Re: [Leica] Wedding Photography

["Lea Murphy" <lea@whinydogpress.com>]

Ted...you made me laugh. My experiences have not been that bad but the gates
of hell opening (and sucking the photographer in by the ankles) did strike a
chord. I just booked another wedding yesterday...maybe I should bail ship
while I still can!

Weddings aren't AS bad as Ted makes them out to be but it takes a great deal
of focus to be a wedding photographer and a great deal of determination to
get thru the event unflustered by those inclined to tell you how, where and
when to do your job!

Lea



- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Grant" <tedgrant@shaw.ca>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 10:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Wedding Photography


> 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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>
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