About a month ago, I photographed my first wedding. No, I’m not a professional wedding photographer - far from it. I volunteered to do my niece’s wedding, because she and her fiancé wanted to keep the wedding small and simple and decided not to hire a photographer. And since I’ve taken pictures at family gatherings for as long as I can remember, I said I’d be happy to do so at her wedding.
I can’t begin to tell you how nervous I was. In preparation, I read “Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing” by David Pearce, a fantastic book, and took some classes to better understand my complicated camera. And off I went to the wedding chapel.
The ceremony took place outdoors, in bright sunlight that was broken up by wood slats that formed a latticework ceiling of sorts over the seating area. It was a challenge avoiding the dark shadows cast on faces by those slats. Additionally, the guests’ chairs were set up on gravel, which crunched every time I moved around to get a particular shot. No matter how hard I tried to move during pauses in whatever was being said up front, I couldn’t avoid crunching the gravel.
After the ceremony, we had very little time for photos, because the reception dinner was to be at Vinology in Ann Arbor. And because U of M was playing Notre Dame that night, parking would be practically nonexistent. Incidentally, the food and service at Vinology was fantastic. But if you’re having an event there, don’t do it on a U of M game day – the cost of the dinner was doubled because of the game.
The reception photos proved to be easier than those taken of the ceremony. And when I reviewed the prints on my computer that night, I was pleased to find that they were better than I’d expected. But I have a lot of adjustments to make in Photoshop. Fortunately, I’m enrolled in a class at a local college to learn more about the software. But, for the time being, at least, I’m going to leave wedding photography to the pros.
Photo by: Sandy Laurence©
Title: Wedding
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