The Art of Wedding Photography
from Uncle Bob to Ushering

Prologue

Two weeks ago I helped shoot a wedding. I was the second camera behind my friend Mark, and neither of us had shot a wedding before. I signed on to lend a hand and get some experience. I had met the groom once for some business, but I had never really gotten to know him. I had never met the bride. No one seemed to know the schedule beyond the broadest of broad strokes, and no one seemed to be all that concerned.

A secular wedding was planned, but family members encouraged having a religious ceremony as well, so two weddings were planned back-to-back. Friday would be a Catholic Wedding, and Saturday would be a secular ceremony and reception at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. We were in this for the bride and groom, and we were in it for ourselves. Rather than charge a fee, we traded complete rights to the photos for the shoot. We would each spend hundreds shooting the wedding, and I suppose the closest analogy to the experience is to pay lots of money to photograph wild game that is chasing after you while you run away on foot. The logic of doing it is questionable, but the photos could look fantastic. We have no real need for the photos, but the experience would be something to remember (and it is certainly something I will remember for a long time). The question for Mark and I was; who could run faster? As the second shooter I'm supposed to follow his lead, but I didn't want to get eaten either. We would both struggle to keep ahead of the game over the course of 2 days and over 12 hours of shooting.

We prepared in different ways. Mark bought a book a few weeks before the wedding, but as even he would admit he didn't read it through until the wedding was on top of us. He was relying on his experience with shooting and knowing that the bride and groom asked him to shoot because they liked his style. I on the other hand have only been shooting with any real direction for just under a year, so I found myself glued to anything that said wedding on it months before I had even signed on to be the second shooter. When the opportunity presented itself to sign myself on to the wedding I was hesitant - weddings are a big deal and I am an inexperienced shooter. Wedding photography can be every bit as beautiful as fashion photography and many of the best shooters today make a living shooting documentary style weddings.

Still, like many photographers I don't know if it would be fun to shoot weddings, so this would be an ideal testing ground. I wouldn't be the first shooter - his job would be to know the scheduling, shot lists, and anything that had to happen. My job would be to help him and get the shots he couldn't. He would be in command, and I would be the tourist taking what was available.

The way the days would pan out would be quite different. Mark's role in the wedding would change and I would have much greater opportunity to shoot than I originally anticipated. We were more partners in the shoot with what ended up being close to equal access (I would always duck out of his shots). I wish I knew more of the schedule ahead of time, but I was never in contact with the wedding party. --> Next Page (2)

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