Quiet Moments —
My favorite detail photo from a recently photographed wedding (the only wedding I’ve ever shot).
The wedding was something I was coaxed into by a friend/coworker. While I didn’t mind the experience too much, and wouldn’t mind picking up the occasional extra money (or just recoup my equipment costs), I don’t intend to fill all my available free weekends with weddings. There were lots of things I learned during the experience (such as the absolute joy of a Canon 5D and the importance of ISO values greater than 800), and I did end up with a decent number of images that I liked.
Being more of a macro/nature photographer (it’s easier to pose a flower than a dozen people—to me, anyway), there were several parts of the photography that I felt went well. And several that didn’t:
First, watch the backgrounds. For some reason our after-sanctuary posed photos were in front of an atrocious cross-hatch pergola or something (and the flash illuminated crap behind it). I’m never, ever, ever using such an eyesore for a background again. Second, it’s important to watch for flash reflections in glasses… I noticed them too late to truly correct (i.e. in post). Third, I need to be bossier when posing people. And I need to work on remembering names—“you on the left” gets old after a while… for both of us. Fourth—and very important—if I ever shoot a wedding again, I’m charging much more.
Overall, I thought the lit portraits (in the sanctuary, I mean) went well. And I needed to get more time there, before we retired to the reception hall where that horrendous background resided…
On the plus side, my detail shots (a variation of my macro/nature specialty) turned out really nicely!