Mike Spinak
pro member
In a couple of other threads, I mentioned that I photographed a wedding for one of my two closest friends, last week.
In the discussion about re-takes, here, several comments came up that I wanted to address in their own discussion.
Also...
And...
It occurred to me after the wedding that, while the wedding photography I did went very well (pictures coming, soon), there were certain aspects which could have been easier for me to photograph, with some trivial changes. For example, to my surprise, the you may now kiss the bride kiss was an extremely brief peck... perhaps a quarter second, total. I did catch it, but I'd expected a solid smooch, two or more seconds long, allowing me more latitude. For another example, when I set myself in the best position (in relation to the angle of the sun) for photographing the bride and groom's first dance, out on the dance floor alone, the music started, and they turned their backs to me and danced facing a direction which could not easily be photographed.
There were many tiny incidents of this type. I dealt with them all successfully; however, it occurs to me that, if I'm shooting another wedding in the future, perhaps I should give the bride and the groom some pointers about how they can be photo friendly, in order to maximize opportunities. Yet, on the other hand, I wonder if this would be inappropriate, in the sense that I am there for them, not vice-versa, and I should try to be invisible in the performance of the job.
So, I'm wondering whether wedding photographers commonly coach brides and grooms on optimizing photo opportunities. I'm wondering how photographers feel about this, and how couples who are getting married feel about this.
Thanks.
Mike
www.mikespinak.com
In the discussion about re-takes, here, several comments came up that I wanted to address in their own discussion.
Originally posted by Asher Kelman:
A lot of wedding photography is actually a symbiotic relationship between the event which is sort of staged not only for the event itself, but also to be photographed.
Also...
Originally posted by Gary Ayala:
since the photog can/should/could prep the kissie and kisser (within reason) as to placement, angle, duration of event ... shouldn't be a problem for a skilled photog to capture the real deal.
And...
Originally posted by Asher Kelman:
Any wedding I've been involved with, there was a dress rehearsal with clear definiton of the timing and placement of the key shots.
It occurred to me after the wedding that, while the wedding photography I did went very well (pictures coming, soon), there were certain aspects which could have been easier for me to photograph, with some trivial changes. For example, to my surprise, the you may now kiss the bride kiss was an extremely brief peck... perhaps a quarter second, total. I did catch it, but I'd expected a solid smooch, two or more seconds long, allowing me more latitude. For another example, when I set myself in the best position (in relation to the angle of the sun) for photographing the bride and groom's first dance, out on the dance floor alone, the music started, and they turned their backs to me and danced facing a direction which could not easily be photographed.
There were many tiny incidents of this type. I dealt with them all successfully; however, it occurs to me that, if I'm shooting another wedding in the future, perhaps I should give the bride and the groom some pointers about how they can be photo friendly, in order to maximize opportunities. Yet, on the other hand, I wonder if this would be inappropriate, in the sense that I am there for them, not vice-versa, and I should try to be invisible in the performance of the job.
So, I'm wondering whether wedding photographers commonly coach brides and grooms on optimizing photo opportunities. I'm wondering how photographers feel about this, and how couples who are getting married feel about this.
Thanks.
Mike
www.mikespinak.com