jhawksley
6th of July 2008 (Sun), 02:23
After tons of research and countless sleepless nights, I shot my first wedding two weekends ago. To the credit of the numerous threads here on POTN and elsewhere, I was well prepared with the gear and know-how necessary to not be too nervous on the big day.
Needless to say, it went incredibly well. I shot from 10 AM to 11 PM, plus a little at the rehearsal dinner the night before. Much to my surprise, I shot a large majority of the day with my 1dmkII+16-35 f/2.8L II combo. At the request of the bride, I took a journalistic approach to the day, with only the formals being posed. The bridesmaids even joked that I was a little too sneaky at times, as I walked around in socks (at the advice of the MOB) at the bride's house while she was getting ready, which made me nearly completely silent. As you will see, it helped me get some great moments of unguarded emotion.
The families on both sides were extremely well knit, as if they had been best friends for decades. At times the MOB and MOG would only have to glance at each other before they both broke down in tears. It was truly inspirational to be around not only two very happy people, but also two very supporting and loving families.
It's hard to pick just eight shots per the forums rules, but here we go:
#1 - The FOG, at the dinner following the rehearsal, had some great words to share for the new couple, mostly anecdotes of embarrassing moments from the Groom's childhood. He ended his speech with a tearful exclamation at how happy he was that his son had found such a wonderful person to be with for the rest of his life-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-20-0028.JPG
#2 - The Bride gets ready for the big day in a room with some decent window light-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0073.JPG
#3 - Kind of an oddball image out of the bunch, as it really doesn't portray the mood of the day at all, but I figured I'd share it with you guys since you can appreciate the technicality of the exposure-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0084.JPG
#4 - Flower girls peak in to the room to catch a glimpse of the bride getting ready-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0104.JPG
#5 - B&G leaving the church through a tunnel of bubbles-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0229.JPG
#6 - This one is a little different, but the bride loved it-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0274.JPG
#7 - Shot at the botanical gardens at Kent State University, about a hundred yards from the ballroom where the reception was held-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0286.JPG
#8 - A couple of the guys sharing a laugh-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0405.JPG
The rest of the gallery can be seen here (http://www.joelhawksley.com/37484/).
Totals for the day: 1543 RAW+sJPEG in between the 1dmkII and the 20D. Edited down to approximately 700, then down to around 525 after meeting with the B&G.
It was a great learning experience for me, and helped me fund my new MBP that is being ordered next week for my first year of college. Thanks to everyone who helped me succeed at my first wedding. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions or just reply to this thread.
-Joel
Needless to say, it went incredibly well. I shot from 10 AM to 11 PM, plus a little at the rehearsal dinner the night before. Much to my surprise, I shot a large majority of the day with my 1dmkII+16-35 f/2.8L II combo. At the request of the bride, I took a journalistic approach to the day, with only the formals being posed. The bridesmaids even joked that I was a little too sneaky at times, as I walked around in socks (at the advice of the MOB) at the bride's house while she was getting ready, which made me nearly completely silent. As you will see, it helped me get some great moments of unguarded emotion.
The families on both sides were extremely well knit, as if they had been best friends for decades. At times the MOB and MOG would only have to glance at each other before they both broke down in tears. It was truly inspirational to be around not only two very happy people, but also two very supporting and loving families.
It's hard to pick just eight shots per the forums rules, but here we go:
#1 - The FOG, at the dinner following the rehearsal, had some great words to share for the new couple, mostly anecdotes of embarrassing moments from the Groom's childhood. He ended his speech with a tearful exclamation at how happy he was that his son had found such a wonderful person to be with for the rest of his life-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-20-0028.JPG
#2 - The Bride gets ready for the big day in a room with some decent window light-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0073.JPG
#3 - Kind of an oddball image out of the bunch, as it really doesn't portray the mood of the day at all, but I figured I'd share it with you guys since you can appreciate the technicality of the exposure-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0084.JPG
#4 - Flower girls peak in to the room to catch a glimpse of the bride getting ready-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0104.JPG
#5 - B&G leaving the church through a tunnel of bubbles-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0229.JPG
#6 - This one is a little different, but the bride loved it-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0274.JPG
#7 - Shot at the botanical gardens at Kent State University, about a hundred yards from the ballroom where the reception was held-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0286.JPG
#8 - A couple of the guys sharing a laugh-
http://joelhawksley.com/jd/2008-06-21-0405.JPG
The rest of the gallery can be seen here (http://www.joelhawksley.com/37484/).
Totals for the day: 1543 RAW+sJPEG in between the 1dmkII and the 20D. Edited down to approximately 700, then down to around 525 after meeting with the B&G.
It was a great learning experience for me, and helped me fund my new MBP that is being ordered next week for my first year of college. Thanks to everyone who helped me succeed at my first wedding. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions or just reply to this thread.
-Joel