The Photographer Becomes the Bride - The Wedding.
l.k.madison
Registered Users Posts: 542 Major grins
I got a Facebook message from a distant cousin (our grandmothers are sisters) asking me to shoot her wedding. She shot mine just over 3 years ago, so of course I would return the favor. As if it doesn't get any more ironic, she got married the same place my husband and I did. She even managed to have our first dance song on the playlist. Oh, the memories.
C&C Welcome but I'd only done 1 1/2 weddings before this. The first was seconding for the always amazing Jeffreaux2 back in December, the other was a wedding in July - in Louisiana, I'll let you imagine how hot and nasty it was outside. I'm being brave enough to post wedding shots as the hired photographer - go easy on me.
Their engagement session is found here.
1. Wish They Were Here. Bride's garter blessed with her grandfather's pin. Her Popeye was one of the best people ever, married to one of the sweetest, most caring people I know (my great-aunt). The Bible is one of the groom's most prized possessions, it was his grandmother's. They signed the Bible as their "unity ceremony" instead of candles or sand.
2. My Ted-esque shot. I couldn't resist. The kids in the background are their kids, the tallest one is her nephew/adopted son (long story) and the little boy and little girl are his kids from a previous marriage. The blurry object in the front is their cake topper.
3. First Dance. I have this exact same shot during my sister's best friend's reception and it's one of my favorite pictures. Oddly enough, they're at the same location. Cake is even on the same table.
4. The ceremony. They had a few chairs up front for close friends and family to easily see the ceremony, everybody else sat in random chairs throughout the rest of the room. Note the empty chair front and center - that's in honor of her grandfather. Please ignore the Remington t-shirt on the back row, it's back country Louisiana where people think it's ok to wear flip flops, khaki shorts, a graphic t-shirt and a Crown Royal baseball cap to weddings. :scratch
5. Shoes. Cinderella is proof shoes will make you live happily ever after.
The bracelet has a sappy story: The bride's BFF died of cancer recently. Before she died, she wrote the bride a poem about how beautiful of a bride she'd be on her wedding day and that while she wasn't there, she'd be watching it from heaven. Inside the locket is a lock of the BFF's hair. I read the poem and teared up, and the tears are trying to come again just thinking about it. My husband shot a Polaroid of this to hand to her, she said "I can't look at it, I'll start crying, I'm not crying today."
6. Shoes again. Have I mentioned how much I love windows??
7. Rings. Three flowers side by side on the cake table a coincidence? I think not.
8. Cutest Maid of Honor. Ever. The bride's 4 year old step-daughter.
(This was shot in a room with only two windows, solid brown wood everywhere else - I'm kinda proud of my flash work on this shot. Yes, that's right, me, the natural light lover who HATES artificial light used flash)
9. The Dress. I told myself I'd give her the shots I would have liked to have of my wedding. For example, my dress in this window.
10. Let me say it one more time: I love windows. (The itty bitty dress in the reflection is the Maid of Honor's Neopolitan ice cream colored dress)
11. One day....
I know, I know, I blew her face out - I still love it though. Note who's shoes she's wearing.
12. Big Shoes to fill... taken per request of my mom. Four year old feet in her step-mom's shoes.
13. Groom and his 4 year old Maid of Honor.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkmadison/5175543258/" title="Groom and the Maid of Honor by L.K.Madison, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5175543258_6d07709624.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Groom and the Maid of Honor" /></a>
14. 1 Corinthians 13. As SOOC as it goes -- just a hint of clarity on the rings, that's it.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkmadison/5174938105/" title="1 Corithians 13 by L.K.Madison, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5174938105_ab318cb260.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="1 Corithians 13" /></a>
C&C Welcome but I'd only done 1 1/2 weddings before this. The first was seconding for the always amazing Jeffreaux2 back in December, the other was a wedding in July - in Louisiana, I'll let you imagine how hot and nasty it was outside. I'm being brave enough to post wedding shots as the hired photographer - go easy on me.
Their engagement session is found here.
1. Wish They Were Here. Bride's garter blessed with her grandfather's pin. Her Popeye was one of the best people ever, married to one of the sweetest, most caring people I know (my great-aunt). The Bible is one of the groom's most prized possessions, it was his grandmother's. They signed the Bible as their "unity ceremony" instead of candles or sand.
2. My Ted-esque shot. I couldn't resist. The kids in the background are their kids, the tallest one is her nephew/adopted son (long story) and the little boy and little girl are his kids from a previous marriage. The blurry object in the front is their cake topper.
3. First Dance. I have this exact same shot during my sister's best friend's reception and it's one of my favorite pictures. Oddly enough, they're at the same location. Cake is even on the same table.
