Non-Traditional Wedding

Weddings on-the-go can get pretty hectic: Multiple people staying at multiple hotels going to multiple locations. Over the course of three days, I knew I'd have multiple opportunities to land good shots. That meant outside, inside, sunlight, shade, hyper guests and sleepy kids.

Shooting in this fashion isn't unlike much of the "run and gun" shooting I've done in the past - both video and still shooting. You shoot what's there, and make the best of it. Most importantly, be on the move, and try your best to get the cooperation of the guests.

In this case, I was shooting my friend's wedding. I knew many of the guests, so that gave me some license to tell people to stand, sit or otherwise be still. The wedding was largely relaxed, some in suit jackets, some in flip flops. In such a relaxed environment it simply gets creative.


The above shot was an opportunity I recognized while walking to the cliff side site of the ceremony. The trees went on forever without the light-blocking lower branches normally found in the woods. As the wedding unfolded I put a scene together in my mind of what I wanted. During the walk to the reception I was able to get them still for a series of about 5 shots before they grew impatient, and late for dinner.


This wedding was all about friends and family, and they gathered closely during the ceremony. This gave me the opportunity to capture the event as thy wished it to be - surrounded with people. To get an idea about how many people, click below.

Panoramic

Before the guests dispersed, I was able to wrangle them into a circle, and shot a series of images and sewed them together by hand in Photoshop into the images in the link above. It's an interesting image to remember the event by. I had one shot at it, and look forward to doing it again with more time and better light.

After the reception I was able to take more control by staking out some real estate in a corner of the bar. I was then able to grab people and sit them down with their full attention. They took easily to the fancy strobe gear.







The images are newly edited and I've not heard yet how they've gone over. But the shoot was fun, and I look forward to doing more weddings.

"Luca's Tripping'"

Chaos filled the room set up for the night’s shoot. An entourage two generations deep and seven people wide managed an 18-month old and a two and a half-year old as both of them neared their evening meltdowns, scheduled for right around eight forty-five.

One of the guests, my good friend Cata, had made it a point that we finish the massive bottle of saki that accompanied my wife’s homemade sushi feast, and so the chaos in the room seemed even more amplified.

When using strobe gear, there’s a level of attention and order required to maintain some consistency between shooting different subjects. That was out the window here, and being that it was chaos with friends, I just rolled with it.

Luca, Cata’s cute blond-haired son, placed himself against the wall quickly, and I fired off a shot before he disappeared. Some other branch of chaos grabbed my attention and I briefly turned away. When I turned back, I noticed Luca trying to pull something from the air in front of him – maybe a hair, or a feather floating around the room from a pillow. He was reaching out with a pretty funny look on his face, and I said out loud, “Luca’s tripping!”

A few moments later, Luca was still reaching around in front of him, trying to get his hands on the elusive floating object. He was concentrating pretty hard, yet I couldn’t see anything there. At about the same time, his mother, Mimi, and I realized what it was – the lingering phantom image that sticks around when we’re hit with a flash of light.

On paper it seems sort of funny. But to be there to watch Luca feel around the edges of the glowing ring was too much, and I had to put my system down or I certainly would have dropped it from laughing so hard. Mimi was on the floor laughing to tears.

Who says photographing families is boring?

Babies Are Rock Stars, Too.

What's wrong with a little rock star status for babies? Traditionally infants and crawlers have been propped up on baby blankets, posed in pea pods and cradles, or in the loving arms of their protectors. I like shooting that like the next guy. But, where's the excitement?

Babies are animated sirens of giggles and babble, and it's from these moments we can get our best shots. It takes a bit more effort and patience, but the wait is worth it. The baby above was a bit suspicious at first, what with the fancy light and the big guy with the camera. But working with his father, I was able to find what made him laugh and giggle, and most importantly, shine.

What came from that effort are shots a parent can be proud of. "Look everybody, my kid's a rock star!"