I have a few thoughts I want to share about photographing weddings. I’ve done seven now, with another three to come this summer. I’m happy to do about one a month because they are exhausting on every level. Fun and exciting and a huge buzz, but they drain me of every ounce of creativity, so I like to give myself time in between to recharge. To those who can shoot one a week, I tip my hat.
Take this shot for example, it was taken at a brilliant wedding I got to shoot in Ballybeg House (fast becoming a favourite venue for me) at the end of May and the ceremony took place outside where the sun was shining down from a deep blue sky. This section of the day is probably the most intense, there are so many shots you have to get and you almost need to be in a few places at once. Either that or have some kind of telepathy to know exactly what’s coming next and so where you need to be to catch the best angle. In this wedding, instead of the traditional walk down the aisle, the bride and her father walked through the old house down a narrow dark hallway and out into the blazing sunshine. As it’s happening here’s a sample of how my mind is whirring:
OK, they’re getting ready to start walking, will I expose for her dress or do I want to try something different? Maybe if her dress was backlit (the light coming through the lace could look beautiful) and if she and her father are silhouetted against the light from the doorway ahead of them, yea I can see it in my head…how do I expose for that!? OK, I need silhouette but not completely blacked out, so underexpose the dress but not too much and click, click, click because they’re walking and the hallway’s not that long and I need to be ready to quickly change exposure when we hit that sunlight, so I’m clicking and crouching and walking and trying not to step on the dress and spinning the shutter and some of it is probably blurry but maybe that’s ok. And we’re out.
All that in a matter of seconds and the whole day is kind of like that.
And I love these two photos, I know the second one’s got movement in it (yea, yea, I mean it’s blurry) but I kind of like that and it’s what I pictured in my head in those seconds beforehand and that makes me feel good. Happy accidents are wonderful but to actually get a shot you pictured…there’s something satisfying about that. But what would have happened if it hadn’t worked? I couldn’t ask them for a redo, not to mention that when we did get out into the sunlight I was still looking, clicking and walking so I tripped on the door jam and only just stopped myself from tumbling all the way down a flight of concrete steps taking the bride and her father out like skittles and landing in a tangled heap at the groom’s feet. Thankfully I somehow managed to stay upright and although my heart was pounding the ceremony was only just beginning so I had to keep shooting. And therein lies the rush and the stress of shooting weddings, they wreak havoc on the faint of heart…and the clumsy.
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