Terry and Eve

I admit that I was a little bit hesitant to do this shoot driven primarily by my awareness of all the hassles while preparing and during the day itself (add the fact that it was held on a holiday, January 1, 2010). I’ve seen how experts do it and at that time I was doing this shoot I was not very confident without their presence. It felt like this time around I am all on my own; no one to ask around what should be the appropriate settings and the dos and don’ts. Here’s some learning that I was able to absorb:

•  Expect that as a photographer, you will want every opportunity for a good shot. You can’t let your energy drop. It is recommended to bring a handy snack and water all the time. Even if the food is served early, you may not want to miss a well-captured moment.
• Arrive earlier than expected. You would need to shoot the preparation and the details. Family emotions are also very evident no matter how busy everyone else is. Plus, it takes a while to build a connection between the wedding clients and the photographer.
• Always shoot with at least 3 buddies around. Some good perspectives are captured by other’s eye and later you may benchmark on their style too. Best if you can tag along another one who would assist you and watch for your stuff when you roam around and shoot.
• Always consider the other shooter/photographer (not the official ones of course), have the decency to “not block” when you’ve seen one already on his core of taking a good shot. And can somebody not borrow your camera when you’re already hyped and in the mood?
• If you can afford a graphic artist that would match your post-processing preferences, do so. The post-wedding must-do’s are the ones that are too tedious to do. At least for me, I hated the after-event. Well, hate it more then you’d scare clients away. I guess that, for me, is also something I need to improve.

Even if I was reluctant at first, I also would like to admit that this was worth trying. Truly, I learned a lot. To the newlyweds, Terry and Eve! Congratulations!