Their Wedding Day
Back in June of 2003, my sister Annie called me and wanted me to photograph her wedding. I was honored, to say the least. I warned her that I have never photographed people before and my forte' is mainly nature.
She understood and still wanted me to be her photographer. She said that she was impressed with my work and wanted to contract my services.
At the time, I did not have a very good digital camera, but I did have a nice manual focus Minolta XG-7 and several lenses that I could use. I knew that I had the right equipment for the job.
Being that this was the first wedding photography experience for me, I was nervous. I practiced on different shots for approximately a month prior to the blessed event so that I knew just how to dial in my settings and which lenses to use.
I had to book a way to get from Olympia, Washington to Redding, California where I was going to ride with family to Grass Valley. I decided to go by Amtrak since I love to ride trains. I packed my camera and other equipment and light baggage to go with me. I was going on my first 'real' photography session that was going to hold lasting memories. This was a lot different than just taking my camera case and heading off to the nearest nature trail and hope I find something worth capturing.
The day arrived. I also learned that this was to be a two day event. The first day was mainly the prep and a few group shots of the wedding party.
What the best part was, is the wedding was to be held outdoors. That is very natural and comfortable surroundings for me. I knew that the lighting would be good, because mid-June is Summer Solctice.
The procession was held at a beautiful old brewery in Grass Valley, California. There was an old brick building that stood 2 stories tall, a large courtyard in the front with a fountain, then dual brick steps that met together in the middle to gently go down to a pond at the base. This is where the vows would be exchanged.
During the recital, I set up everyone as to how the timing would be. There were 10 sets of two people, each coming down one of the steps from opposite sides. They would be staggered so that I could pause them for a few seconds and get a picture of the two proceeding forward. After I captured one of the pairs, I had to quickly turn around and jump over a small creek to the other landing and capture the next pair coming down the stairs. Timing had to be perfect and I had to be quick. The procession was to only take about a minute and a half since the song that was chosen dictated that.
After the recital was over and I had a few 'before' shots taken, it was then decided that the bridal party would arrive early the next morning to prepare for their 2 hour photo shoot before the wedding commenced.
I walked the grounds of the beautiful park there and picked out several different places that would be perfect for backgrounds and foregrounds. I wrote down a game plan and walked the area in an orderly fashion so as to time each stop and get everyone grouped together the way I wanted.
My plan was to copy the idea for when I did the groom's party before the wedding also. I had to be sure to keep control of everyone because I knew that if I didn't, they would want to wander off and explore different areas. One couldn't really help it at all because there was so much to see. Focus was my goal.
The morning of the wedding arrived. Chaos was beginning to set in as some of the brides maids couldn't find their flowers that they had arranged the night before. One of the little flower girls began to have cold feet and the bride woke up with a slight headache from partying with the girls too much a few hours prior.
We were all staying at a great resort in Grass Valley that offered many photo ops also. I had grabbed many while I was there the couple of days before the wedding.
Once I realized that the bridal party was a little behind schedule, I ran up the hill to where the grooms party was staying. I knocked on the door. About a minute passed. I knocked again. The door opened slightly and a guy with shoulder length hair answered the door. His hair was a mess, his eyes were droopy and half open. He sheilded his eyes from the morning sun, then yawned and stretched.
"You guys aren't awake yet?" I asked. "You know what time it is?"
He looked at his watch and quickly woke up and shut the door. He reopened it about a second later with tons of appologies and many thanks. Their alarm didn't go off as planned and now they were running against the clock.
I reassured him that everything was okay. The gals were almost ready and I will be going over to the park with them first to do the morning photo shoot. This will give the guys about 3 hours to get ready before they can arrive. Sighs of relief were heard when the rest of the guys all staggered to the door to hear about the morning agenda. I just told them, that whatever they do, don't arrive at the park early! They acknowledged my request.
I went back to where the gals were last frantically getting ready for the morning. I was rather pleased to see that both of the flower girls had smiles on their beautiful faces. Their hair was neatly done and they both wore the most beautiful cream colored dresses. Each of them held a single white rose and a small basket in their hands.
I took that opportunity right away to capture their photos. I took them outside and asked them not to smile and not to look at the camera. I wanted them instead to just cradle their rose slightly in their hands and just look at it. I always go for the unusual or the unexpected shots. I am not really into the traditional shots at all. I wanted to do something different with my first wedding portfolio.
I took pictures of the two flower girls individually, and then with them together just looking at each others flowers. As a note, one of the pictures actually placed in the Puyallup Fair 2004 Photography Exhibition. This is a world-wide event that had over 5000 entries. Only 846 were chosen to be on display, one of them was mine. I was rather proud.
The bridal party and I arrived at the park. We started our photo shoot. Everything was going as planned. I placed everyone in their respective places and began capturing their pictures. We quickly moved to the other places that I had planned out in a timely sequence.
