Re: [Leica] Wedding Photography

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>]

Justin Ide asked quite innocently. ;-)

> I'm coming into the wedding photography thread a bit late as I was out of
> town for the last five days.
>
> I was just wondering why it seems folks try and avoid weddings, and when
> they do shoot them, to make them into an almost "drive by" event.  Shoot
> quick and get out . . .
>
> Weddings are one of the most important events in peoples lives, why not
> treat it as a "documentary event" for a day and go to town.  If you can
find
> the right "clients" and talk to them about how you like to shoot things,
it
> can actually work out to be a wonderful event with nice images . . . Which
> is what we have the cameras for in the first place, right?
>
> Just my thoughts as a "lurker" here on LUG.<<<<

Justin lad,
There isn't anything worse than shooting weddings no matter how much you
talk to the bride and groom before hand, simply because there are two women,
who no matter how much they are in any prior conversation will create more
havoc, confusion, tears, and ulcers for the photo crew, they are, you
guessed it....  the mother's of the bride and groom.

In particular the mother of the bride, god forbid should be banned from all
weddings, period! :-)

>>Weddings are one of the most important events in peoples lives, <<<

Heck even for those who've done it a few times for practice before they get
it right! ;-)

However, even then it doesn't make any difference as there are drunks,
relatives who do stupid things and the list goes on, including a different
mother of the bride each time for those who didn't get it right and quite
possibly never will after a half dozen times! :-) :-)

Lets just say, until you try to shoot one yourself will you understand how
wonderful it is in the middle of Afghanistan shooting a war compared to
shooting a wedding! :-)

>>> I was just wondering why it seems folks try and avoid weddings, and when
> they do shoot them, to make them into an almost "drive by" event.  Shoot
> quick and get out . . .<<<

To make the agony of doing them as little as possible! :-)

>>why not treat it as a "documentary event" for a day and go to town.<<<<<

Oooohhhh in theory that sounds just peachy-keen wonderful. However, even in
that fashion of shooting there's the "relatives"  They're like the locust
who fly in from afar, grab you because "you are the wedding photographer"
and they want pictures of themselves with the bride and every other damn
relative they can find and all those they've forgotten!

Oh and the part about telling the bride and groom before hand you're going
to "document their day?" Nice and easy going and capture all those quiet
wonderful unobtrusive moments they'll enjoy for the next 50 years of
marriage? Forget it!  Because lurking some where in the crowd is the
skulking unknown to you "wedding organizer wannabe!"

Suddenly the hum of the voices and clinking of glasses is broken with a
voice bellowing out..............  "We're doing the group pictures now
everyone and we'd like to have all the relatives and bridal party over
here."  And right there you know the gates of Hell  have opened and you know
it's, "I'm screwed I'll never shoot another wedding even if I die first!"

Of course the " group organizing voice" you hear hasn't been involved up
until the moment they open their big mouth and not knowing this was going to
be, "your fun documenting a wedding day!" :-(

They begin loudly to get it together and no matter where you try to
hide....... THEY WILL FIND YOU!!!!

"Oh mister photographer please come over here we have it already for you to
take your snaps, don't they look beautiful?"

Then you notice 52 people with point and shoots with flash turned on and
yelling at the same time for the bride to smile, look happy and look over
here, meaning at each and everyone of 53 different cameras! It's a mob scene
out of Apocalypse Now! :-) You might as well not even be there!

Now Justin are you slowly getting the idea about the one most single event
that creates more ulcers in photographers naive enough, nay stupid enough,
to shoot weddings? ;-)

And here all along you thought doing weddings was a piece of cake and a
wonderful opportunity to practice your photojournalistic documnting ability.
Right? :-)
ted






















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