The third wedding I shot in two weeks was definitely the most hectic of the bunch. Because of some confusing wording on the invitations, many guests began to arrive an hour before the ceremony was intended to start. To make matters worse, the groom and groomsmen arrived about 15 minutes before the ceremony was to take place making. This led to many changes in the schedule… nothing too drastic except for the fact that we had no time to leave and take pictures around town which I would’ve loved to do since I made time to scout the area beforehand. All this being said… I thought I was going to be in for a long night once the reception started. But things always have a way of coming around for the better, and the reception was fabulous. What the couple lost for in off-site portraits they made up for with crowds of dancing guests. Needless to say I was pretty relieved once I saw how active the crowd was and it made for a great ending to an otherwise long day.
Jaye and Hannah’s wedding came one day after Sam and Allison’s… marking another first for me since it was the first time I had to shoot back-to-back weddings. This wedding was a huge contrast from the day before, … mainly due to the fact that the couple saw each other before the wedding. I still favor only shooting portraits after the ceremony due to the fact that the candid moments leading up to the ceremony tend to be much more ‘eventful’, but I have to admit it’s ten times easier to take great portraits when you’re not rushed after the ceremony and have an ample amount of time to work and find great portrait spots. So for future clients who are most concerned with taking great portraits, I’m definitely going to stress that they consider seeing other beforehand just as Jaye and Hannah did (… unless a couple is willing to make their guests wait at the reception area for just a little bit longer 
On June 12th I shot my first-ever “Friday” wedding with Allison and Sam. Ironically I was asked by another couple to shoot their wedding on the same day… funny how multiple inquiries always seem to take place when you least expect it. But I was very happy to shoot with Allison and Sam. They let me work primarily as a candid photographer which made for a really fun evening. I must have captured several great moments with Allison and her mother, and I was even able to get a couple good candid shots of Sam even though he was pretty camera conscious for the most part. Although it may only appeal to some, my favorite shot of Sam came when I was trying to spy on him greeting the arriving guests. It seemed like anywhere I moved he would find a way to sneak away from me. Eventually I was able to shoot him through a clear door and got a few dramatic shots of him with the guests. One of my other favorite came at the end of the night when I took a shot of the couple holding baseball cards they created. I thought it was very important to get a shot of the two with the cards considering they are both softball coaches and big baseball fans… though I’m sure Allison is enjoying the current season much more than Sam since her team (the Giants) are doing much better than Sam’s (the A’s).
I always look forward to shooting commencement now. It’s brings me back to my days as a newspaper photojournalist because I’m shooting a real event where there is usually a lot going on. But I have to admit I got myself into a weird funk on the first day of commencement this year. Everything I shot felt like it was the same reaction, the same hand wave, the same smile. I didn’t find anything different! I kept trying to find a new shot or a new angle but nothing was working. I went home a little frustrated on Friday and started asking myself if I should just go for the best smiles and waves to the crowd when Saturday rolled around, … because it seemed obvious to me at that moment that I all I was doing was wasting time by waiting for a different shot or moment to catch my eye. When Saturday’s commencement started I didn’t know how I was going to shoot, (until I got into my “shooting mode” as people call it). But after taking a deep breath I told myself… “I can’t just go for the normal shot!” I couldn’t let myself do it. … and as luck would have it… I took my two favorite shots within 60 seconds of each other. After waiting for almost 10 minutes for a girl to look in the direction I was hoping for… I ran into another great moment when I started walking downstairs. I saw two students playing cards together on the steps… I couldn’t have set it up any better even if I had tried. After I got these shots… I let out a huge sigh of relief and walked away with some satisfaction for the first time in awhile.
