Reflecting back on my first wedding shoot.

First off I never intended to shoot weddings.

I take photos because I love to take photos for too many reasons to list here. I do not mind the occasional portrait or event shoots. I enjoy pro bono photo work for a good cause or to help a friend. Weddings are different. Huge expectations are automatically attached on one of the most special/stressful days of people’s lives. Had safeguards for weddings though.

• Strangers and those who I did not know well were easy to say no to. Who knows what potential horrors hide behind a seemingly friendly face.
• Up to this point, those I was familiar with that asked were not willing to pay anywhere near a reasonable rate. And weddings are one shoot I will not do for free or near free.

Weddings are way too much work with too high expectations to take lightly or eat costs.

Then there is Ed.

Ed started work at my job the same week as I transitioned to the team he was hired to.

Sat us next to each other and we hit it off right off the bat. In short order we became very good friends.

Fast forward a few years and he asked me to photograph his daughter’s wedding. He then hit me with a two-part Ed tactic.

1. He would not accept no.
2. He told me to name my price.

Dang it Ed. So now I am shooting a wedding.

And so now here we go. Overkill is my normal state. I once brought a Mamiya RZ67 (Which I once dubbed cinder block to my Hasselblad brick.) on a monopod…

…to an indoor trampoline park birthday party and it was not even my kid’s party. I had a ball. Especially fun was how folks ducked out of the way like it was a giant video camera. Fun shots.

Also, there was the time I tasked myself with capturing family reunion honorees. Could have used any number of digital and film cameras including a Pentax K-1 I had recently acquired when I was on a Pentax bender…

…but instead, I bought and thoroughly practiced with a simple constant 3 light setup to use with a Hasselblad 501c.

Years later I am glad I did. Two of the five honorees are no longer with us. One lost was my dearly departed grandmother.

In retrospect, I am glad I overdid it. This picture provided me comfort at a time when I really needed it reminding me of the importance of capturing special moments.

Add a friend entrusting me with his daughter’s day and saying “I trust you” means I will be more OCD than usual with this.

My questions.

Where: Four Fillies Lodge, Peterstown, WV

• Apologies upfront to any WV resident and WV native readers, but this gave me pause. Perhaps popular media and news feeds have maligned WV unfairly, but the first word that came to mind was not “yay”. Sorry. True to expectations we were stared down by a roadside pitbull and child as we drove down a narrow road at one point which led me to emit a low, sustained groan. Otherwise fine though. Most events took place at the lodge so we were good. The folks at Dollar General and Shoney’s (Whose gift shop had some agita inducing T-shirts and WV branded whiskey flasks. First time I have seen a whiskey flask outside of a Western movie.) were quite cordial. Also helped that my wife and I drove a pickup truck.

When: Months away.

• This was appreciated since it gave plenty of time for me to second guess mys… I mean to prepare. Also, let me know that I was not an afterthought which helped.

Who: A wonderful young lady that I have been hearing about for years and her fiancee.

• Never met them beforehand, but they are Ed’s folks so they have to be cool. Did text with them which helped.

Expectations: A few formal photos, but they did not want it to be too structured. Mostly candid and journalistic. The bride did not want anything too stuffy or pose-y.

• Ding, ding, ding. Right up my alley. A short shot list was provided before the event but was left to do as I pleased for the most part. Dream customers essentially. And they were chill chill not pretend, say I’m chill and then worry you to death customers.

What did I do to prepare?

Learn the venue.

• While the site was too far away to visit beforehand I learned as much as I could about the event and venue as possible by visiting the venue’s website and communicating with their staff, Ed, and the bride to be.
• The wedding itself would take place outside in a wooded area mid-afternoon. Happy they avoided high noon.

Check the weather and timing.

• The first concern with an outside wedding was what to do if the weather did not play along. But it did. Slightly overcast afternoon sun with no falling weather. Perfect. Too rough and they would have likely moved the proceedings inside.

Choose the right gear.

• Made changes to my gear lineup in preparation for this event. I had a full-frame and a crop Sony camera at the time. Mismatched sensor sizes would complicate matters unnecessarily and would not provide a proper equivalent main body back up. Found this out during a previous formal event shoot. So when Sony put the A7II (Since traded for an A7c.) on sale recently for an insane price of $899 (Has since returned to a still very reasonable price.) I quickly traded my a6000 towards it.
• The plan was to cover 28-200mm with two zooms during the wedding outside. Coverage was more important than the maximum aperture. Inside I would switch to two primes to cover near and far subjects. Also brought some on-camera flashes for fill outside and just in case for inside. Battery grips were purchased also. In addition to ergonomics, I had the A7II before and it will require two batteries. Here is the kit used.

Bodies:

Sony A7II

• Really held its own against the newer III. Other than battery life and the whole one card slot thing it was every bit the match for the newbie A7III. As much as I love the A7III a two A7II set up would really make sense. Traded for the newly released A7c.

Sony A7III

• Best all around-er in camera-dome in my opinion. Does everything well and few things fantastically.

Outside Lenses:

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD

• Best wide to tele zoom value, period.

Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS

• Best lens I have ever owned. Still great, but since replaced with the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 for reasons outlined in the link.

Inside Lenses:

Rokinon/Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 FE

• My favorite 50-ish lens.
  • Since replaced by the larger, but brighter Rokinon/Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE… until I went on a Canon STM RF 50mm jag for a minute and then went back and bought this 45mm f/1.8 again.