April 18th, 2004
One of the things that I enjoy most about wedding photography is the inside look into families, it’s almost a back stage pass to characters of your favorite movies. I recently photographed a wedding were the family sent out hundreds of invitations, and yet less than 100 people showed up. The bridal couple was attractive, and they couldn’t have been any more nice or likable. I didn’t take any pictures of the gift table because there were only five gifts. Brian and Bekka had over 400 people show up to their ceremony alone, so many that they had a small reception at the church with a receiving line. Their gift table looked like the Macy’s gift catalog on steroids.
The one thing that I’ve learned over the years is the difference between clicks and bonds. If you went to high school with Bekka you would probably say she was in a click with other highly attractive gals. Clicks fade away after high school, I’ve seen it not only with Bekka, but with other brides in the past, this is no click. Her bridesmaids as well as other friends are there for her with just one phone call. She has the love and support and admiration of so many people.
It was a couple of weeks before the wedding and I was sitting in her parents kitchen for when I looked at the back window and saw a large Gazebo with an almost wedding perfect back yard. She told me that she had her prom, dance, cheer, yada yada, pictures taken back their. I told her mom if they ever move I want to buy there house. It would make a perfect backyard studio. It was also at this point when I realized that she has been professionally photographed more than any other client I’ve had. This is why she had such a clear concept of what she wanted. Her expectations were high, and I’m relieved to say we came through!
Oh, Bekka did get married, I think I may need to mention the groom as well. But first, can I give a shout out to all my hommies in the 619, 760 area codes! Yeah , yeah, keeping it real! I’m from San Diego originally. Brian is from Encinitas. It’s a north county beach town. He’s now a youth minister at a Yorba Linda Church, and Bekka is involved with the teenage girls at the church. There were around a dozen of these gals who came to the ceremony and they were so excited to have their picture taken with Bekka. Brian is an upbeat, very positive guy, and it’s fun to watch him stare at Bekka. He just idolizes her. When I asked them how they like being married Bekka said “It’s like hanging out with your best friend all the time.” For those of you too jaded or cynical to believe in love, it’s pretty overwhelming when it’s right in front of you.
A) B) C)- Left to Right
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Okay, the rules have changed
After watching dozens of photographers slide shows at industry conferences one thing has become clear, new age music with pictures is overdone. I don't need to have my emotions evoked, I want information. I haven't put up many new weddings on this site lately mostly because I felt like I was showing the same images over and over again. So, to make this a little more fun, instead of showing the same images over and over again to explain why I took certain shots.
A) This is a rare Christian ritual, the groom washes the bride's feet. I have to say the lighting at the church wasn't great, it had direct overhead lighting that was harsh. However for this angle it was quite convincing. In can be post processed to give the feeling of a religious experience.
B) Not as convincing in a smaller size, this is a neat image when it's larger. The candle is in focus and the people in the background are barely out of focus. It was taken seconds after being lighted.
C) This was kinda a fun picture. The bride and groom were taxied around in a woody. It isn't as easy to take as it looks, they have to spin around and after a few turns her dress got wrapped around his legs and he nearly dropped her! Hey, nothing like getting dumped on your wedding day.
D) Can you tell what is going on in this image? It's a close up of the gal who hands out the programs at the church. Everybody has digital cameras these days and everybody can do photojournalism. How many people would simply take a picture of the gal handing the program to a person? That's very common and very boring. The image is compelling because if you see it larger only the program is in focus and her finger. The composition is interesting. I see millions of photos, I too get bored of canned looking stuff. This is different. And it also shows up their engagement portrait we took on the beach a few months earlier. It's up in my office.
E) I want to sound like Simon Cowel from American Idol. This is predictable photojournalistic shot. Everybody who is a photojournalist has this shot, or one very similar to it. The back of the bride's dress is almost a photojournalism cliché. You see it on a lot of websites and business cards (yawn). In black and white the shot is stunning, but a bit overdone none the less. I like that mom's hands are in the shot, it helps give it believability.
F) Okay, we have something here. This image was cropped to nearly a panoramic and turned black and white. It was sent in for print competition. We'll see how it does, we're optimistic. Sometimes judges say stupid things like "The girl holding up the dress is covering her face with her arms." Well, yes, I could have fixed that easily enough and killed the mood. I really don't know what these gals were doing, but this was a candid shot. The facial expressions are priceless. Oh, the fun of it all!
G) I've been doing this for years now, and I've never seen a cake with words on it. The bride wrote down a bunch of sayings she wanted on the cake. Kinda neat, huh? I looked all over the cake and didn't see the words "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle."