses or passionate iconic images of you and your family. This is where I come in.
I ask the questions before they are problems. Like for speeches it looks great to have the couple standing or at least center stage with the reception room behind them. Why because we don’t want to see the DJ. We want to hear the DJ! It is also fine if you sit and take a break for this. I will find the right angle to make it look amazing. There are so many moments like this that happen throughout the day and that is why you need me to direct and style the arrangements so that they are passionate iconic images!
Tying the knot
Tying the knot!
Of course you have tried on the dress and the shoes and the veil and everything else you can think of but has he?
I’m reminded of the moments out on the street of nyc to do formal portraits of the happy couple. Getting a pretzel or a hot dog in your tux is kind of a tradition in nyc. It was the classic unforgettable look on the street at dusk. The light was changing every time I looked north or south. The city lights seem to be rising brighter and I was wondering where the sun will be in the sky when the groom finally comes outside. I think again where could he be? Oh here comes the planner who can’t find him. Eventually he appears. Full tux everything looks perfect except the tie. It’s a bow tie and he can’t figure it out. Of the 5 people with years of experience and probably 1000 weddings shot no one had ever learned the bow tie knot. Well we figured it out. While I held one phone with instructions I held the other up for him to see what he was doing. Turns out the groom had locked himself out of the room. The hotel didn’t have his name on the room because obviously he would be staying in the penthouse the next night so this room really existed as a holding place. By the time this all resolved it took about 20 mins of us waiting. We did amazing work with them after that but at that time of day in the light that moves every time you turn your head I still believe we missed some magic moments. So point is just because you tried on every piece of the dress doesn’t mean he tried on his tux and it will pay to double check when picking it out that you try everything on exactly how it will be worn.
I wanted to tell you a story of a groom in a (thinner than usual) white tux that only had colored boxers and black a T-shirt to wear. I want to tell it but I also think it’s better left to your imagination on how this was resolved on wedding day 2 hours before the ceremony. Send me your guess!
Is Mom here?
Is Mom Here?
Have you prepared for your family on wedding day?
The questions I usually ask are very simple but they need to be addressed in order to be better prepared for the wedding day. Most of them would be addressed by you creating your shot list for formals see example below from a recent wedding.
~Partner One with their parents (or stepparents)
~Partner One with each parent separately (if divorced)
If there is a family ring leader (the one that gets everyone’s attention) it would be amazing for them to be in charge of organizing groups to be ready and waiting for me to set them in the scene. This can be equivalent to wrangling cats at some functions.
And this big one. Will the immediate family in the formal photos be able to get to the location? As we get older and our mobility is impaired we can often forget about the fact that Dad is going to have to use his walker to get through the day. So when there is no other location at the venue with any light left except the gravel parking lot that's a ¼ mile from the front of the venue there needs to be a plan in place to get Dad there. If it is not planned beforehand the situation during the wedding day will be embarrassing at worst and inconvenient at best.
What time is it?
What time is it?
I wanted to help you understand that timing is everything. You have invested so much into the wedding day and planned everything out to the minute but have you taken a look at where the sun will be for your formal portraits? The sun is a huge factor in how your wedding day will “look” for the simple fact that it is lighting up our world!
Some brides do not think of this until it is to late BUT not you, because you have me!
Think of it this way - You know when you want your day to start and of course you know when the reception will end. So are all of the things in between fitting in properly? Is it there in a way that sets us up for amazing imagery? These are the questions I want you to be thinking when planning for photos like first look and formal portraits because these are the moments we really want to spend some time together making an amazing image.