1 Sept 2014

Once more about shooting the wedding (what the teachers don't tell)

Let me start with the disclaimer first. This post is not a rant. On contrary, let me start with saying couple of nice words about people who shared their knowledge about wedding photography online and this way teached me how to start. Cliff Mautner, Jerry Ghionis, David Ziser, Frank Salas are photographers whom I follow via KelbyOne, their blogs and other stuff on Internet. All of them are great teachers and I am sure they are 100% integer. After watching their courses and reading what they publish one can know how they shoot photos they have in their portfolio. They reveal all photographic knowlegde, tips and tricks. So my great thanks to you, guys.

The thing is that they teach about photography. Which is perfectly fine and this is what aspiring photographers (like me) want. A wedding is means not only shooting photos for a couple of hours. It is an enterprise taking 10-14 hours of time on location. So there are couple more things next to photography to think about.

Nutrition

Sounds simple, but it is better to plan the meals during the day. During my assignment I had a luxury having my lovely wife at my side who took care of this aspect. So even if I was busy, she ensured that during short breaks I had a right stuff on my plate. Since I was also a guest of the bride and groom during the wedding, it was quite easy to arrange that. But in general I think it is better to organize things upfront and be prepared. Depending on the place and the local customs I can imagine that it even could require some contractural agreements with the bride and groom.

A place for the gear

Even if I planned my equipment for the wedding to be as lightweight as possible, I needed a safe place to store some stuff that I didn't need at the moment. Again, my situation was comfortable since I had a hotel room just next to the place where ceremony was organized. But in general - it is a good idea to think about it in advance. 
So, why it is not mentioned during the classes about wedding photography?
I think the reason is simple: for the instructors - all being practitioners for tens of years - it is like breathing for all of us. So it is probably just so obvious that it is not worth mentioning. And strictly speaking it is not about photography.