A May Wedding...as a Guest

I had an opportunity to attend a wedding as a guest.  It was a neat feeling to be a guest.  A different prospective.  I brought my camera and flash with me to take some candid shots of the beautiful event.

I arrived early to take some outside pictures of the church.

The bride's gown was beautiful!

Here she is being "fanned" by her bridesmaids....

Taking a slow walk down the creaky old stairs....

I happened to be standing on the top landing and she looked up briefly...

Rolling out the rice paper...

As a photographer, I'm always on the look out for a good position or spot to take pictures from.  I have a height disadvantage so being around lots of people always poses a challenge for me as I try to avoid the "back of the head" shots.  

I asked if there were any issues with "flash" photography inside the church.  I was told it was up to the pastor.  I noticed many other guests with their DSLRs.  So I observed what others were doing before I started snapping away.  I figured I wouldn't be the first one to get scolded.  

This church had a rear upper balcony.  A fantastic location where I remained perched during the whole ceremony.  

The foot washings...

The wedding ceremony pictures were all taken from the balcony.  A creative perspective.  I used my flash with the flash head in the front position and thought the pictures came out beautifully.

I really enjoyed using my 24-120mm f/4 lens.  I think it did a great job capturing the special moments.

I did have a sore back after the wedding.  I used the balcony railing as my support (tripod) and so I was standing and leaning forward during the whole ceremony.  I must remember to take quick body stretches in between shots.  Yeah it really stinks to be getting old....

A Wedding Shoot in April

I had an opportunity to shoot a wedding at the end of April.  I used my Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens and received wonderful results.  While I zoomed in and out throughout the ceremony and reception, I kept my aperture at f/4.  That is one of the nice features about this lens.

Here are the results of my wedding shoot:

I brought my Nikkor 85mm lens with me and it ended up staying in my bag the whole time.  That's how well my 24-120mm lens performed.

Part of my wedding process is designing and printing my own CDs and DVDs which is part of the wedding package.  I have an Epson Artisan printer that is my workhorse.  I can print my CDs/DVDs and photos on this printer.  It's been a lifesaver for me.

In case some of you are wondering I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and photographing weddings on the side.

Next up...a wedding in May.  This time I'm the guest!  :-)

Photographing Another Wedding

I had another opportunity to photograph a wedding at my church.  It was an evening wedding.  Simple and casual was the theme.  The couple wanted to go the non-traditional route and change it up a bit.  No lighting of the candles, no piano music.  Just a harpist playing beautiful sweet music.

The bride and groom handed out leis and beaded necklaces to their family members before the ceremony

The married couple

Their beautiful cake was vegan

The happy couple!

I had a dilemma trying to decide which lens to use.  I brought my 24-85mm, 60mm micro, and 85mm lens with me.  I ended up using the 24-85mm for 90% of the time and the 60mm for close ups.  I also used my SB-700 flash with diffuser when the lighting became difficult to capture the moment.

While I enjoy photographing weddings at my church, I hope to do some weddings at another venue.  I would enjoy the challenge and change of environment.  We'll see.

A Wedding on Friday

I had a chance to take some wedding photos for a dear friend from my church.  I didn't know I would be the primary photographer until the morning of.  I went into work for a few hours and in the back of my mind I was thinking about which lens to use, which flash to bring and do I bring two DSLRs.

I ended up using my Nikon D7000, 18-200mm lens, 40mm micro lens, and my new SB-700 speed light.

Here are some shots using my 40mm micro lens and no flash:

In the Sanctuary with the lights turned up

I was told that the bride didn't like her picture taken.  I was astonished to hear this, but then decided to ignore the comment and do what I do naturally.  Take pictures.  As I was talking to the bride, I noticed she was very at ease with me.  I just picked up my camera and started taking pictures.  As you can see, she didn't seem to mind:

In my travels around the church I caught a quick photo of the rings:

The groom and his attendants were in the Fellowship Hall with other family members and friends.  I casually took their pictures and they decided to ham it up with me:

A photog moment with the children in the wedding party:

The children left their baskets and a Bible on a table and went off the run and play.  I enjoy taking random pictures:

I thought I would take advantage of the Sanctuary lighting and snap this quick picture of the pianist:

The bride was patiently waiting for her moment.  She was so calm and joked with us even when we encountered a snafu:

This picture was taken in a dark hallway.  The light in the background is from a large window.  I increased the exposure (+1.0) to capture the expressions on their faces and the details of her gown.  It came out better than I expected:

Getting ready for the entrance:

In the following photos I ended up attaching my SB-700 and turning on my speed light.  The sanctuary was quite dark with limited lighting in the front platform.

I changed out my lens and went with the 18-200mm and no flash for this shot:

I turned on my flash to capture the last few shots:

I kept snapping away and was able to get this shot as the newly married couple drove off to their reception:

I enjoy taking pictures of weddings.  I find that candids are better than taking formals.  Less stress and everyone (including me) is more relaxed.  That's why you'll see a folded table in the background.  Sometimes, it doesn't help to make people move to get a photo.  Why make them feel uncomfortable?

I always keep a smile on my face as I'm taking pictures.  When I smile, my subject smiles.  A beautiful picture is taken.

Note:  I had a few episodes of hot flashing (that would be me...not my speed light).  I had a few moments where I had to walk away and cool down.  Yes, this would be the second wedding where I've had to deal with this.  It's all about remaining calm and capturing as many beautiful images as you can.