My day started early around 8 in the morning. After a shower and a piece of toast, I slipped on my new photographer outfit. Yes internet I said it. Every new career needs to start off right… with a new outfit of course. I grabbed my gear bag and I say gear bag but in all honesty it was a beach bag that I received as a gift-with-purchase at the make up counter. This is how I roll (*hopefully, not in the future). My “gear bag” was stuffed full with my camera bag with camera, lenses, flash, white bounce card, diffuser, batteries, memory cards, and monopod. I stumbled out the door with my shoulders weighted down and realized I forgot a battery being charged on the wall. Woops. Thankfully that was my only snag of the day.
I was a mad woman taking pictures, pictures, and more pictures. I threw the proper photography stance out the window and took pictures in as many angles as I could. It probably looked like I was doing aerobics, up and down, on my knees, squatting, and lunging forward and back. Seriously, the next couple of days my calfs were sore as if I had just worked them out at the gym. I never thought photography as a work out but I’m telling you now that it can be.
I took pictures in this order: bride and bridal party getting ready, groom and groomsmen getting ready, bridal portraits, groups, details (bouquets, rings, etc.), ceremony, more groups, bride and groom, and finally, reception photos. My second shooter Chad took all the pictures of the groom and groomsmen and covered different angles during the ceremony.
My day ended at 11 that night and I will say my camera batteries had full bars but my battery was on low power. Overall, I have to say for my first time photographing a wedding I think it went really well and you can not believe how much I learned, things you just don’t think about until you’re actually in action. I’m not afraid to tell you that it wasn’t all perfect though. I had to take several pictures outside until we found the best lighting (it was the brightest time of day), I got some blurry and some dark shots, and my time efficiency could have been better. But with all of that said, I have tons of wonderful pictures to show the bride and groom. I know I’m not the only one out there that has been at the starting line but yet I don’t see many photographers sharing their first experiences. I wanted to share my experience because I want to remember where I started from as well as make anyone else out there who is just starting out in photography or any other industry feel they aren’t alone.
What I learned:
Having your lens connected to a monopod can get in the way of taking vertical shots, watch for stiff arms in group photos, find out when and where the bride and groom will be at all times during the ceremony, knowing names of people involved in the wedding is very helpful, having a checklist of some major shots as well as writing down some poses is a good idea, bring snacks and drinks, come up with different words of positive encouragement, having a second shooter or assistant is almost a must-have, and lastly, buy a lens bag =)
The gear I used:
Canon 30D, Sigma 35mm 1.4, Canon 50mm 1.4 and 70-200mm F2.8 IS (rented), Canon 580 EXII, Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce Diffuser, Monopod (rented), and Tripod
*I rented from Competitive Cameras in Dallas if anyone is interested.
Back-up gear:
Canon 30D, Canon Rebel XTi, 2 Kit Lenses (70-150mm 3.5 IS)
I hope all of you moms out there had a wonderful weekend and were treated extra special by your loved ones on Mother’s Day. Todd and I went home and spent the weekend with our moms (luckily for us our families live in the same city). Please come back soon for more wedding pictures and new engagements!
Love,
Molly
I gave these wallets to the bride and groom as a wedding present. They were printed at Mpix.com and turned out wonderful.