We were ahead of schedule by about 45 minutes. That gave them enough time to dress down for the moment and leave the area so the guys could show up. Surprisingly, they all showed up right on time and looking rather chipper after the greeting I received only a few hours previous.
I headed them in the same pattern that I had taken the bridal party. I did a few different shots since I had some cool ideas I wanted to work with. We got done again a little ahead of schedule, so I decided to do some family photos at the park for anyone that wanted them.
The wedding begins. The music starts. I get in place and I think that I am as nervous as the wedding party. I quickly move back and forth capturing the procession as the come down the stairs on either side of me. Some of them forgot to pause when I told them to pauses, so I took a picture as quickly as I could and only hope for the best.
After the party arrives at the bottom of the stairs and are in their positions for the rest of the wedding to proceed, I have to run down the stairs, around the pond, behind a line of short hedges and set my camera on a waiting tripod. Oh, I also have to change lenses since I am now shooting these photos from across the pond.
I capture the entire process and the wedding is over. Seems like it only took a few minutes, but now everyone is proceeding away from the pond area. I quickly change lenses again and now start a new process of photos for after the wedding. This time, I don't have to worry about both parties mixing with each other, so I put the bride and groom in certain areas, then the whole party and then the parents and so on.
The shots after the wedding actually took the longest since everyone also wanted to take pictures with their own cameras. I had to take a little control over that since many of them were shooting their pictures the same time I was. I had to ask them to hold their photos until I was done, otherwise the flashes from their cameras would overexpose my pictures. They cooperated agreeably.
We moved all over the park again as one large group taking all kinds of photos. I even added a few new ideas since I was seeing the area with everyone all together now. I even captured a few candid shots, since they are just as memorable as the staged shots.
The wedding was over and now on to the reception across town. I fell asleep in the back seat of the car since I was exhausted, but my day was far from over. I still had to photograph the reception. Now, I was really wishing that I had a digital. I also wished for a digital because I really would have liked seeing my work as I went along. The whole day felt like a mere guessing game.
By the days end, actually two days, I had taken over 700 shots of the recital, wedding, some tours that was taken, and the reception. There were about 40 rolls of film that had to be developed. The bride and groom offered to pay for that expense.
Oh, and speaking of expense, since the bride was my sister, I opted not to charge her for the wedding photography. I gave my talents to them as a gift, but mainly as a learning experience for myself. After all was said and done, I found that I really enjoyed photographing their wedding. Maybe someday I would get the camera of my dreams and I could pursue more wedding shots.
Here are a couple of other shots that I had taken just for the heck of it.
Want to see more sessions like this? Click on one of the links below
A Day With Carson
She understood and still wanted me to be her photographer. She said that she was impressed with my work and wanted to contract my services.
At the time, I did not have a very good digital camera, but I did have a nice manual focus Minolta XG-7 and several lenses that I could use. I knew that I had the right equipment for the job.
Being that this was the first wedding photography experience for me, I was nervous. I practiced on different shots for approximately a month prior to the blessed event so that I knew just how to dial in my settings and which lenses to use.
I had to book a way to get from Olympia, Washington to Redding, California where I was going to ride with family to Grass Valley. I decided to go by Amtrak since I love to ride trains. I packed my camera and other equipment and light baggage to go with me. I was going on my first 'real' photography session that was going to hold lasting memories. This was a lot different than just taking my camera case and heading off to the nearest nature trail and hope I find something worth capturing.
The day arrived. I also learned that this was to be a two day event. The first day was mainly the prep and a few group shots of the wedding party.
What the best part was, is the wedding was to be held outdoors. That is very natural and comfortable surroundings for me. I knew that the lighting would be good, because mid-June is Summer Solctice.
The procession was held at a beautiful old brewery in Grass Valley, California. There was an old brick building that stood 2 stories tall, a large courtyard in the front with a fountain, then dual brick steps that met together in the middle to gently go down to a pond at the base. This is where the vows would be exchanged.
During the recital, I set up everyone as to how the timing would be. There were 10 sets of two people, each coming down one of the steps from opposite sides. They would be staggered so that I could pause them for a few seconds and get a picture of the two proceeding forward. After I captured one of the pairs, I had to quickly turn around and jump over a small creek to the other landing and capture the next pair coming down the stairs. Timing had to be perfect and I had to be quick. The procession was to only take about a minute and a half since the song that was chosen dictated that.
After the recital was over and I had a few 'before' shots taken, it was then decided that the bridal party would arrive early the next morning to prepare for their 2 hour photo shoot before the wedding commenced.
I walked the grounds of the beautiful park there and picked out several different places that would be perfect for backgrounds and foregrounds. I wrote down a game plan and walked the area in an orderly fashion so as to time each stop and get everyone grouped together the way I wanted.
My plan was to copy the idea for when I did the groom's party before the wedding also. I had to be sure to keep control of everyone because I knew that if I didn't, they would want to wander off and explore different areas. One couldn't really help it at all because there was so much to see. Focus was my goal.
