Kelly and Scott Get Married!
On New Year’s Eve 2015, I made one of the most important New Year’s resolutions I may ever make: to no longer go through the motions of agreeing to things I didn’t want to do unless I had a standing professional obligation. I don’t attend parties if I don’t want to go out. If I’m at a party and want to go home, I go home. And if I find myself needing an occupational or creative course correction, I try to make all haste in pulling the trigger on pursuit of happiness.
Once upon a time I used to shoot weddings. I found the challenge and the narrow margin for error to be an exhilarating catalyst for creativity and precision. And then one day, I was shooting a reception in which a “Mom-zilla” preceded to drag me from table to table for a group shot with each table’s set of guests. Not even with the bride and groom. While the guests were eating. About halfway through that death march, I decided to myself, “yeah, I would actually be ok with never doing this work again, if that what it takes to make sure I don’t go through this experience again…” And just like that, Michael’s professional wedding photography adventures had reached their grand finale. Onward in the pursuit of happiness.
Earlier this summer, my friends Kelly and Scott invited me to photograph their wedding. Aside from not really being interested in professional wedding photography anymore, I was genuinely looking forward to enjoying their day as a guest. They, being the awesome people they are, were naturally gracious enough to understand and hired unaffiliated wedding photographers for the day so I could enjoy without the pressure of being their key storyteller. But to offer them piece of mind in case anything went awry with the hired photographer(s), I did promise to bring my camera just the same and share with them any fun shots the day yielded.
One of the coolest lessons I’ve learned in photography so far is that, when it comes to creativity, “less yields more”. Not necessarily “less is more”. Less yields more, as in having less to work with inspires more ideas and often more interesting ideas. Two of my favorite experiences in photography have been learning to work comfortably with prime lenses (for the lay-person: fixed focal length lenses that don’t zoom), and natural light whenever possible. Kelly’s and Scott’s wedding offered two new challenges, working with the limited movement opportunities of a guest and carrying a small enough assortment of equipment to both blend in with guests and be able to enjoy the day as a guest. That meant carrying one one camera body for the entirety of the day instead of two, and having only one, max two, lenses on my person at any given time. Having less to work with made for a more fun and fruitful exploration in story-telling, while reining in decisions so I could actually enjoy witnessing the day!
PREP: While awaiting the arrival of the hired photographers who would concentrate on Kelly’s bridal prep, I hung out with Scott, Greg and the groomsmen as they killed time and spruced up for the big day. Sequence shot on a crop-sensor Nikon D7100 with 50mm f/1.4 lens between f/2.5 and f3.5, a shutter speed of 1/125 sec, ISO auto.
CEREMONY: Set in the Greenville, Virginia mountainside at Penmerryl Horse Farm and Bed & Breakfast, Kelly’s and Scott’s wedding site was a dialogue between rustic setting and dramatic vistas. For the walk to the ceremony grounds and the ceremony itself, I chose to commit to my preferred portrait lens, the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro. One of my favorite aspects of this set is how the compositional tightness inherent in my lens choice as well as the confinement of being seated as opposed to being able to move about the perimeter of the congregation forced me to make different and more specific choices about what was the most important emotional story I could tell in any given moment from one fixed vantage point. Sequence shot on a crop-sensor Nikon D7100 with 105mm lens f/2.8 lens at f/5.0, shutter speed auto, ISO 100.
RECEPTION: I’ve yet to be in a less than festive mood under a tent, and Kelly’s and Scott’s wedding was no different. Featuring an assortment of down-home Virginia dishes prepared by Penmerryl Farms, memorable toasts by the Maid of Honor and Best Man, captivating dance routines by Kelly’s friends and fellow dancers Devilla and Chantal, and even an on-the-floor costume change, this reception had it all! I alternated between my trusty 50mm f/1.4 for the close up shots and my 20mm f/1.8 for the wider dance and toast shots. Although I generally prefer to shot with natural light as much as possible, by the time people were on the dance floor and cake was getting cut I found myself grateful to have brought along a flash. Thanks Kelly and Scott for letting me witness and be a part of your day, best wishes for a grand marital adventure!
Sequence shot on a crop-sensor Nikon D7100 with 50mm f/1.4 and 20mm f1.8 lens, at f/2.0-5.0, shutter speed 1/125 sec, ISO auto