Sunday, August 13, 2017

Wedding: The joys of being the second photographer :)

Weddings are such fun!  There is a lot of planning that goes into them before-hand that can stress even the most organized person out.  But when the day comes, it's all about celebrating two people's decision to commit their lives to each other <3
(say awwww.....)

Some (not all) of my most fun experiences of weddings are when I have had the opportunity to be the second photographer at wedding, instead of the first.
(don't get me wrong--being first is fun, too, and I LOVE it!  But it also comes with a sharp increase in  responsibility and pressure)
Photographing a wedding is all about telling the story of the day, and having a second photographer helps to capture every moment that will help to tell this story to friends and family and future generations :)
Second photographers follow the lead of the first, and sometimes do things that do not require taking a photograph (like fluffing a dress, holding a reflector, or sitting with a crying flower girl so the rest of the bridal party can focus on smiling for their portrait being taken).  But second photographers also get to take not-so-standard photos during a wedding day that 1.Help tell their story and 2.Turn out to be amazing!

The photos below are from a wedding that I second-photographed last year.  It all happened last minute, and I was hired around 9pm the day before the wedding.  Yikes!  It all worked out though, and the day went smoothly :)

Second photogs get to hang out with the guys while they get ready before the ceremony while the first photog hangs with the girls.  It's a very different experience, as guys tend to be more relaxed and carefree while they get ready than the girls do.  


 Just because you hang with the guys, doesn't mean there aren't detail shots that are important to capture.  Like cufflinks.....



Socks......



Or watches.



Oh!  Can't forget the sunglasses either :)



Second photogs can also get some really cute shots of the kids throughout the day like this......



or this!
(I think he was checking to see if his tongue had turned green yet from his lollipop)



Phil looks good (and he knows it!).















As the start of the ceremony approaches, the second photog moves to join the girls as they prepare to walk down the aisle.  The first photog will capture their faces as they walk.



But second photogs get shots like this (and the others to follow) throughout the ceremony.















The first photog has to get photos of everyone walking back down the aisle, which leaves the second photog to capture all the candid shots of pure joy as everyone hugs once they have exited the aisle :)















Once the portraits portion of the day begins (usually during the cocktail hour in between ceremony and reception), the first photog has to get all of the official photos that were planned weeks prior.  This leaves the second photog free to capture little candids whenever possible (in between shouting for this person to get in the photo and holding drinks for people while they pose :)



















I love this shot.  I just said "Sarah turn around!" and caught this absolutely beautiful photo of her.



I like this one, too.  Got the bouquet, the rings, dress details, AND Phil's sunglasses in one shot :)



Obviously, they are paying attention to the first photog, but having them look off camera for my shot made a beautiful image as well.







Not a traditional shot for speech giving, but still nice.  First photog was front and center--I kept to the edges of the crowd to get reaction shots and ones like this.








Another one where Sarah is paying attention to the first photog, but I can still get a pretty shot by lying down on the dock.



 For this shot and the next two, Sarah and Phil were paying attention to the first photog, who was photographing their faces (duh).  So I decided to take the time to capture some detail shots of their hands with their wedding rings on.










I can't remember for sure, but I think I said something that mad Sarah lough out loud :P





<3



Saturday, August 5, 2017

Outer Banks: Covered with Clouds

I took my usual trip to the Outer Banks this summer.  If you saw my last post, you saw some of the photos I captured of my nephew, Henry.  (click here if you didn't get to see it: Henry: Age 3)

Even though we had beautiful sunshine for Henry's pictures, most of the week was spent in clouds.  In many years of coming to the OBX, I think this was the greatest amount of rain we have ever had.  This meant that a lot of the photos I took for myself (NOTHING beats a good photowalk on the beach) had a moody look to them.  So I decided to make a large portion of them black and white to help enhance the mood lighting I was given.


What comes with rain? Wind.  So I had fun capturing the grass swaying back and forth.











This was actually in the middle of the day, though you wouldn't think so.  
Do you think it was really that empty?  Or did I do some photoshop magic?

Ok, I admit, I definitely used photoshop on this.  The threat of a thunderstorm does not chase away devoted beach goers or fishermen.  There were probably about 30-40 in this shot that I managed to remove.  Sorry if I ruined the magic.



Right at my entrance to the beach is this massive anchor that sits about 30 feet into the ocean.  It has been there since before I started going (I actually use it as my guide to get home after a long walk).
I probably took too many photos of this, trying to get a good composition of breaking waves around as well as trying to use a slow enough shutter speed to "soften" the water, even though I didn't have a tripod with me.



I captured this teen-weeny little crab on the dock as my father and brother learned to kite-surf.  When I say teeny-weeny, I really mean it....probably 1-2 inches long!



If you have every been to the OBX beach, you have probably seen the sand crabs that live there, burrowing their holes in the sand.  This little guy had set up shop right next to the tire tracks of one of the safety vehicles.
I love this shot of him just peeking to make sure it's safe before coming out.



This next set of photos is not black and white, but is still relatively monochromatic.
I took a bike ride to a portion of the beach that is relatively empty, and the pelicans were just flying back and forth and back and forth.  It gave me lots of opportunities to capture them in flight and practice my tracking abilities.







They would stay 1-3 feet above the water-even when a wave was breaking.  It was beautiful!



Got him :)



Even though clouds can make days moody and drab, they can actually make sunsets extra-beautiful!



I mean so do my parents :)
Aren't they cute?







What better place to ponder your life and your future than by watching the setting sun?