The morning of the wedding arrived. Chaos was beginning to set in as some of the brides maids couldn't find their flowers that they had arranged the night before. One of the little flower girls began to have cold feet and the bride woke up with a slight headache from partying with the girls too much a few hours prior.
We were all staying at a great resort in Grass Valley that offered many photo ops also. I had grabbed many while I was there the couple of days before the wedding.
Once I realized that the bridal party was a little behind schedule, I ran up the hill to where the grooms party was staying. I knocked on the door. About a minute passed. I knocked again. The door opened slightly and a guy with shoulder length hair answered the door. His hair was a mess, his eyes were droopy and half open. He sheilded his eyes from the morning sun, then yawned and stretched.
"You guys aren't awake yet?" I asked. "You know what time it is?"
He looked at his watch and quickly woke up and shut the door. He reopened it about a second later with tons of appologies and many thanks. Their alarm didn't go off as planned and now they were running against the clock.
I reassured him that everything was okay. The gals were almost ready and I will be going over to the park with them first to do the morning photo shoot. This will give the guys about 3 hours to get ready before they can arrive. Sighs of relief were heard when the rest of the guys all staggered to the door to hear about the morning agenda. I just told them, that whatever they do, don't arrive at the park early! They acknowledged my request.
I went back to where the gals were last frantically getting ready for the morning. I was rather pleased to see that both of the flower girls had smiles on their beautiful faces. Their hair was neatly done and they both wore the most beautiful cream colored dresses. Each of them held a single white rose and a small basket in their hands.
I took that opportunity right away to capture their photos. I took them outside and asked them not to smile and not to look at the camera. I wanted them instead to just cradle their rose slightly in their hands and just look at it. I always go for the unusual or the unexpected shots. I am not really into the traditional shots at all. I wanted to do something different with my first wedding portfolio.
I took pictures of the two flower girls individually, and then with them together just looking at each others flowers. As a note, one of the pictures actually placed in the Puyallup Fair 2004 Photography Exhibition. This is a world-wide event that had over 5000 entries. Only 846 were chosen to be on display, one of them was mine. I was rather proud.
The bridal party and I arrived at the park. We started our photo shoot. Everything was going as planned. I placed everyone in their respective places and began capturing their pictures. We quickly moved to the other places that I had planned out in a timely sequence.
We were ahead of schedule by about 45 minutes. That gave them enough time to dress down for the moment and leave the area so the guys could show up. Surprisingly, they all showed up right on time and looking rather chipper after the greeting I received only a few hours previous.
I headed them in the same pattern that I had taken the bridal party. I did a few different shots since I had some cool ideas I wanted to work with. We got done again a little ahead of schedule, so I decided to do some family photos at the park for anyone that wanted them.
The wedding begins. The music starts. I get in place and I think that I am as nervous as the wedding party. I quickly move back and forth capturing the procession as the come down the stairs on either side of me. Some of them forgot to pause when I told them to pauses, so I took a picture as quickly as I could and only hope for the best.
After the party arrives at the bottom of the stairs and are in their positions for the rest of the wedding to proceed, I have to run down the stairs, around the pond, behind a line of short hedges and set my camera on a waiting tripod. Oh, I also have to change lenses since I am now shooting these photos from across the pond.
I capture the entire process and the wedding is over. Seems like it only took a few minutes, but now everyone is proceeding away from the pond area. I quickly change lenses again and now start a new process of photos for after the wedding. This time, I don't have to worry about both parties mixing with each other, so I put the bride and groom in certain areas, then the whole party and then the parents and so on.
The shots after the wedding actually took the longest since everyone also wanted to take pictures with their own cameras. I had to take a little control over that since many of them were shooting their pictures the same time I was. I had to ask them to hold their photos until I was done, otherwise the flashes from their cameras would overexpose my pictures. They cooperated agreeably.
We moved all over the park again as one large group taking all kinds of photos. I even added a few new ideas since I was seeing the area with everyone all together now. I even captured a few candid shots, since they are just as memorable as the staged shots.
The wedding was over and now on to the reception across town. I fell asleep in the back seat of the car since I was exhausted, but my day was far from over. I still had to photograph the reception. Now, I was really wishing that I had a digital. I also wished for a digital because I really would have liked seeing my work as I went along. The whole day felt like a mere guessing game.
By the days end, actually two days, I had taken over 700 shots of the recital, wedding, some tours that was taken, and the reception. There were about 40 rolls of film that had to be developed. The bride and groom offered to pay for that expense.
Oh, and speaking of expense, since the bride was my sister, I opted not to charge her for the wedding photography. I gave my talents to them as a gift, but mainly as a learning experience for myself. After all was said and done, I found that I really enjoyed photographing their wedding. Maybe someday I would get the camera of my dreams and I could pursue more wedding shots.
Here are a couple of other shots that I had taken just for the heck of it.
Want to see more sessions like this? Click on one of the links below
A Day With Carson