4. The ceremony. They had a few chairs up front for close friends and family to easily see the ceremony, everybody else sat in random chairs throughout the rest of the room. Note the empty chair front and center - that's in honor of her grandfather. Please ignore the Remington t-shirt on the back row, it's back country Louisiana where people think it's ok to wear flip flops, khaki shorts, a graphic t-shirt and a Crown Royal baseball cap to weddings. :scratch
5. Shoes. Cinderella is proof shoes will make you live happily ever after.
The bracelet has a sappy story: The bride's BFF died of cancer recently. Before she died, she wrote the bride a poem about how beautiful of a bride she'd be on her wedding day and that while she wasn't there, she'd be watching it from heaven. Inside the locket is a lock of the BFF's hair. I read the poem and teared up, and the tears are trying to come again just thinking about it. My husband shot a Polaroid of this to hand to her, she said "I can't look at it, I'll start crying, I'm not crying today."
6. Shoes again. Have I mentioned how much I love windows??
7. Rings. Three flowers side by side on the cake table a coincidence? I think not.
8. Cutest Maid of Honor. Ever. The bride's 4 year old step-daughter.
(This was shot in a room with only two windows, solid brown wood everywhere else - I'm kinda proud of my flash work on this shot. Yes, that's right, me, the natural light lover who HATES artificial light used flash)
9. The Dress. I told myself I'd give her the shots I would have liked to have of my wedding. For example, my dress in this window.
10. Let me say it one more time: I love windows. (The itty bitty dress in the reflection is the Maid of Honor's Neopolitan ice cream colored dress)
11. One day....
I know, I know, I blew her face out - I still love it though. Note who's shoes she's wearing.
12. Big Shoes to fill... taken per request of my mom. Four year old feet in her step-mom's shoes.
13. Groom and his 4 year old Maid of Honor.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkmadison/5175543258/" title="Groom and the Maid of Honor by L.K.Madison, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5175543258_6d07709624.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Groom and the Maid of Honor" /></a>
![http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5175543258_6d07709624.jpg"](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5175543258_6d07709624.jpg"){kind=link}
14. 1 Corinthians 13. As SOOC as it goes -- just a hint of clarity on the rings, that's it.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lkmadison/5174938105/" title="1 Corithians 13 by L.K.Madison, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5174938105_ab318cb260.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="1 Corithians 13" /></a>
![http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5174938105_ab318cb260.jpg"](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/5174938105_ab318cb260.jpg"){kind=link}
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I haven't gotten to those yet, I just pulled the few that stood out to me that wanted to be edited first. As soon as I get to them, I'll post them just for you.
The wedding was less than 12 hours ago, there's plenty more to come.
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Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
http://danspage.smugmug.com/
Scratch Nikon I switched to
Canon 5d mark II
Thanks so much! I can't wait to see more either!
Aww, thanks! There's 850+ pictures total to dig through, about 50 of those are film shots we need to have developed, but from the Polaroids we took, they'll be worth blowing up and giving to her. They're not all this good, nor have I scratched the surface of the editing. We'll see though
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Sherry
That Bible was his grandmother's, it rarely leaves his side, it's the one they signed as part of their "unity ceremony". The preacher was alll proud of me for knowing which verse to use... apparently he deals with people that don't know what it is. Church goer or not, anybody that's been to a religious wedding knows that verse.
I'll work on them more tomorrow and see if I can't do a big chunk and get some more up.
I'm sooo excited that they're passing the DGrin test, I was sooo nervous about her trusting me with her wedding!
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NIKON D700
The little girl was the Maid of Honor, Bride's sister and sister-in-law were bridesmaids (both of which are drop dead gorgeous, can't wait to edit those!)
I'll see if I can't edit the shot of the poem and the bracelet together, the poem made me cry and I didn't even know the writer. I knew *of* her, but didn't know her.
As soon as I get a batch edited, I'll post them, too!
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Beautiful work!
My site 365 Project
If it choked you up, that means it'll choke him up, which was the plan! They danced their first dance with each other while the children watched, then the Bride danced with her nephew/son and wanted to dance with her new stepson, but he was being shy. The Groom danced (and held) his daughter the whole time, it was sooo sweet. They danced to another song later in the afternoon, something really sweet and she was *just* about to fall asleep in his arms, it was beyond precious.
I'm just proud of them for including the kids in *everything* they did, it was super sweet. Her nephew/son walked her down the aisle, and his kids handed the preacher the rings. The kids got a new parent, of course they should be a part of the ceremony. The little girl even wanted to help cut the cake when they cut the Bride's cake, so Daddy let her cut his cake. Watching her hold that knife was a little crazy, though!
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It's not *perfect* but the looks on their faces makes it priceless in my eyes.
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http://www.danielkimphotography.com
And KEEP shooting weddings, you are good at it!
I LOVE natural light, I use it 95% of the time. It's awesome- and free!!
For the wedding, I used my 40D, with my 17-55mm f/2.8, equipped with my 580 EX-II with a full Fong. My husband used his Nikon D1 and his Hasselblad, alternating depending on the shot. He got really ticked at his D1 due to it's really slow recycle time, especially during the reception. Now he's *really* convinced film is better. (which is a huge can of worms to open, we're not going there)
As far as other weddings, that may or may not happen. They're not my first choice, too fast paced for me. And they take FOREVER to edit. Both of the weddings I've shot have been EXTREME favors for the bride. Time will tell, though. I would really like to concentrate on babies/infants whil my husband does the Seniors but at this point, a gig is a gig and we won't complain. I've already had Bridezilla issues so that doesn't help either.
