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My first and last wedding, results..


joemig

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Well, a few of you were curious as to what happened at my first wedding (I

posted some questions about it a couple of weeks ago).

First, thanks to everyone who responded with advice.

As to the wedding itself, fortunately, the first disaster happened early on. I

was asked to go to the maid of honor's house in the morning to get shots of the

bride getting ready. When it was time to leave, I left before they did, but when

I got to the ceremony, I found they were already there and that everyone was

waiting for me, as the bride insisted on getting pictures of her getting out of

the car. It was an outdoor wedding and it was also, of course, pouring rain.

In the end, the bride and her family love the pictures, even if I didn't think

they were too spectacular, and I've already had a couple of offers from friends

of there's to do more weddings (which I politely refused)

Anyway, my reason for writing was to say thanks again and also to say that I

have a lot of respect for those of you who do this week after week. It's a real

art unto itself. So, here's to all of you who deal with picky brides, crying

kids, boring ceremonies, and drunken guests week after week. We who are about to

turn down 3 grand to shoot another wedding, salute you =)

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"picky brides, crying kids, boring ceremonies, and drunken guests" ...

Yes it gets crazy, but when a bride looks at her photos and begins to cry because they are so beautiful, or when family tells you that no one has ever capture their family so well, when you receive birth announcements later on, and so on; it makes it all worth it.

It not just about dealing with the day and taking pictures. It about creating a relationship, and the challenge of creating the perfect photographs that will melt your clients hearts.

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What would I have done differently? Apart from being more forceful in my initial refusal to do it at all, I guess I would have found out if the maid of honor knew a major shortcut to the location before I left her house. Apart from that, I don't know that anything could have been done too differently. I think I just have the wrong personality type for this kind of thing. I usually do portraits, mostly glamour and boudoir type things, and I'm just much more comfortable dealing one on one with someone and having the time to analyze a scene and have complete control over everything. I'm not exactly a "people person" either.

It was nice to see the bride's reaction when she saw them the first time, but at the same time I felt a little strange knowing that she was really getting so emotional over pictures that to me just weren't that great. I don't really know what I could have done differently under the circumstances, I just hope I never have to deal with it ever again.

Thanks again everybody.

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Well said Joe. I must say; weddings are not for everyone. It takes a big man/woman to admit they are over thier head. Its a tough job where one must combine equal parts of technical skills, artistic skills and people skills. The combined percentages must add up to 200%....or more! Meaning you must know when to up the ante on either. Equipment failure? You've never shook in your pants until one happens to you. The things nightmares are made of. People failures? a bit easier to deal with, but a bear non-the=less.

 

Good luck in you future photo adventures.

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