Fast forward to the Lighthouse where the ceremony was held. With the 70-200mm lens I was able to walk around and sneak pictures without people noticing. Here’s one of Brian, the groom and Jay, his brother and best man. Again I was very impressed with how this lens knocks out the background to allow us to focus on a simple moment between brothers.
By this time the girls were finished dressing, it was time to call in the professional for a quick photo session. As I did not want to interfere with the photographer who was hired for the wedding, I hung back and tried to get a few story-telling shots. Here the flower girls were in the way so I just worked them into the shot. What I love about this image is that no-one seemed aware that I was there shooting and it feels like a very natural moment.
father of the bride
Outside the father of the bride paced up and down as he waited to escort Rebecca down the aisle. Again I took a number of shots of Jim but I liked this one the best. The leading lines in this composition work to direct attention to the father of the bride.
Here’s a moment where anticipation played a hand. We all know that when a bride first appears, all eyes will be on her. Normally the photographer will position himself in the middle of the aisle and will swing between the bride and groom to get this shot. Because of the distance Rebecca needed to go to reach the aisle, I don’t know if the photographer was able to get “the first look” shot of the groom. I was able to position myself in between the bride and groom but off to the side and because I was using the 70-200mm, I could still get this shot. In this case I left the photographer to get the shots of the bride at that precise moment.
walking down the aisle
It was a bright sunny day and I found it quite challenging to deal with the harsh lighting. In this image, I did quite a bit of post-processing to keep the background colour and the proper skin tones. I still feel it is not as good as it could have been but I do like composition I was able to achieve here.
the vows
the rings
This is the last image I’ll include in today’s post. As you can see I was still struggling with the harsh lighting conditions but with the long lens again I was able to isolate the key elements. I have really fallen in love with the 70-200mm f/2.8 and as I mentioned yesterday I’d really like to purchase it. The Nikon rumours website is reporting that some dealers are not able to order this lens any more leading to speculation that a replacement lens is around the corner. Others are saying that Nikon hasn’t managed inventories levels very well and this is compounded by their layoffs due to the poor economy. Whatever the case may be, I am looking forward to being money poor but camera rich sooner rather than later.
As this was my first foray into wedding photography, I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. It may be a long time before I will have another opportunity like this so I’d like to also thank my friends Rebecca and Brian for letting me be a part of their special day in such a unique way. Congratulations!
You did a great job!! Love them Sabrina! Congratulations. I think Sarah may have tried on that dress now that I see it better. haha! Can't wait to see your pictures of the CAKE! YUM!
Nice "second shooter" pictures. Captures a good story.
Great photos . . and they tell the story