12 hour days.....

It takes a special person to be able to shoot a wedding.  It's usually a 10-12 hour day.  It's a lot of lugging stuff around, planning shots and anticipating. 

I know a lot of people get "sticker shock" when it comes to wedding prices.  I totally get that.  But what they don't get is that there is so much behind the scene stuff that goes on. 

A good photographer works as a team with all the other people hired for the event.  Sometimes this is a good relationship and sometimes not.  In yesterdays case, we coordinated with the Bride, Groom, Wedding coordinators, Videographers, DJ, and Wait Staff to make sure all shots were done in between everyone else's tasks.

If you act unilaterally, you are bound to upset people.

Take the videographer for instance.  I showed up to the grooms room to take pictures of him and his guys getting ready.  But they weren't there. 

The videographer totally forgot to take me into consideration and stole the guys over to a location of which I was not privy to.  Thankfully there were people in the room to direct me, and I had to walk about 6 blocks to go find them.  Not the best moment of the day.  But not unfixable.

Thankfully, I got some great shots and proceeded with the day.

This event had 2 photographers ( a wise choice) and that makes the day go smoother.  I can deal with one half of things while the Main photographer (in this instance) handles the other half of things.

There were lots of emotions going.  Bride getting stressed due to timeline and whatnot.  Totally normal.  Everything worked out fine and we did our best to keep her happy.  It is imperative that her day go well.  We can handle our stuff on the side.

When it comes time for the reception, it's important that the DJ coordinate with the photographers, because if they DJ screams out an event, and the photographer is off getting candid moments elsewhere, or off to the restroom, something gets missed. 

Being a photographer is a LOT of watching and anticipating.  It's a lot of connecting with the bridal party, their family and all the guests.  It's about being ready to be called over at any second.  It's a lot of waiting for the moments to happen.  It's a LOT of energy.......

At the end of the day, it's all worth it.  You not have 200 of your closest friends in a room with you as you say your goodbyes.  And then the work begins.....

Editing, posting, building and ordering the album and pictures...   They day at the wedding is just the beginning.  The real job, the one that proves your worth comes after. 

Thankfully at this wedding I was a second shooter and I got to sleep in.

Hug a photographer

Happy Monday