Double Double Ring
In this last week I have been offered two opportunities to photograph weddings. I remember oneish year ago when someone mentioned me shooting their daughter’s wedding. I immediately balked and cited my inexperience, lack of equipment, and inexperience as reasons. But later that day I started contemplating the idea.
Since that time I only see dollar bills out of my grasp when I go to a wedding and see photographers with Canon Rebels, kit or possibly a XX-200mm lens, and flash brackets. I don’t see any unique composition. I don’t see any unique ideas. I seem the same, overpriced, cookie cutter crap that Beth & I paid for. If I had to pay another grand to have the hundreds of photos our paid photographer took or the candid photos that my friends & I took, I would choose the candids. They’re real, fresh, and interesting.
The peeps in these two weddings have stressed the same point. They want candid shots that capture the moment and they believe I can give that to them. I’m definitely reserved because I haven’t worked myself up to point where I’m comfortable shooting strangers. I blame my short lens. I had a blast playing with Ryan’s telephoto in St. Louis in June. Capturing moments without anyone noticing was a lot of fun. I look forward to that opportunity again next year but first I need to shoot more, especially manual and/or create shots. My creative juices haven’t flown during “the move” and it is time to really use my camera like I should be.
I have a goal to shoot weddings. I’m not interested in spending every weekend hearing 1 Corinthians 13, seeing tubs of soggy friend chicken, or hearing bad wedding speeches. But I am in shooting enough days to supplement our income and become a real player in the wedding photography scene. I know I can get work in Effingham County if my name is picked up, but I’m unsure if that would translate to work in Nashville. That would certainly be exciting but not as initially likely.
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