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My New Mommy
The Groom requested shots of him with her nephew/son and another of her with his kids. The bride immediately sat down to get one of her and Little Miss, so we just jumped on it. I like the candid feel of it better than of posed shot would have been.
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I think your peep shot, is a good try, but, as Qarik says it's not working out for that image. The thing you are shooting is more of a distraction than a visual device to get the viewer to look. Plus it is pretty dark. Keep trying! You can become a voyeur like me!
What is the background in the dance scene where you write: "It's not *perfect* but the looks on their faces makes it priceless in my eyes." Is that outside? the entire image looks surreal.
www.tednghiem.com
Yeah, it wasn't my favorite shot, it's what I get for trying to copy you. Maybe I should just let the masters do their thing.
Outside? No. I said "country" I didn't say "swamp". Give me more credit than that. I'm in Louisiana, but not *that* part - I've NEVER had a gator in my backyard. Rabbits, opossums, moles, yes - never gators. I'd have to *really* love a bride to agree to an outdoor wedding. Our weather is WAY to predictable to guarantee pretty weather outside any time of year. On average, we get about 5 inches of rain a month, sometimes even an inch or more in an afternoon. Very few brides marry outside with no backup plan down here.
It's a HUGE painting, probably 10 feet tall and wide enough for her entire wedding party (two groomsmen, groom, bride, two bridesmaids and her teenage nephew/son) to stand shoulder to shoulder and it still was wider than them. Look closely and you can see the cake out of focus in the lower right. There's a table that starts about where her back meets her dress that has toasting glasses and a cake on it - the object between their faces is a huge floral arrangement. To give a bit of perspective, my back was to the wall when I shot the ones of them dancing that had the cake topper in them.
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www.tednghiem.com
And tables and cakes magically float, too!!
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Thanks, those are my favorites, too!
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(p.s. in the "My New Mommy" shot, I think you overdid the eye area. Don't quite believe she doesn't have *any* circles under her eyes ... I'd bring it back a bit, will make it a bit more natural ... trust me, I am allllllll for silky smooth skin, but one still has to leave the facial features in, otherwise you're creating a different person
Angie, I was waiting on your opinion! I'm glad they passed the test!!
I'll give that shot a second look - she's in her late 30s and it shows, so her up close shots need some love.
I'll edit more of B&G together this week - with my son at his dad's for Thanksgiving and my husband working nights, I'll have TONS of time to kill. Hopefully I can even have her gallery finished by the start of December so she can have prints pretty soon. They didn't really take a lot of shots together other than the formals, I offered a First Look and she didn't want it, they really were all about the kids and the family as a new unit.
I'm still in love with her shoes, I don't know why - they weren't over the top, I'm just in love with them. Maybe it's their simple elegance, I dunno. I did have the laugh at her when she changed into brown and pink flip flops for the reception. Can't say that I blame her - my dressy shoes were worn down the aisle, through the ceremony and back down the aisle. My wedding planner met me at the end of the aisle with comfy shoes and I switched them out before anybody noticed.
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I like them all but this one is realy cute... thanks for sharing ur photos.
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Gear List: Canon 5D Mm2 | T1i (backup) | 16-35 2.8L | 27-200 2.8L Mk2 | 24-105 4L | Sigma 85mm 1.4 | Canon 580ex flash
Haha, he said the same thing when I told him I took "Ted-esque" shots.
Ted (known as MooglePepper around here) is all the time taking shots where there's a lot of negative space or there's an object in the foreground that's beyond blurred with the couple in the background. Or there's a mirror involved (which I'm not even going to try and attempt). I can't figure out how he does it, but he does.
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Aww, thanks.
I lean towards the warm side, especially shooting in that dark hole of a reception hall, the shots needed some life to them. They have almost a beach-y coloring to me, but that's probably the khaki colored suits making me lean that way during PP.
The bride has a very close knit family, the bridesmaids were her sister and sister in law, the maid of honor was her stepdaughter. Glad an unbiased opinion shows that, it wasn't my intention with the shots, but I'm glad it shows.
She texted me the other day asking how they were coming along, I told her I was saving some for her to see for the first time in print, in an album (any shot of that locket will be saved) but that they'd be worth the wait. I sent her the Bible/rings shot via text, and she LOVED it. Of course, I'm sure the iPhone didn't do it justice, but it was just enough of a teaser for her to know that I *am* working on them.
The shot doesn't take much to copy, I *think* I flashed it just a little. Opened the Bible to the right verse (especially if it's the right spot on the page where the numbers don't show but the words give away what verse it is), placed the rings on it, threw the aperture wide open to 2.8 and fired away. It was right after their signed their license - really just a whim of a setup. I'm sooo pleased it came out. Definitely a blow-up shot for sure.
Hopefully, they'll be finished by the end of the week and I'll post the finished gallery in this thread. Stay tuned
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