Wedding photography may be one of the most demanding and difficult types of photography to do well. As a landscape, nature and architecture photographer I am accustomed to having my subjects stand still while I compose and wait for the right light. I can even come back and shoot a scene as many times I like. Normally I wouldn’t write about a type of photography that I do not specialize in, but recent experience has given me enough respect and admiration for wedding photography as a skill and art form that I thought I would give it a nod.
The currently popular “photojournalistic” style of wedding photography requires that the photographer be able to shoot on the fly in a rapidly changing environment, often with difficult lighting, and capture all the emotion and energy of the event. In addition this all must be done without any second takes or “do-overs” and while the photographer remains as unobtrusive as possible. A wedding photographer must also be a master communicator and have impeccable people skills to be able to coordinate with the wedding planner, caterer, wedding official, wedding party, guests and family members. It can be a real puzzle to get everyone organized for group shots while not disrupting the wedding schedule or missing any of the highlights, such as cutting the cake, the first dance or the bouquet toss. The best wedding photographers do this all seamlessly, putting everyone at ease while they produce images that are works of art rather than just simple snap-shot documents of the event, and they do it once or twice a week throughout the busy wedding season.
I don’t consider myself a wedding photographer by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t think I have the fortitude or the necessary ability to multi-task. However, I like the photographic challenges and the potential for catching some high energy, emotional and sentimental moments. If nothing else, shooting a wedding is like high intensity sprint training for almost any other type of photography. So, once or twice a year I do agree to shoot a wedding, usually for people I know and who ask me really nicely. When I do shoot a wedding I put everything I have into it and strive to give the couple images that are unique, emotional, candid and artistic. I like to spend the entire day following the events as they unfold so that I have a sense of the energy and atmosphere that is unique to each wedding and couple. Famous Ashland photographer, Chris Briscoe, likes to say that he only needs two things to shoot a great wedding; light and time.
The quality of wedding photographs is largely a function of the photographer’s artistic vision and his ability to read people and be in the right place at the right time. There are also very demanding technical elements that must be dealt with, especially in the age of digital photography. When I shoot in the field I can be fairly casual about my equipment and techniques. I almost always have time to rummage through my pack for batteries, memory cards and lenses. I often carry my entire pack of gear with me just to be sure I have everything. During a typical filed session I might shoot 50 to 100 shots before a break during which flash cards can be downloaded and batteries can be recharged.
For a wedding I take a completely different approach. My goal is to have my rig trimmed down to only the essentials that I can easily carry or fit in my pockets. Trying to be fast, flexible and unobtrusive while lugging a big photo pack just doesn’t work. Before I begin shooting for the day I scout an out of the way place to set up my “base camp”. This is where I leave all the gear that isn’t essential and set up my laptop so that it is ready for downloading. Into my pockets go all my flash cards (formatted and ready to shoot), several fully charged batteries, lens cloth, extra flash batteries and an extra lens if needed.
I usually start the day with my Canon EOS 5D camera body with a 28-135mm image stabilized lens and my Canon 450 speedlight flash. I can go back to my “base camp” to switch to wide angle or telephoto lenses as needed. When the actual ceremony begins I also rig up my Canon EOS 20D with a 70-200mm lens. This gives me the ability to switch between wider shots and close-ups very quickly without needing to change lenses.
I find running two bodies simultaneously to be extremely handy during the ceremony when things are happening quickly and will not stop to wait for me to mess with my gear. It also means I have a back up camera on my person if one of the cameras malfunctions. After the ceremony I usually go back to shooting with just my primary camera and switching lenses as needed. As flash cards are filled up I visit my “base camp” and download them to my laptop. I have devised a very high tech way to ensure that I know which memory cards have images that need to be downloaded and which cards are ready to erase and be used again. My high tech solution is to put all cards waiting for download in my left pocket and cards ready for use in my right pocket.
Weddings have become a massive industry in the US. Americans now spend more money on weddings each year than the entire GDP of many small countries. As weddings have become more elaborate photographers have also become more creative in their approach and are producing some very artistic and high quality images. My hat is off to anyone who does this work well, taking it in new directions and raising the level of artistry and creativity.
