Wedding Photography 101

Several months ago I received a call from B.  A friend of hers had asked if she would serve as her wedding photographer and B was looking for someone to help weigh the pros and cons of such an undertaking.  In the end she said yes and I offered to serve as her "second shooter."  The big day was last Saturday in a winery just south of Nashville.  I will have a few wedding pictures in a future post but for now I thought I'd share just one from the day as well as a few thoughts on wedding photography and being a second shooter.

First let me say that shooting a wedding is HARD WORK.  We arrived at the winery at 2:00 in the afternoon for a 6:30 pm ceremony.  The first 30 minutes were committed to scouting the grounds in search of locations for the shoot.  Fortunately for us the bride and groom had agreed to a "first look" instead of waiting to see each other until the ceremony.  This one decision made our day so much easier. All of the photos were taken with an hour to spare before the start of the service giving everyone (photographers included) a much needed hour to relax before the I do's were said.

We were on our feet and on the go from 2 in the afternoon until the bride and groom drove away around 10:15 that night.  Combined we took over 3,000 photos, blew through 4 camera batteries and numerous flash cards.  This old lady was exhausted.  But it was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed my role as second in command.  B was the boss.  She set up most of the shots.  My job was to back her up with different angles using different lenses.  I also served as message bearer getting the right group to the right location at the right time.  The pressure belonged to  her (and the bride and groom of course).  The weight of the day sat squarely on her shoulders and that suited me just fine.

All in all it was a good day.  The weather cooperated.  The bride and groom were fun.  The pictures great.  B did an outstanding job with her first wedding.  And I loved the role of second fiddle.  I jokingly refer to us as Patton Squared Photography but this was B's day and something tells me she is off on a great photography adventure.

P.S.  If you are looking for a wedding photographer, I know a good one.