[Unrelated update: Act I of Joss Whedon's direct-to-the-Web musical is now online! Check out Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog. Thanks to Kim Phelan for the tip]I'll start talking about the wedding itself in my next Blatherpost, but first I wanted to talk about wedding photography.
When Rand asked me to be the wedding photographer months ago, I said no. I said I wasn't good enough, that I'd be all weepy during the ceremony, that I hadn't had enough experience, that I'd be too stressed out and actually wanted to enjoy his wedding. With his gentle Rand powers of persuasion, however, he convinced me to at least do some casual photos right after the ceremony, just with him and Erin.
I agreed, of course. Erin and Rand are two of my favourite photo subjects, and I also couldn't pass up the chance to get some private time with both of them at their big event.
Rand asked our friend Walter to also take photos during the weekend. Walter took his responsibility very seriously, and even went out and bought some photographic equipment especially for the event. I mention this because some people at the wedding thought I was the Official Photographer, when Walter took FAR more photos and stayed on "photographer duty" much longer than I did.
Walter will eventually be posting some of his photos
in his Flickr page.
Jeff and I went up to Buffalo with Walter on Friday afternoon; Erin had invited me to the rehearsal so I could take photos of the family, but I asked Walter if he could take some as well. I'm glad...the wedding/reception room was the most challenging photo spot that either of us had ever faced. Not only was the room itself generally dark, but it had windows that made backlighting a problem when taking any photos facing that direction, plus there were bright spotlights in the ceiling.
The spotlights were more of a problem for me than for Walter because my style of photography relies heavily on natural light rather than flash. An aside: as much as I've developed any sort of "style" in my photos, I've found that I strongly prefer taking casual and candid rather than traditional posed settings, and in natural light rather than artificial.
Anyway, the family photo shoot ended up getting cancelled, but the rehearsal gave me a chance to take some candid photos as well as get some practice in that setting.
The preference for candid over formal posed, of course, means that I will never be able to work as a proper wedding photographer. Another reason: I don't like being intrusive during the ceremony. If I had been the Official Ceremony Photographer, I would have had to be out front and center, getting in the way of more casual photographers.
Walter felt similarly, so we both lurked -behind- the scene instead of in front. Still, this gave me the chance to
watch Rand pacing as he waited for the ceremony to begin. I was already getting teary-eyed by then, of course. I've always been charmed and amused by Rand's pacing habit over the years and I couldn't help but think heck, how cool is it that here I am, watching Rand pace at his own wedding, minutes before the Big Event.
Another pre-ceremony scene that I found particularly moving: Erin's father waiting to lead his daughter down the aisle:
In order to take any proper photos, however, I found that I had to force myself to emotionally detach somewhat from what was going on around me. I found this a HUGE challenge at the wedding of one of my closest friends.
I learned a ton in terms of photography this past weekend. Such as:
- As much as I dislike using flash, I need to get an external flash. And maybe a diffuser like Walter's. Backlighting was a major challenge for me, both in the reception/wedding location and in one of the 12-minute wedding shoot locations.
- Getting the right exposure with a bride in a very white dress and a groom in a very black tuxedo is tough!
- Scout out the photo locations myself ahead of time, whenever possible, so I have a better idea of what the lighting will be like. Make sure there's a good and well-lit INDOOR location in case of rain.
- It's worth taking photos at the highest resolution possible. And I really, REALLY have to learn how to process RAW images (and therefore have a reason to take pics in RAW). I didn't spend as much as Walter in prepping for this wedding weekend, but I did buy two 4 GB memory cards on the way to the wedding; up to now, I've only been using a 1 GB card. This enabled me to take a lot of high-res photos without worrying about space.
- My Sigma 30/1.4 lens is great, but the Canon 17-85 lens came in very handy for when I was very close to the people I wanted to photograph. I'm glad I decided to switch to the 17-85 just before I left the Bridal Suite with Erin for wedding, for example, else I wouldn't have been able to get this shot of members of the visiting nun convention admiring her wedding finery in the elevator:
Or this photo on the way to the wedding:
I had no idea that I'd be riding in the car with Erin and her parents to the wedding, by the way; that was a decision made at the very last minute -- I told them I'd be fine walking, but Erin's mom generously insisted I come with them.
At first I felt awkward, thinking someone closer to the family should be there instead, but then I figured it gave me a chance to take some extra "on the way to the wedding" candid photos. :-)
When we arrived, Rand was out in the parking lot getting something from the car, so Erin's mom asked me to make sure he didn't see Erin. Here he is, waiting for the elevator outside the building.
I acted as lookout, letting Erin and her parents know when it was safe to come use the elevator themselves. We used the service elevator at the rear of the Pearl Street Grill to avoid having to walk through the reception area. Here's a shot of Erin and her parents waiting for the elevator:
The 12-minute wedding photo shoot went better than I had hoped; I was majorly stressed right afterward because of the rain/security guard cutting things short, but I think I did get a few decent shots. I was lucky, however, in that Erin and Rand are great photo subjects -- easygoing and relaxed with each other in front of the camera.
Plus they're darned cute together. :-)
Next up: THE WEDDING.
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Friday, July 25, 2008 at 11:08AM 
