This is another example of serendipity in a photo shoot. In the days before my photo session with Brian and Katie, I had imagined some of the photos I would like to take. Unfortunately, few of those worked the way I had planned.But I did manage to take a photo or two that were totally impromptu. One has already appeared here. And now here's another. I was getting my camera ready for something and one of our many assistants held out Katie's veil to straiten it and this is what I saw. I said, "Hold it!" and Katie stuck a pose.I rarely use on-camera flash but this photo needed it, since strong sunlight was coming from behind the subject.
Wedding
Attention To Details
in Wedding
For the sake of variety, how about another shot from the bridal series I did of my son and daughter-in-law a few weeks ago?
Princess Bride
This is Katie, of course. This was one of my warm-up photos in the bridal shoot we did. There's nothing about this that says "bride" but I like the portrait anyway.The lighting here is very simple - she is sitting in the opening of the doorway leading to our deck, which, in the late afternoon, is in shadow but which is open to perfect, soft ambient skylight. One of my many assistants was holding a white reflector below the frame of this photo. (I don't actually have many assistants but Katie had a retinue, including a sister, a cousin and her mother.)The light was beautiful and so was Katie.
Runaway Bride
My son, Brian, and my daughter-in-law, Katie, came to town yesterday for a photo session. They were married almost a year and a half ago but they weren't altogether satisfied with the photos they got on the day of their wedding. And so we spent 4 or 5 hours doing a variety of fun things.This photo is one of the last photos I took and it was totally unplanned. Katie wanted to run in her beautiful wedding dress and so, as she ran into the setting sun, I snapped a few photos. This is one of my favorites from the whole day.
A Bride and Her Entourage
in Wedding
This is Jennie and she and her attendants were getting ready to pose for the "real" photographer in Willmar, Minnesota. I had been hired as second photographer, which is the perfect assignment for me.
Details
in Photography, Wedding
By Scott Shephard
Most of the photography I do is very personal and maybe even selfish. I rarely think, "What will they say about this one?" when I push the shutter button. When I frame something, I am more often studying the object being photographed than I am recording it for posterity.Thus, the details that I often capture, such as the back of my daughter-in-law's wedding dress, are nothing more than . . . details. Later, when I am sifting through my photo collection, some of the details jump out at me. And so I present today's Picture of the Day.What I like about this picture isn't my doing - I like the symmetry of each button and loop and their symmetrical relationship to each other. I also like the curves and lines that adorn this dress. Finally, I like the warm, soft light that plays on this subject.The light wasn't my doing either. I just found it. And often that's what photographers do best.
Canon 5DII 70-200mm 2.8 1/250s f/3.5 ISO400 200mm
10-14-09 A Few Members of the Rausch Family
This is a candid shot of a family photo that Brian and Katie's wedding photographers were organizing. That's why no one is looking at me. I love the light and the soft colors in this photo. The light is late afternoon ambient light sifting in through the east windows on the 22nd floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul. The people pictured are a few of the many Rausch's that inhabitant our new world. (Thats Katie and Brian in the middle of the group.)
Canon 5DII 1/50s f/5.0 ISO1600 17mm
10-13-09 Dancing the Night Away
Here's one more from Katie and Brian's wedding - this time from the reception dance. The reception was on the 22nd floor of the Crowne Plaza in St. Paul, MN, and, as you can see, the view was spectacular.
For those interested in technicalities, I was able to get a proper exposure of both the foreground and the background using flash by setting the camera to "aperture priority." On most cameras, that's Av. The camera then sets the shutter speed to expose the whole photo, including the background. Check out the exposure information below and you'll see that the shutter speed is very slow - but the flash freezes the action. Pretty cool. It still takes a steady hand or a tripod to keep the background lights sharp. In this case, I'm standing on a chair using a steady hand and a lens with image stabilization, which is also cool.
Canon 5DII 1/10s f/4.0 ISO800 17mm
10-12-09 A New Constellation
These "stars" were four of the six bride's maids at Katie and Brian's wedding. This photo wasn't my idea and I was skeptical about getting a good shot. The sanctuary was fairly dark and I thought it would be hard to get details in the faces without washing out the beautiful colors in the stained glass and the flowers and dresses. But I was wrong. This photo was very rushed and I wish now that we had found the other bride's maids.
Incidentally, the colors that Katie picked for her wedding were brown and purple. "Brown and purple?" you ask. Just look. It was a great combination. Katie has a good eye and good taste. That comment may seem self serving since she also married our son!
Canon 5DII 1/60s f/2.8 ISO2000 115mm
10-11-09 The First Dance
It is the day after the Big Event and I am tired but happy. We enjoyed every thing about the day, including Brian and Katie's first dance in their life as a married couple.
09-09-09 Private Moments
in Wedding
By Scott Shephard
I was asked to do candid photography for a wedding in Minnesota. At one point well before the ceremony, the bride and groom cleared the sanctuary and shared a few private moments.
No one, not even the candid photographer, was allowed inside. A paparazzi would have barged in and snapped a few shots. Instead, I bent down and took a few shots through the frosted glass of the sanctuary door. "Fogged" and "out of focus" may describe this photo. But I prefer "ethereal" and "soft."
09-07-09 Another Bride, Another June . . .
in Wedding
By Scott Shephard
This time I'm wandering the streets of Dubrovnik when I encounter this photo opportunity. I've concluded that some weddings are planned around the photography and not the vows. Is that cynical?