b - shooting weddings...

... takes forrrrever.



The initial shooting of the wedding is great, don't get me wrong. Eric and I have shot a couple for friends and family, and for the most part, it's pretty straightforward.

There's always going to be good pictures wandering around the place - little moments between the bride and groom, if there's any kids attending, that's pretty much like easy bonus points. Kids being kids pretty much means you have a constant source of good photos.




Big thing is just the hours upon hours of editing that has to be done after the fact.



Really, the ideal way to shoot a wedding from a business-oriented point of view is to just shoot the wedding the day of, either develop the film or transfer digital files the next day, and then hand them over. Boom, done. No mess. In and out, on to the next gig.

The problem is, if you're like us, you tend to be a bit ruthless when it comes to editing. You don't want to fork over anything less than your best work. We were working digitally, which meant we could be a little sloppy. We shot about 700-1000 photos (lots of multiple shots when it came to large group pictures - don't want anyone's eyes closed or looking in the opposite direction!), and the first edit was down to about 90 photos.



And those were just the good ones.
After you get all the really nice ones out of the way, you have to find filler shots. Filler sounds negative, I'm sure, but it's not. You need the detail shots, photographs of the centerpieces, the invitations, the decorations, the cake, the presents, all that sorts of jazz. And not to mention candid shots of the mingling between the service and the dinner ceremony. It's a pretty crazy job for just one person, thankfully I have Erica.



The day wasn't without it's craziness, however; when I arrived at the house with the groom and his posse, I was approached by a very frustrated Erica, who told me that the minister was very adamant that there was to be absolutely no photography during the ceremony. Which is pretty much the proverbial money shot over the whole course of the day. I figured she just meant no flash photography, meant to discourage the people in the audience.
"No", I was told.
"Any photography is absolutely forbidden during the ceremony."
I understand the whole sanctity of the ceremony and all, but this is an outdoor wedding just off the back roads in Perth. You could hear cars driving in the distance, birds and squirrels, and all sorts of fauna rustling all around you. A couple clicks of the shutter wouldn't hurt, would it?

Whatever, didn't want to chance it. She later pointed out that the arrival of the bride, the first kiss and the signing of the certificate were fair game. Basically, so as long as she wasn't preaching, it was all good.




... then went and stuck her head in the way of the first kiss. ARGHDEATHKILLMAIMGRRRR.


EDIT: DAWWWWWWW